Africa Press-Nigeria:
Recent revelations involving weighty allegations of hire-wire advance monumental grand corruption at the Niger Delta development commission (NDDC) have again raised concerns about the need for the commission to reform or close.
The latest fallout from the NDDC are allegations of sexual and work place harassment sparking fears of a possible sex ring within the commission. These allegations coming from a former Ag. MD of the commission against the supervising minister amid massive corruption, are clear testimony of the long-held fact that the NDDC is completely distracted from its mandate of developing the Niger Delta and now neck-deep into sundry matters.
Indeed, the NDDC is gradually metamorphosing into a liability not only for the Niger Delta but our dear country Nigeria as a whole. The once-respected commission will possibly take the gold medal as the No 1 corrupt agency in Nigeria and one that is at the fore-front in frustrating President Buhari’s anti-corruption fight.
The NDDC is a source of inspiration to all wannabe – corrupt MDAs in Nigeria. There is the urgent need to close the NDDC and use the funds to create jobs for the teeming unemployed youths in the Niger Delta through a skills acquisition programme using MDAs such as the national directorate of employment (NDE).
It beggars belief as to how a commission involved in such grand corruption and sex scandals is still standing. The NNDC has to go so that the good people of the Niger Delta can breath some fresh air and be saved from the mind-boggling embarrassment. Poverty is still pervasive in the Niger Delta despite the huge funds channeled to the region because the ELITES in the region have cornered the funds meant for development of the region while the masses get nothing.
Indeed, the NDDC is better named NDEDC – Niger Delta ELITES development commission
Over the years, the NDDC has turned into a glorified automated teller machine (ATM) for the ELITES in the Niger-Delta. The good people of the Niger Delta are not benefitting from the humongous funds sunk into the NDDC. Only the elites are smiling home with their pockets full of NDDC money. Many cases abound to prove the incomprehensible, mind-boggling and scary levels of corruption in the NDDC.
Even at this time when President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered a forensic audit of the NDDC, the management staff remain undaunted in their party at the NDDC. They continue to withdraw from the NDDC ATM at will. As a matter of fact, NDDC will certainly be a nominee for the gold medal as the most corrupt government agency in Nigeria today.
Non-submission of financial reports is a pastime in the NDDC. Few days ago, the House of Representatives committee on Niger-Delta exposed a humongous fraud of N81.5 billion in just 5 months.
YES, the NDDC spent N81.5 billion in 5 months (January – May 2020).
If you are surprised, please wait for the breakdown:
Condolences- N122.9 million,
Community relations: 1.3 billion
Consultancy: N83 million,
COVID-19 take home pay-N3.14 billion
Duty Travel Allowance -N486 million Impress- N790.9 million
Lasser fever- N1.956 billion.
Legal Services- N900 million, Maintenance- N220 million,
Overseas travel- N85.6 million,
Public Communication- N1.121 billion, Security- N744 million,
Staffing related payment- N8.8 billion, Stakeholders engagement (Feb 18- May 31, 2020)- N248 million.
It is noteworthy that in all of the above, there is not a single road or any tangible project constructed for the good people of the Niger Delta.
Among the purported duty travel allowances of N486 million is the claim of the NDDC management that they travelled to the U.K to attend graduation ceremonies for their children between February and May during the COVID-19 lockdown. Apart from the fact that the NDDC is not mandated to sponsor anyone to their children’s graduation ceremony, this claim cannot stand because there were no flights to the UK from Nigeria during the period the NDDC staff claimed to have travelled by air. It is simply funny that anyone in Nigeria could claim to have travelled outside NIGERIA between February and May 2020 when there were no flights -could the NDDC staff have travelled by road from Abuja to London?
The MD of the NDDC interim management committee (IMC) Professor Kemebradikumo Pondei admitted that the NDDC shared N1.5 billion among the management and staff as take home pay due to what he called ‘palliatives to cushion the effect of COVID-19 pandemic. The MD admitted to collecting N10 million as his share of the NDDC COVID-19 largesse.
It should be noted that this grand corruption case at the time when President Buhari directed the ongoing forensic audit of the NDDC.
The NDDC management spent N81.5 billion during the forensic audit. Heaven knows how much they would have taken if President Buhari has not ordered a forensic audit of the commission.
The NDDC is such a den of corruption that fetish oaths are taken before any corrupt practice is perpetrated as disclosed by the former Ag MD of the commission the brave Ms Joy Nunieh. Ms Nunieh disclosed that the supervising minister of the commission, the minister of Niger Delta affairs asked her to swear to an oath to commit fraud. The NDCC fetish oath of corruption is meant to ‘shut the mouth’ of any perpetrator from spilling the beans and exposing the act. The former Ag MD refused to swear to the oath and she got booted out. She also disclosed alleged grand humongous corruption against the Honourable minister of Niger Delta affairs including his alleged role in fraud and mismanagement of N40 billion belonging to the commission between October 2019 – February 2020.
Records show that the NDDC spent a whopping sum of N121.5 billion in 7 months if the N40 billion mismanaged between Oct 2019-Feb 2020 is added to the N81.5 billion COVID-19 fraud perpetrated between Feb 2020-May 2020. This amount (N121.5 billion) spent by the NDDC is 11% more than the N108 billion budget of Yobe state for the entire fiscal year 2020.
