Pondei’s Allegation of Coercion by NASS C’ttee Members, Diversionary — NDRA
The spokesperson of NDRA, Darlington Nwauju, in a statement in Port Harcourt, said: “We consider this as one of the several disingenuous and inchoate scripts aimed at diverting the attention of the public from the real issues plaguing that commission.
“We recall that sometime in January 2020, specifically on 10th, a 50-man Contracts Verification Committee, CVC, headed by Ojougboh, was set-up with the Director Project Monitoring and Supervision (Emmanuel Audu-Ohwavborua) as Deputy Chairman and Director, Community and Rural Development, Mrs. Iyingi Numbere, as Secretary.
“This committee was given two weeks to document and verify all projects embarked upon by the NDDC in the nine mandate states of the commission and turn in its report without hindrance.
“The claim by the NDDC was that there were several fake Interim Payment Certificates, IPCs, and the NDDC needed to stop frivolous payments and even arrest such purveyors of fake IPCs in order to set the tone for the forensic audit exercise.
“Based on this latest expository of an obviously confused management team, led by Pondei, is it not abundantly clear that there is a breach of Public Service Rules and Regulations and criminal breach of trust for the NDDC IMC to pay for jobs without verification, even after publicly declaring that it had set-up such a committee?
“We, therefore, demand that the 50-member CVC be immediately arrested for deceiving Niger Deltans and allowances paid them for the two weeks’ period be refunded immediately and the affected professional staff members who are members of this committee, be relieved of their duties.
“Again, we restate our call for the sack of the Pondei-led IMC for breach of public trust and conspiracy to continue to deprive the people of the region of meaningful development.” Open your books for a forensic audit, group tasks N’Delta govs.
Meanwhile, VATLAD, speaking through its national president and one-time governorship aspirant in Delta State, Mr. Emmanuel Igbini, accused the governors of performing “even far below NDDC.” Igbini said:
“We insist that these governors should concentrate on delivering good governance to our people and transparently account for the billions of naira they collect on our behalf on a monthly basis.
“How many governors of the oil-producing states can boast of performing better than even this poorly performed NDDC? We urge Governor Nyesom Wike to compel his colleagues (governors) to showcase their achievements and publicly publish details of their incomes and expenditures for forensic auditing.
“Their lamentation (complaints of Wike and other South-South governors) has nothing to do with the sincere desire to reposition NDDC for the greatest good and benefits of our people of the oil-producing states.
“First, we agree with him and it is a statement of fact that, indeed, NDDC is a cash cow for Nigerian politicians, but we strongly disagree with his advice to President Buhari on how to positively reposition NDDC.
“Wike must be reminded that the systematic and deliberate looting and destruction of NDDC began and was consolidated under the 16 years of his PDP-led Federal Government and state governments of the oil-producing states of NDDC, almost immediately after the National Assembly patriotically rose to override former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s refusal to assent to the NDDC Bill.”
Ayooluwa Joshua