NDDC denies allegations of improper cash withdrawal, financial impropriety
By Amaka Agbu, Port Harcourt
The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) recently inundated with allegations of financial misconduct has washed its hands off any wrong dealing while admitteing that the management of the commission was invited by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to answer questions arising from petitions by some groups.
A press statement signed by the Director, Corporate Affairs, Charles Odili and issued in Port Harcourt on Monday, stated that in the past five days, the commission has been inundated with reports, mostly from online media of the invitation of the NDDC management by the EFCC to answer questions arising from petitions written by some groups.
The commission stated that while some of the reports had “stuck to the known facts that the management of the commission was invited to meet with EFCC officials, others have gone on the usual speculative trail to allege financial impropriety at the commission,” adding that some reports had quoted figures of ridiculous cash withdrawals that are impossible to imagine.
The statement reads in part: “The management of the commission led by the acting Managing Director, Prof. Nelson Braimbaifa, the acting Executive Director, Finance, Dr. Chris Amadi and the acting Executive Director Projects, Dr. Samuel Adjogbe, responded to the invitation and met with EFCC officials in Abuja on June 10 and June 11.
“The management of the commission addressed the issues raised by the EFCC and were asked to go. The team returned to their desks in Port Harcourt by June 12. At no point was any of the management staff of the commission detained by the EFCC nor were any of them questioned under caution.
“As a matter of fact, there has been no improper cash withdrawal or financial impropriety at the commission. If anything, the current administration has robustly implemented strict financial regulations and channelled the commission’s scarce resources to deliver on its core mandate of intervening in the development of the Niger Delta.
“Under financial regulations implemented by the current government, certain infractions are simply not possible. For example, no entity individual, private or public can withdraw more than N10 million from the bank at any point.
“To withdraw N2.8 billion as alleged in the publications would have meant someone going to the bank 280 times in one day to do so. Given that the commission’s funds are warehoused with the Central Bank under the Treasury Single Account (TSA), such withdrawals would not have been allowed.”
The commission insisted that all over the world, law enforcement agencies seek answers whenever there are petitions or complaints against public organisations, stating that “the case of our commission with a critical mandate touching on the lives of people across nine states, those petitions would always come.”
It said that the search by the EFCC for such answers in the commission was not out of place and doesn’t imply guilt on the part of the commission’s officials.
