…..Says, Forensic auditing  should commence with water hyacinth contract

Omeiza Ajayi, Abuja

The All Progressives Congress APC in the South South has asked President Muhammadu Buhari to return the Niger Delta Development Commission NDDC to the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation OSGF which is under the Presidency.

The stakeholders in a statement signed by the APC National Vice Chairman, South South, Prince Hilliard Eta added that the forensic audit of the NDDC as ordered by the president should commence with the period of the Water Hyacinth contract.

According to the statement, the recent crisis in the Commission is causing embarrassment to the South South APC stakeholders.

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Eta submitted that each time a Niger Deltan heads the Ministry of Niger Delta and is asked to oversee the NDDC, he uses it to play personal politics.

In the statement made available to journalists in Abuja, the APC National Vice Chairman said it was wrong for the Minister of Niger Delta, Sen. Godswill Akpabio to set up an interim management team for the Commission against the management team approved by the President.

Eta, who frowned at the NDDC is being by the current Minister of Niger Delta said, “Anytime the Niger Delta Ministry is being headed by a Niger Delta person and the NDDC is under it, they use the NDDC to play personal politics.”

He called on the President to adjust the forensic auditing of the NDDC to commence from the time of water hyacinth contract, saying, “if there is going to be a forensic audit of NDDC, they should start with the last water hyacinth contract that was done between the office of the Minister of Niger Delta and the office of the Acting Managing Director of NDDC.”

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It would be recalled that President Muhammadu Buhari recently asked for the Forensic auditing of NDDC when the Niger Delta States governors visited him.

On the Forensic auditing of NDDC, the President had said, “I try to follow the Act setting up these institutions especially the NDDC. With the amount of money that the Federal Government has religiously allocated to the NDDC, we will like to see the results on the ground; those that are responsible for that have to explain certain issues.

“The projects said to have been done must be verifiable. You just cannot say you spent so much billions and when the place is visited, one cannot see the structures that have been done. The consultants must also prove that they are competent.

On the recent interim management team of NDDC set up by the Minister of Niger Delta, the South South APC said; “Akpabio should not be embarrassing us. The President has set up a governing council and Akpabio would come and set up an interim management committee. It is unacceptable to the stakeholders of the Niger Delta.

“It is our position that the NDDC should be removed from the Ministry of Niger Delta and brought back to the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, OSGF under the Presidency where the Niger Delta people can have maximum benefit.”

Vanguard News