By Ochuko Akuopha

Niger Delta Leaders & Stakeholders Development Movement has commended President Muhammadu Buhari for his directive for a forensic audit of the activities and projects embarked upon by the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC.

It also called on President Muhammadu Buhari to urgently rescind his decision to place the supervision of the NDDC under the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs and return same to the Presidency.

The group, in a statement by its Leader, Edem Ekpo Bassey, described the directive as a bold step and urged Buhari to quickly inaugurate the newly constituted board he announced in August to oversee the diligent exercise for optimum result.

The statement noted that “none of the members of the new board made up of professionals with unblemished records has ever been part of the shady deals that have made the NDDC a cesspool of corruption as such, are in the best position to overhaul the commission’s activities hence the call for its urgent inauguration.

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“This current Acting management team headed by the Acting Managing Director and the supervisory Ministry are all deeply enmeshed in the controversies that have underdeveloped the region as such, cannot be a judge over their own activities hence doing everything possible to forestall the inauguration of the new board.”

The statement alleged, “the recent employment of over 300 staff was secretly carried out without a substantive board in place if not for the outcry that led to its suspension.”

Calling on the Federal Commissioner representing the South-South region in the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), to move in and do a system review, the statement emphasized “that the NDDC cannot continue to be manipulated by corrupt individuals who have entrenched interest.”

VANGUARD