Group demands probe of former NDDC Sole Administrator

A foremost good governance and public accountability group in the Niger Delta region, Niger Delta Network (NDN) has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to without any delay, order the anti corruption agencies in the country to investigate the immediate past sole administrator of the NDDC, Mr. Effiong Akwa, for allegedly awarding contracts amounting to over N300billion without due process.

The group in an open letter to Mr. President, signed by the trio of Chief Kennedy Adams, Eric Igbinopogie Esq and Dr. John Douglas; Coordinator, Acting Secretary and Director of Public Communications, respectively, also prayed that “ALL contracts issued within the tenure of Mr. Akwa as the sole administrator should as a matter of urgency be investigated”.

Parts of the open letter reads: “We, the undersigned foremost good governance and public accountability group, Niger Delta Network, wish to draw your attention to the recent disclosure by the Honourable Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Mr. Umana Okon Umana, alleging fraudulent award of contracts amounting to over N300 billion without due process by past sole administrator of the Niger Delta Development Commission, during a meeting with staff of the Commission in Rivers State, recently”.

“Mr. President, we have reasons to believe that it was on the basis of trust that the presidency in 2019 approved and allocated resources to back the forensic audit which purpose was to check myriad of fraudulent activities in the NDDC in the past years. It is however sad, disheartening and rudely shocking to discover that under the same NDDC regime which had such high level of public trust, is alleged to have committed the worst and most devastating fraud in the history of the commission.

“The development of our region has unfortunately been hampered by the aforementioned. It becomes the proverbial case of the custodian of the communal yam barn, stealing yams for himself. There can be no justification for the insidious impunity and high level corruption endemic in the Commission inspite of federal government’s efforts to sanity the system.

“Mr. President, one would be puzzled by the antithesis of your administration being so popular in the news to have made genuine efforts backed by heavy funding towards the development of the Niger Delta region, yet, so infamous among Niger Deltans when and where it concerns the impacts of these efforts. The solution to this puzzle might be visible when one considers the development that over N300bn well utilised would have brought”.

The group in the open letter as sighted by this reporter sought the following prayers from Mr. President; That Mr. President should without any reservation nor delay order the EFCC and ICPC to thoroughly investigate the former sole administrator of NDDC, Mr. Effiong Akwa, that ALL contracts issued within he tenure as the sole administrator SHOULD as a matter of urgency be investigated and that ALL contractors and beneficiaries of prayer (2) should be invited for questioning.