The minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Mr. Godswill Akpabio has disclosed that forensic auditors of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) so far uncovered 12,128 abandoned projects,
Akpabio who stated this while hosting the United Nations deputy secretary general, Mrs. Amina Mohammed in his office yesterday in Abuja however said contractors handling the projects could not be traced.
“An interim report of the forensic verification exercise has been revealing. The process has been transparent.
“We listed 9,080 projects to be considered in the verification process but in less than three months, the report so far shows that 12,128 projects have been discovered as abandoned with no specific ownership attached to them.”
According to him, most of the abandoned projects have become sanctuaries for criminals.
“Projects were embarked on without consultations. There was no coordination,” he said.
Akpabio said the ministry had created the “strategic implementation work plan” to coordinate the activities of development partners and stakeholders to prevent duplication of projects.
He said the ministry had developed a programme called “Catch them young”, where young people in primary and secondary schools are enlightened on the importance of peace and the dangers of destroying oil installations.
Responding, Mohammed said the UN was concerned about issues bordering on the Niger Delta and would do everything within the agency’s programmes to address them.
She praised the federal government for its efforts in ensuring peace in the region.
“Without peace, there cannot be any meaningful development, especially when the aspirations and rights of the people are not recognised,” she said.
