Act For Positive Transformation Initiative, a non-governmental organisation, has challenged President Muhammadu Buhari to prevent the looting ongoing at the Niger Delta Development Commission to prove he's truly fighting corruption.
Series of looting and financial misappropriation are exposed within the NDDC with the Acting director , Prof Kemebradikumo Pondei, and Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio, unable to defend the spending of the commission.
Recall that Pondei had fainted during a public hearing to elucidate the financial misappropriation within the commission.
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President Muhammadu Buhari gettyimages
With deafening silence of the Presidency on the corruption and large looting within the NDDC, AFPTI has urged the President to research and stop the looting of funds.
Kolawole Johnson, Head of Directorate of Research, Strategy and Programme of the group, said it had been discouraging to suspect that government's visual communication appears to be promoting, rewarding and protecting corruption within the NDDC.
Johnson stated that despite public outcry, the NDDC had continued to suspend money without budgetary process.
“The commission had gone ahead to squander additional N9bn thereafter within the last one month.
“This includes reckless spendthrift of N5.8bn on fraudulent emergency desilting on the 29th of July, 2020 alone when the state was on holidays,” he said.
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He listed a number of the illegal spendings as emergency clearing and desilting of Ipinle Ajenrela creek, Igbokoda (lot 3) –N634,761,500; emergency clearing and desilting of Akaibiri creek, Yenagoa – 634,761,500; emergency clearing and desilting of blocked canal from Ilaje highschool Naval Base fishing Terminal, Igbokoda (Lot1) – 634,761,500.
Urging President Buhari to require action against NDDC and anyone found culpable within the massive looting of funds within the commission, the group said, “We turn President Muhammadu Buhari, the National Assembly and genuine security and anti-corruption agency to right away freeze the accounts of the commission and apprehend everyone involved within the continuous scandalous pillaging of the agency’s treasury.
“It gladdens the guts to notice that a number of the commission’s officials are already refunding a part of their loot to the government's recovery coffer.
“The Presidency also pre-emptively disowned the commission’s management over the latter’s impunity in extra budgetary spending yet ongoing.
“However, decisive steps must be taken urgently to finish the audacious and unprecedented looting under a government that professes to be fighting corruption.”
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