A Niger Delta Group, Global Centre For Good Governance (GCGG) has implored the Minister of Niger Delta, Senator Godswill Akpabio and the leadership of the Interim Management Committee (IMC) of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) to desist from  intimidating the National Assembly for unanimously rising to their oversight function to probe an alleged N40 billion illegal expenditure by the interventionist Agency.

At a Press Briefing over the weekend in Port Harcourt, Rivers State capital, Dr. Chris Udoh, Country Director of GCGG, regretted that the exculpatory narrative of the IMC of NDDC has, sadly been that “disgruntled elites who are uncomfortable with the forensic audit of the commission have mobilized resources to demonize them”

He however alerted that his Group is “raising concern regarding the loud murmuring in the public space that the Minister has been boasting that he will be cleared of all allegations” and also claims by those with insider knowledge that since the Covid19 contract scandal broke out, the IMC is alleged to have engaged in massive destruction of contract documents, displacement of files, alteration of payment schedules and persuasion of some of their collaborators to disappear from the scene during the pendency of the probe so as to frustrate any evidential value they may offer. This, Dr. Udoh alerted, if proven true, is absolutely very disturbing.

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The Group therefore saluted both chambers of the National Assembly for rising to the challenges of exercising its oversight functions on the NDDC, insisting that “the actors at NDDC must be made to appreciate that they can be restrained by the limiting structures and facilities of oversight powers of the National Assembly. The National Assembly should deploy all tools available to it to follow the money”.

Dr.Udoh therefore urged the National Assembly Committees probing the NDDC to collaborate with the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit and the Central Bank of Nigeria to assist in the investigation.

Vanguard