NDDC Forensic: New Board Under Pressure To Expose Indicted Persons
3 min read
John ODHE, Yenagoa
The people of the oil rich Niger Delta region have continued to mount pressure on the newly inaugurated board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) to publicize and punish those indicted by the forensic audit report earlier carried out on the commission.
The new board has Dr. Sam Ogbuku as Managing Director while Lauretta Onochie is Chairman of the commission.
A social analyst, Comrade Joshua Amangala, who spoke to TNN in Bayelsa state said it was only when the report of the forensic audit was made known to the public and culprits punished that the new board could be considered to be serious in the development of the Niger Delta.
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“We should know that there were some things that were done which the forensic audit was set up to unearth. First, let them publish the report, and if the report identifies some people who had plunged their hands into our common resources, the EFCC and other anti-graft agencies should take up that responsibility.
“The new board should also know that they have only two years to work with. So, they should hit the ground running in tackling the myriad of developmental problems facing the Niger Delta region.
“Let me be certain that this new board will have a clean start, not as it had always been,” he added.
In a similar vein, another social commentator, Mr. Christopher Abarowei said “the books should be opened and let there be proper scrutiny of the forensic audit report.
“If they found anything wrong with the past administrations, those found wanting should be brought to book.
“It pains us to the marrow when people go scot free having been found pilfering into public funds, especially funds meant for the development of the Niger Delta.”
Also lending their voices to the call on the NDDC board to publish and punish those indicted by the audit report are Niger Delta ex-agitators who converged on Port Harcourt, Rivers State for an emergency meeting.
Mr. Nature Dumale, who spoke on behalf of other ex-militants explained that making identities of culprits public would act as a warning to others seeking to do business with the commission.
Dumale commended the leadership style of the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Umana Okon Umana and congratulated the board, which has Dr. Sam Ogbuku as the Managing Director and Lauretta Onochie as the chairman.
Dumale appealed to the new board to win the hearts of the people by naming politicians, contractors and firms, that were accused by the report of mismanaging their engagements with the commission.
Dumale, who is the Chairman of Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) Strategic Communication Committee (SCC) appealed to the board to initiate an inquiry into how former Interim Administrator of the commission spent about N300bn that accrued to the NDDC within his tenure.
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He insisted that the Niger Delta, that owns the NDDC, deserved to know the outcome of the audit initiated by President Muhammadu Buhari with the consent of major stakeholders and conducted with money that accrued to the commission.
Dumale said: “As much as we are happy that after a long time we now have a credible board on ground to pilot the affairs of the NDDC, it is important to also say that we cannot waste money and time investigating the activities of the commission without publishing the result of such expensive exercise.
“People want to see the report. They want to see people punished for their negative role in under-developing the region by collecting money for contracts they never executed.
“The minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Obong Umanah Okon Umanah had alleged that N4300billion was frittered away by the past leadership of the NDDC. This allegation and the sum involved are too weighty to be ignored.
“We call on the Laurreta Onochie-led board to set up a panel to look into what such money was used for. This is the only way this board can curry support from the people.”
