Godswill Akpabio, Nigeria’s Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, on Monday declared that most of the contracts being executed by the Niger Delta Development Commission are corned by members of the National Assembly.
“That is how it has been,” Akpabio said, as he was being drilled by the House of Representatives Committee on the NDDC in Abuja. This was at the continuation of the probe by the House on the management of the commission’s finances by its leadership.
Akpabio also alleged that a former acting managing director of Niger Delta Development Commission, Joy Nunieh, did not participate in the one-year National Youth Service Corps.
“The former Managing Director of the NDDC was relieved of her appointment when I received a letter from the then Chief of Staff (may his soul rest in peace) that she did not possess the requisite qualifications to be there. He referred to Abba Kyari, the former Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari, who died recently of the Covid-19 virus.
“For instance, we have written twice to the National Youth Service Corps and twice they have insisted that she never served and that she does not have an NYSC certificate or exception.”
Participation in the service is compulsory for Nigerian graduates of higher institution aged under 30 years. Persons under his category wo do not discharge certificates that show participation in the scheme, or a formal exemption, are barred from taking up jobs in the country. Kemi Adeosun, a former minister of finance, had to resign when it was revealed that she did take part in the scheme and had no exeption.
Akpabio and Nunieh have been making allegations of wrongdoing against one other in the recent weeks, as the National Assembly stepped up its probe into the finances of the commission.
Among other things, Nunieh alleged last week that Akpabio, a former governor of Akwa Ibom State, had attempted to molest her sexually, in reaction to which she had slapped him in Abuja.
She also alleged that the minister had tried to induce her to commit fraud, which she resisted. Similarly, Nunieh alleged that Akpabio had taken some of the contracts, including those awarded to unregistered companies.
However, Akpbio distanced himself from contracts awards by the NDDC. He was however challenged by Thomas Ereyi-Tobi, presided over the proceedings, who accused him of lying under oath.
“I have listened attentively through all your submissions but I just want to tell you one thing, you came here to mislead the parliament and you are under oath. That is what you have done deliberately,” he told Akpabio.
Also, Akpabio said that the forensic audit of the agency ordered by President Muhammadu Buhari in 2019 is ongoing as against the wrong information by the past managing director that that the audit is yet to start. Nunieh said the audit had been hijacked by Akpabio.
Prof. Kemebradikumo Pondei, the current acting managing director of the commission, had passed out as members of Committee grilled him on the finances of the establishment.
Reacting to Pondei’s collapse at the hearing, NDDC said in a statement Monday that the Professor had been ill for about two weeks, and had indeed attended the hearing against doctor’s advice.
“The commission wishes to disclose that Prof Pondei has been ill for the past two weeks. This morning, his condition deteriorated, and his doctors advised against attending the hearing,” Charles Odili, Director of Corporate Communication at the commission, said in a statement.
“However, he ignored his doctors’ advice because of the realisation that his traducers will use his absence at the hearing to soil his name and reputation. He thought he could make it through the hearing and take care of his health later. As it turned out, his doctors were right. Prof Pondei is in a stable condition at a clinic in Abuja,” he noted.
The investigative hearing into the activities of the commission had not lasted up to one hour when the professor fainted.
Last week, Pondei had led other members of the Interim Management Committee of NDDC to walk out on the committee, as they insisted that the committee chair, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, should step down. The management alleged that the committee chair had committed some “crimes” against the commission.
Tunji-Ojo, at the start of the hearing on Monday, acceded to the demand of the NDDC management by recusing himself. He was replaced by his deputy, Thomas Ereyi-Tobi.
“The Commission is delighted that Olubunmi Ojo, the Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on NDDC has recused himself from the hearing. At the end of the day, everyone has to answer for his role in the misappropriation of the resources of the Commission,” Odili said in his statement.
Also, Femi Gbajabiamila, Speaker of the House, when he joined the investigation, commended Tunji-Ojo for stepping down as the committee chair, noting that the action would ensure an objective investigation.
Odili said that it was “this search for answers that led President Muhammadu Buhari, on the request of the nine governors of the region, to institute a forensic audit to probe what happened to the resources of the Commission from 2001 to date.
“The Prof Pondei-led IMC has committed to the success of that exercise. While we thought there will be a fight back by those who dipped their hands in the cookie’s jar, we never expected this level of boldness and malevolent aggression as witnessed by accusers at hearing and their paid agents through all the media platforms.
“The Commission is participating at the hearing, even though it thinks that seeing to the conclusion of the forensic audit will serve the future of the Commission and the Niger Delta region more than the probe of 74 days of activities.”
According to the statement, Pondei assumed office on 20 February. On 5 May, the two arms of the National Assembly ordered a probe of his tenure, two third of which was spent under COVID-19 lockdown conditions.
It noted that following his position, Pondei has an official duty to answer for the activities of the commission and what happened between 2008 – 2012 “which is the subject of another hearing based on the auditor general’s report for the period.”
The statement noted that it is unfair to hold Pondei personally liable for acts that took place before he became head of the Commission.
“When the two arms of the National Assembly called for a probe, it was over a missing N40bn. The Commission took the rare step of publishing all payments made by it under Prof Pondei. No organisation in Nigeria, public or private has ever got to that level of transparency in our national history,” it noted.
“As this publication undermined the claims of his accusers, the subject of the public hearing changed to ‘financial recklessness’. While this might appear insignificant, it amounted to changing the goal posts to smear a clean man. While misappropriation of N40bn is a matter demanding objective proof, the question of financial recklessness is one open to subjective judgement.
