The minister for Niger Delta Affairs Godswill Akpabio on Monday fingered members of the national assembly for being the greatest beneficiaries of majority of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) contracts.
The acting managing director of the NDDC, Prof. Kemebradikumo Pondei, had accused the House of Representative committee on NDDC Mr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo of corrupt practices in the commission.
Consequently, Tunji-Ojo stepped recused himself as chairman of the committee to allow for a free and fair hearing and not to be a judge in his own case.
Fielding questions from the House of Representatives committee probing the financial misappropriation at commission, Akpabio upheld the position of the NDDC chief.
“Just look at your chairman (Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo); I have records to show that most of the NDDC contracts are given out to national assembly members. The two chairmen of both committees can explain to you,” said Akpabio.
However, he said since he became minister, “I have never approved a single contract not even one kilometre for the NDDC.”
Akpabio, however, said the contracts were not given to the committee chairman, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo.
“I don’t think the NDDC has given any contract directly to Honorable Ojo,” he added.
On the alleged missing N40 billion, he said no money was missing as the money is domiciled in the CBN.
“N40 billion cannot go missing from the account of the NDDC because it is domiciled in the CBN. Before this administration, NDDC had over 300 bank accounts with various commercial banks,” said the minister.
He stated that before his appointment as a minister, over 300 accounts were run by the NDDC contending that it was impossible for such amount to be missing because the government now uses a Treasury Single Account (TSA).
On allegations made by the former NDDC managing director Ms Joy Nunieh that he compromised the audit ordered by President Muhammadu Buhari, the minister denied the claim saying there is an ongoing forensic audit and he had not hijacked it.
He explained that the source of funding the commission includes the statutory transfers by the federal government and the 23 per cent accrual from oil companies.
“N71 billion was released out of the N100 billion allocated to the NDDC in 2019,” he said.
