NASS MEMBERS WHO BENEFITTED FROM NNDC CONTRACTS-SEN.AKPABIO
Here are the names of lawmakers who benefited from NDDC contracts, according to Akpabio
Niger Delta Minister Godswill Akpabio has sent a list of lawmakers who benefited from contracts awarded by the Niger Delta Delta Development Commission (NDDC) to Speaker of the House Femi Gbajabiamila.
During a House committee hearing on July 20, 2020, Akpabio had disclosed that lawmakers are the biggest beneficiaries of the corruption that has become the story of the NDDC.
Gbajabiamila had then asked the minister to produce the names of the lawmakers within 48 hours or face the full wrath of the law.
In a document attached to his
response to the ultimatum by the House of Representatives, Akpabio
listed four senators who received 74 contracts from the commission
between 2017 to date.
He accused the Chairman of the House Committee on NDDC, Hon. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, of inserting 19 contracts worth N9 billion into the 2019 NDDC budget.
According to Akpabio’s list, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on NDDC, Senator Peter Nwaoboshi, allegedly executed 53 NDDC projects from 2017 to date.
He also accused three other senators namely: Matthew Urhoghide, James Manager and Sam Anyanwu of executing a total of 21 NDDC contracts during the period under review.
In the document with a three-page covering letter titled:
“Some Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) Contracts Allegedly
Given to some Members of the National Assembly – Senate and House of
Representatives,” the contracts listed against Nwaoboshi’s name
included Emergency Repairs of Asue Street, Owa Phase 2; Emergency
Repairs of ldumuogbe Road via Ojemaye;
Emergency Repairs of Otolokpo College
Road, Otolokpo; and Emergency Repairs of Police lshu Ani Ukwu Road,
Issele Uku in Delta State.
They also included Emergency Repairs of old Sapele Agbor Road, Obiaruku; Emergency Repairs of Ehwerhe Obada Road Agbarho Road;
Emergency Repairs of Hon. Ifeanyi Eboigbe
Street, Boji Boji Owa/Goodwill Street, Owa Alero; and Emergency Repairs
of Ahiama Okwu to Obuocha Okwu among others, all in Delta State.
Other lawmakers that Akpabio listed projects
against are, Senator Mathew Urhoghide (six projects), Senator James
Manager (six projects); former Senator, Sam Anyanwu (19 projects), and
others simply identified as Ondo and Edo representatives, with the
project costs not supplied by the minister.
Akpabio also listed one Mutu’s name against 74
projects which included various emergency road projects in Delta, Akwa
Ibom, Bayelsa, and Rivers States.
In accusing the Chairman of the House of
Representatives committee on NDDC, Tunji-Ojo, of padding the 2019 budget
of the NDDC with 19 contracts worth N9 billion, the minister revealed
that “in the 2019 budget, the Executive Director in charge of
projects forwarded to me the attached list of 19 Nos. old contracts
amounting to almost N9billion after tax, that the House of
Representatives Committee Chairman on NDDC, Honourable Tunji-Ojo,
insisted that the IMC of NDDC must pay before 2019 budget details could
be released to the commission.”
In the letter addressed to the House speaker through the Clerk of the House of Representatives, Akpabio further stated that
“It has always been known that the two chairmen of the committees on
NDDC in both chambers yearly exhibit unusual influence to the exclusion
of committee members and even the management of the NDDC in
appropriating funds to details embellished in the budget after the
passage of line items at the plenaries.
“To show you some typical examples,
herewith attached are documents showing the nature of contracts, amount
of such contracts (in some cases), date of awards and beneficiaries.
Some were awarded to the two chairmen of both committees in the House of
Representatives and the Senate, respectively, serving at the period of
the awards (Annexure ‘B’, ‘C’ and ‘D’).
"However, due to the 48 hours’ notice, the
forensic auditors could not sift through the thousands of files in
their possession to provide more."
Akpabio continued: “The investigating
Committee on NDDC refused and/or neglected to give me the opportunity to
explain that reference to most NDDC contracts yearly being awarded
since 2001 from the records allegedly to members of the National
Assembly in both Chambers were done without the knowledge of the alleged
beneficiaries.
“However, the two Chairmen of the Committees in both Chambers had adequate knowledge;
“I never referred to members of the 9th
National Assembly as beneficiaries of NDDC contracts as NDDC is yet to
fully implement any NDDC budget since the commencement of the 9th
National Assembly.
"In fact, the 2019 budget passed in
February and harmonised between the 4th and 5th of March 2020 was
received by the commission in the middle of April 2020, when the same
was designated to expire on the 31st of May, 2020.
“However, it is pertinent to point out
that the Clerk of the National Assembly forwarded a letter Ref.
NASS/CNA/115/VOL.38/1175, dated March 20, 2020, without attaching the
budget details indicating that the 2020 budget of the NDDC passed into
Law was being forwarded (copy of the letter is attached as Annexure
‘A’).
"This anomaly was brought to the attention
of the Senate Ad Hoc Committee investigating a purported financial
recklessness by the management of the commission in July 2020, though
the first outcry was on allegation of missing N40bn which was totally
untrue.”
Accused lawmakers react
Some of the accused lawmakers have denied the allegations.
Nwaoboshi told ThisDay newspapers
that he is challenging Akpabio to publish the names of the directors
and shareholders of the companies that executed the said 53 NDDC
contracts.
“He (Akpabio) is confused. I challenge him
to publish the directors and shareholders of these companies. I don’t
award contracts and I don’t pay for contracts. My brother, go to CAC and
find out the truth. I pity him,” Nwaoboshi said.
Tunji-Ojo described Akpabio’s allegation as spurious and diversionary.
“He didn’t say I padded the budget; what
he wrote in his letter that was read which I heard was that the
Executive Director in charge of Projects told him that I said they
should pay for 19 old contracts before we could pass their 2019 budget.
That is what he said, not that I padded the budget, there are two
different things.
“I have never made such a request and I
have challenged them to bring evidence that I told them to do that.
These are just spurious allegations as usual.
"And again, thankfully, he did not say the
contracts are my contracts; he said 19 old contracts; that is, there
are already existing contracts, not new contracts,” Tunji Ojo said.
“Even though there is nothing criminal to
say go and pay your debtors. After all, I’m not asking them to pay me.
But I didn't even say so and I have challenged them since last week
Thursday publicly that they should go and bring evidence.
“There is nothing like that; all these
things are just to divert attention from key matters and of course,
that’s what they are trying to achieve.
"There is absolutely nothing like that.
They started by saying I have 17 kilometres of road, later on, they came
back and said it is six kilometers, later on, they came back and said
that I told them to make payment. They have said too many things over
too many times. Lies are variables, only the truth is constant.
“They keep changing their stories just to
get public sympathy to divert the attention of Nigerians away from the
crux of the matter, which has to do with the activities of the IMC from
January till date.”
The NDDC has been mired in corruption since it
was established in 2000 to bridge the development gap in the oil rich
but impoverished Niger Delta region.
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