Akpabio halts employment exercise in NDDC

The Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, NDDC, Senator Godswill Akpabio has halted employment exercise in the Niger Delta Development Commission with immediate effect.

This came as the House of Representatives Ad hoc Committee investigating Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC)  abandoned projects has vowed to drag defaulting contractors before the Economic and Financial Crime Commission, (EFCC),  to ensure thorough investigation and prosecution.

He also directed the suspension of handing over of appointment letters, documentation and all other processes connected to employment into the NDDC.

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A statement issued on Saturday by his Chief Press Secretary, Anietie Ekong, said Akpabio gave the directive in a letter issued by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs, Didi Walson-Jack, to the Acting Managing Director of the NDDC, Dr. Akwagaga Enyia.

He said, “According to the Ministerial directive, the commission’s payroll should not accommodate any new employees and should revert to the status quo as at August 31, 2019, while he should be furnished within three days with a detailed report of any employment exercise being undertaken by the Commission.

“The letter said the suspension exercise is to subsist until a due process evaluation of the purported exercise is carried out by the Ministry in consultation with the two NDDC Committees of the National Assembly and sought prompt action of the Acting Managing Director on the matter.”

Akpabio said, “Since the time of OMPADEC, you started a building; unfortunately, 20 years after, you have not been able to complete it. You should also have a little bit of sober reflection. It is a meeting to appraise where we are today, where we ought to be and where we are going.

“I don’t want you to look at me as a politician because politicians speak with both sides of the mouth. You have before you a representative of Mr. President who is very poised and determined to work with you to redirect the NDDC.

“The creation of NDDC was strategic, it was a child of necessity. I believe that the NDDC has not performed well, I don’t want to say that you have failed the South-South region. But I’m saying that you have not performed well. There are a lot of complaints all over, even from the youths of Niger Delta.

“We talk about the NDDC as if it is a cash cow. But I think that in terms of debt and what you pile up, you are owing over N2 trillion. The problem we are having is that you won’t even know the ones that are real and the ones that are political.

“We will do forensic analysis and audits, we will try to go backwards, even from year 2000 until now to know what came in, what went out and why we have not seen much on ground. We will stop you from doing politically motivated roads, where you go to black soils, pour asphalt and then commission it. When the first rain comes, it washes away.

“We will stop you from paying N200 million to N300 million a year as rent on the headquarters you are staying. You should be ashamed of paying the state government over N200 million to N300 million a year when you could have completed where you are and move in. How come we don’t have legacy projects to show in the Niger Delta? With strong collaboration between the Ministry and Niger Delta, I see a brighter future.

“We have worked in collaboration with your financial agencies to stop all payments that you have made in the last one month. The banks are going to refund all the payments that have been made in the last one month to find out if there was anything like access stripping as a result of lack of leadership in NDDC.”

NDDC abandoned projects: Reps vow to drag contractors before EFCC

On Thurday the House of Representatives Ad hoc Committee investigating Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC)  abandoned projects has vowed to drag defaulting contractors before the Economic and Financial Crime Commission, (EFCC),  to ensure thorough investigation and prosecution.

Mr Adedeji Olajide, a member of the committee, disclosed this to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Akure.

The lawmaker, who spoke after a two-day tour of inspection to NDDC project sites in six local government areas of Ondo state by the committee is representing Ibadan Northwest, Southwest Federal Constituency in the House.

NAN reports that the ad hoc committee was inaugurated in July to investigate abandoned projects in the nine states of the NDDC, from 2000 till date.

It is also charged with the responsibility of investigating the cost of award, period of award, the state of completion and constraints being faced by contractors.

Olajide said the committee was also in the state to carry out investigations into on-going and abandoned projects to see how the committee could mitigate some of the risks and issues concerning the projects.

He said: “In the cause of our investigations, we found out that some contractors have actually completed their work, but have not been paid.

Some contractors have on-going projects but because of lack of funds, they cease to work and those projects look like abandoned projects.

“But there are a lot of projects with which we are not satisfied.

“There are cases of fraud where contractors have been paid and they have absconded. They have abandoned the sites without doing anything.

“After the contracts have been awarded to them and they have been mobilised, they simply walked away with the money without doing any tangible work.

“Work done in many of the projects are just under 2 per cent.

“This is not acceptable to us. We have law enforcement agencies on ground and we also have good representatives who are ready to fight the cause of the people.

“We are going to make sure that such fraudulent contractors are brought to book because very soon, EFCC will be on their tail.”

However, the legislator said the committee would do whatever within in its power to ensure that contractors who used their money to complete their projects, and those who needed funds to complete theirs, get paid.

According to him, this will encourage honesty because if people used their hard earned money to execute contract and got paid on time, it will prevent them from engaging in corruption.

The committee visited not less than six project sites, including Ayetoro Shore Protection and Reclamation, Ugboh-Oghoye Road, all in Ilaje Local Government, and Agadagba Obon-Arogbo Road/Bridge in Ese-Odo Local Government in the state.