Effiong Akwa, the former sole administrator of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), must answer for N300 billion in projects that were awarded without following the proper procedures while he was in charge, according to a probe ordered by the minister in charge of Niger Delta affairs, Obong Umana Okon Umana.
During a working visit to the Commission in Port Harcourt, Umana gave the order and directed NDDC Acting Managing Director Emmanuel Audu-Ohwavborua to mobilise SETRACO, the contractor in charge of the Rivers-Bayelsa section of the East-West Road, to intervene on the sections that had collapsed due to devastating floods in 2022.
The Minister told the staff to feel ashamed at the negative perceptions stakeholders and external watchers have about the NDDC where they work, just as he ordered the release of relief materials to persons ravaged by the flood in the Niger Delta.
“The perception is that NDDC has failed. There is also the perception of widespread, endemic corruption in the commission. True or false, I don’t think it is a good story that you go somewhere and are introduced as a staff of NDDC and the first thing the person must be thinking about you is that this must be one of the corrupt ones.
“Even for your children, it is not a good story. It is in your hands to change that perception. There is a total failure. It is that failure that makes its possible for one man to sit alone in this commission and issue awards letters without due process, of N200Billion, N300Billion, under the guise of an emergency.
Umana said, “This is clearcut impunity we cannot tolerate. Already we are talking of indebtedness of over N3Trillion. And one man will still sit alone and issue letters of another N300Billion without following processes? And this was during the pendency of the Forensic Audit.
“The Acting MD is directed to give me a full report which should go to the President on this. This was without my knowledge, so I want a report, I want all of those contracts terminated immediately. No budget at the time those contracts were awarded.
“This is the reason we can’t do anything meaningful with NDDC. Why would street lights, and solar lights constitute an emergency project? What is the emergency about street lights? What is so urgent about solar lights?
“And I’ve seen people bring papers to me. One person will bring 10, or 15 papers, talking about emergency repairs of failed portions of roads, 2Kms, N800Million, in Delta, Abia, in Imo states. If you making N800Million to fix two Kms of failed portions, how much are you going to use to construct the road?
“And one man holding 10 of those papers, that’s N8Billion. When 100 people are holding such papers, that’s N800Billion, almost a Trillion. This is why this commission has failed. And when the President directed that these things be looked into, those who perpetrated them started frustrating the exercise”.
The Minister went on to say “I just knew the conditions for the Forensic Audit were not conducive for that probe to be carried out, because if the perpetrators were the ones to support execution of the audit, then it wasn’t going to make any sense. Anybody who stands in the way to undermine the directive of Mr President will be appropriately sanctioned.
“We should decide we want to draw a line of commitment, to say things would change. Let people start telling the narrative that NDDC has changed. That is not impossible. Why can’t we, for example, say all those being owed N50Million and under, get paid without coming to the commission. It’s a step in the right direction that will give confidence to people about the commission.
“Why can’t NDDC, for example, say the Benin-Sapele Road should be upgraded, just as other critical interstate highways. That will be a good story. I have gotten Presidential approval for the transmission of the 2021, and 2022 budgets of the commission. I also have presidential approval for funds (of the commission) recovered by EFCC.”