The Interview Editors
President Muhammadu Buhari has said that Nigerian anti-corruption agencies have recovered N3.7bn from Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) contractors.
Buhari noted that the recovery was an example of how the commission had suffered abuses over the years, a reason its operations must come under thorough scrutiny henceforth.
He also disclosed that assets worth N6bn were under investigation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and other agencies.
The President spoke on Tuesday, in Abuja, when he inaugurated the NDDC Advisory Committee at the State House.
The committee, which comprises the governors of the nine oil producing states, has the duty of advising the board of the NDDC in line with its mandate.
The Minister of Niger Delta, Senator Godswill Akpabio, and the Minister of Environment, Mr. Mohammed Mahmoud, are also members of the committee.
The governors who attended the inauguration were those of Delta (Ifeanyi Okowa); Bayelsa (Diri Douye); Rivers (Nyesom Wike); Cross River (Ben Ayade); Ondo (Rotimi Akeredolu); Edo (Godwin Obaseki); Deputy Governor of Abia State, Mr. Ude Chukwu; and that of Imo, Prof Placid Njoku.
The advisory committee functioned last during the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who left office in 2007.
It had been dormant up to Tuesday when Buhari inaugurated it again.
Speaking on the recoveries, the President said, ‘‘To date, the EFCC and other agencies of Government have recovered over N3.7bn in cash as well as various assets worth billions of Naira from some contractors and former directors of the commission.
‘‘Furthermore, I am told that government agencies have placed liens on over N6bn of assets which are being investigated.’’
The president asked the committee to conduct the assignment diligently and effectively by working closely with the relevant ministries to bring positive changes to the NDDC and the areas it serviced.
Buhari added that in 2016, his regime launched the “New Vision for the Niger Delta” to promote sustainable peace, security, infrastructure and human capital development in the region.
To achieve this aim, Buhari said the Ministry of Niger Delta, the NDDC and the Presidential Amnesty Programme must work together to bring succour to the people of the region.
He recalled that over time, mismanagement had affected the delivery of projects in the region.
Buhari added, “As a result, the people of the Niger Delta were left with abandoned infrastructural projects and substandard social programmes which were designed to improve their living conditions.
“It is to reverse this trend that I approved, in February 2020, the constitution of a 10-Man Presidential Monitoring Committee as provided for in Section 21 of the NDDC Establishment Act.”
He explained that the PMC, which would be chaired by the minister of Niger Delta ministry, would focus on monitoring the operations and activities of the commission and report to his office.
