A group, Niger Delta Integrity and Development Group (NDIDG), has given a two-week-ultimatum to President Muhammadu Buhari to dissolve the Interim Management Committee of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and immediately constitute the substantive board of the commission.
In a statement signed by the group’s national coordinator, Ebiye Johnny and made available to journalists in Asaba, the Delta state capital, the group is insisting that the minister of the Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio and the governors of the region have failed and painfully disappointed the people of the oil rich but volatile region.
He said there are shocking scandal and contract fraud in the NDDC under the interim committee, noting that the uncovered fraud in the NDDC has made the anti-corruption fight of the president a mockery before Nigerians and the international community.
Mr. Ebiye reminded the president that on October 17, 2019, he ordered a forensic audit be carried out on the commission which should run from the establishment of the commission until 2019, a development which was widely applauded by virtually applauded by all leaders of the region.
He also said Godswill Akpabio told Nigerians that the IMC would be in office for a period of between three and six months to complete the forensic exercise but sadly the six months have expired, the forensic audit has not started let alone submitting report to the president.
He revealed that the IMC was hurriedly inaugurated and given a mandate to provide necessary documents for the forensic auditors to do their work, after which the IMC would have completed their job and pack out of the commission.
He said President Buhari was misled in March 2020 to inaugurate the NDDC advisory committee made up of governors of the region, noting that in the last few weeks there have been series of reports exposing the rot, stealing, corruption and fraudulent contract awards and racketeering and payments for jobs not executed and running into billions since October 2019.

He said: “It is more shameful and regrettable that our elected South South governors who should be courageous enough to tell truth to Mr. President to inaugurate the substantive board of NDDC, they submitted themselves to be inaugurated as members of NDDC Advisory Committee in March, 2020, knowing fully well that the president was yet to reconstitute the substantive board of NDDC.”
He added: “It is worrisome, if our elected South South governors, who swore oath to be faithful and honest, are afraid to say the truth or stand for truth, no wonder the oil rich region has remained backward.
“The South South governors should convince the people of Niger Delta by telling President Buhari to dissolve the IMC now and immediately reconstitute the substantive board of NDDC, except the governors want us to believe that they are afraid of Godswill Akpabio.”
He said: “We were told that the office of Auditor-General for the Federation, and Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs will jointly handle or supervise the Forensic Audit to cover NDDC's operations from 2001 to 2019.
“The IMC appointed the acting Executive Director Projects of Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, Dr. Cairo Ojougboh, as Chairman of NDDC Contracts Verification Committee. Few days ago, the IMC presented it report to the Auditing Principal Partner and Lead Consultant for the forensic audit.
“The IMC has handed over its preliminary report and documents of the verification exercise to the lead consultants of the audit, Olumuyiwa Basiru & Co., at the NDDC headquarters in Port Harcourt, by the Acting Managing Director, Professor Kemebradikumo Pondei, wherein stated that over 8,000 projects were captured throughout the nine states. The preliminary report contained contract documents covering projects captured during the NDDC’s verification exercise
“From January 20th to February 7th 2020, the Interim Management Committee carried out a verification exercise, contractors were invited for verification of their contracts documents with the commission.
“The IMC, after submitting its final report to the Forensic Auditors, the IMC has become irrelevant and should be disbanded forthwith by Mr. President.”
Mr. Ebiye noted that President Buhari did not mandate the IMC to award contracts, pay contractors or complete any jobs, adding that the mandate of IMC was to collate and document every transactions of NDDC from 2000 to 2019 and submit to the forensic auditors, after which the IMC has finished their job.
He said the IMC has collated and documented every transactions of NDDC from 2000 to 2019 from its verification exercise and submitted same to the forensic auditors, hence the IMC has finished their job and should be immediately dissolved.
He said President Buhari should commence the process of reconstituting the substantive board wherein all the nine states in the region will be adequately represented as provided by the NDDC Act, adding that the ordered forensic audit, covers 2000 to 2019, while the substantive Board will commence it's activities from 2020.

Nigerians and Corruption

Nigeria every where is not well,

Even the wealthy region are crying.

Mtcheew!!

@Op What trouble??

They can't do nothing more than issue empty threats ,they should do their worst .... the global oil price ma sef don crash so what more??

besides no be their own wey dey betray them since the inception of NDDC??