Social Development Integrated Centre, Social Action,has implored President Muhammadu Buhari to take decisive actions towards repositioning the NDDC for effective and inclusive service delivery and to better the lot of the people of the Niger Delta region.
The Programmes Coordinator of Social Action, Isaac Botti,in a statement,said the NDDC has over the years fallen short of its mandate of bringing development to the Niger Delta region.
This,it said,is a result of the endemic corruption that has brought about the wastage of over N15trillion that has accrued to the commission.
“While the president has taken the first step towards institutionalizing probity in the commission by ordering the forensic audit of its record from 2001 to 2019, it is only important to act on the report of the forensic audit and mandate an immediate and urgent investigation into the misappropriation of monies spent on abandoned projects across the region. The findings of the forensic report should not be ignored if anything is to be achieved in the fight against corruption in the NDDC.
“We call on Mr. President to be mindful of his body language toward the impunity in NDDC so as not to inadvertently embolden perpetrators of corruption in the NDDC. A major way to achieving this is for the NDDC Forensic Audit Report to be published- ensuring that all aspects of the Forensic Audit report are made available to the public and decisive actions are taken with all sense of responsibility”
The group also calls for an immediate end to the illegality in the appointment of interim management to run the affairs of the Commission,adding that the illegality has contributed in no small measure to the level of impunity going on in the NDDC.
” We condemn in strong terms the practice of interim management because it runs contrary to the provision of the NDDC Act. We call on President Muhammadu Buhari to without further delay constitute the substantive board of the NDDC as this will help strengthen supervision around the operation of the NDDC. We call on Mr. President to leave no stone unturned in ensuring that the NDDC is put on the path of transparency and accountability for posterity’s sake”
The group commended the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for taking the bold step of arresting both Mrs. Patricia Etteh and Mr. Nsima Ekere in connection with NDDC contract fraud and outright corruption.
This shows that the government is not resting on its oars in bringing corrupt public officials to book,it added.
It calls on the anti-graft agency to extend its searchlight on every other person(s) who have been alleged to be involved in the series of corruption scandals that the commission has been enmeshed.
The group noted that Mrs. Etteh and Mr. Nsima Ekere are not the only public officials who are involved in NDDC corruption; there are still many out there who have been involved in the flagrant mismanagement of the public resources allocated to the NDDC and are still enjoying the proceed of corruption.
It added:”We, therefore, call on the EFCC and ICPC to go after all others who have been fingered in the outrageous corruption being perpetrated in the NDDC whether they are contractors, management members of NDDC (past or present), members of the National Assembly (past or present), and politicians”
