ALLEGED N40BN RECKLESS SPENDING: BISHOP, GROUPS THROW THEIR WEIGHT BEHIND AKPABIO, INTERIM MGT C'TTEE

Commend_PMB_For_Extending_Tenure_of_The_NDDC_Interim_Management_Committee

Sir, Bishop Mack Oruaefe a Chieftain of the All Progressive Congress (APC), and a SOCIAL POLITICAL group known as "GRASSROOT DEVELOPEMENT INITIATIVE" amongst others in the Niger Delta region have called on Nigerians, particularly Niger Deltans to disregard what it described as fabricated, Cooked Lies, Baseless propaganda peddled against the Interim Management Committee of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) under the supervision of the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio’.

It would be recalled that some group of person's had accused the NDDC’s management of reckless spending of N40bn of the commission under the guise of purchasing COVID-19 Personal Protective Equipment and amongst other things worth N40 billion.

Reacting to the said allegations, the duo in a joint statement issued recently observed that the Good Poeple's of Niger Delta region dismissed the allegation as merely orchestrated to disrupt the ongoing FORENSIC AUDIT embarked upon by the Interventionist Agency.

The statement noted that: “It is interesting to observe that immediately the NDDC Acting Executive Director of Projects, (NDDC) Dr Cairo Ojougboh made the announcement of an invitation to the EFCC to join in the AUDIT process, we saw petitions alleging fraud, reckless spending, quoting bogus sums of money as well as calling for the removal of the MINISTER of Niger Delta Affairs and the IMC.

“This is a clear AGENDA by those who fear the outcome of the FORENSIC AUDIT, more so with the invitation of the EFCC,” the statement read.

The group queried that with the prevalence of the COVID-19 Pandemic, it only stands to reason for a responsive INTERVENTIONIST AGENCY to commit RESOURCES in the fight to PREVENT the SPREAD of the VIRUS.

“As an INTERVENTIONIST Agency, it is the primary mandate of the NDDC to complement the Federal Government in areas requiring swift interventions as presented by the present COVID-19 Pandemic which has held the entire world to a hostage.

“Present records show that the virus is spreading to the Niger Delta region at an alarming rate. Therefore, to argue that the NDDC does not have such powers to intervene in the present CRISIS is rather unpatriotic and at BEST, a heartless ploy to sacrifice the lives of the Niger Delta People on the altar of Politics,” it continued.

“We therefore, urge all stakeholders of the Niger Delta region to cast politics aside and join the INTERIM MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE as well as the MINISTER for Niger Delta Affairs to combat this severe VIRUS as it respects neither party affiliation nor ethnicity,” they added.

 

Earlier, Sir, Bishop Mack Oruaefe, Olorogun Paul Akpoguma amongst others commended President Muhammadu Buhari for extending the TENURE of the Interim Management Committee of the Niger Delta Development Commission, in which Dr Cairo Ojougboh is also serving as a member (NDDC) from May 1 to December 31, 2020.

The extension is to cover the period of the FORENSIC AUDIT of the NDDC, earlier approved by the Federal Executive Council, under the chairmanship of the President.

In the same vein, President Buhari equally approved that the NDDC provides intervention support to complement efforts of the Federal and State Governments against further spread of COVID-19 in the nine States of the Niger Delta region, in the sum of Six Billion, Two Hundred and Fifty Million Naira (N6,250,000,000.00) only.

The materials and supplies are to be done through Emergency Procurement process as provided in Sections 42(b) (c) and 43 of the Public Procurement Act, 2007.

DISREGARD FALSE STORIES ABOUT NDDC

#PRESS_STATEMENT

DISREGARD FALSE STORIES ABOUT NDDC

The Management of the Niger Development Commission, NDDC, wishes to announce the death of its Acting Executive Director, Finance and Administration, Chief Ibanga Bassey Etang. He died in the early hours of Thursday in Port Harcourt.

This announcement is coming at this time because of the need to inform family members and the Public to please take botes. 

The Commission is not aware of the cause of his DEATH as at the time of this release (7pm on Friday, 29, 2020).

In line with fears of the current time, the Commission took the precautionary measure of temporarily shutting down its headquarters for two weeks. Staff were also asked to self-isolate. This action does not presuppose the cause of death.

An autopsy report is being expected and when this is ready, it would be released with the consent of the family.

The NDDC is, therefore, miffed by spurious and uncharitable coloration being championed by mischief makers on the occasion of the demise of Chief Ibanga Bassey Etang, whose UNTIMELY DEATH occurred at the early hours of Thursday the 28th of May 2020.

The Commission is on course to issuing a comprehensive fact-based statement in consonance with the bereaved family, but for the unwarranted and unsubstantiated reportage which is flying in devilish propensities. 

Until the autopsy report is release from the Commission's stables, every story on this matter, flies in the face of truth. 

The Commission also wishes to state that the rumours over the internal memo for staff of the Commission to stay away, so   that sanitary and hygienic cleaning of the Commission can take place, is most unfortunate.  The idea behind it is purely precautionary. 

The commission wishes, therefore, to appeal to those mean spirited, whose ambition is to always turn truth on its head, to seek a path of repentance.  

The NDDC is determined to deliver on its core mandate to the good people of the Niger Delta region. Neither slander nor provocative insinuations will deter us.

Charles Obi Odili

Director, Corporate Affairs

May 29, 2020.

INTERIM MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE OF THE NDDC REASSURE COMMITMENT TO FORENSIC AUDIT ~ OJOUGBOH

The Executive Director of Project Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) DR CAIRO OJOUGBOH has restated it commitment to ensuring efficient FORENSIC AUDIT of the commission as approved by President Muhammadu Buhari.

Dr Cairo Ojougboh, who disclosed this at the NDDC Head Quarter in PORTHACOURT recently, said that the committee was poised to stop CORRUPTION and restore SANITY measure to the Commission.

“It will interest you to know that some times ago, Governors of Niger Delta States visited President Buhari to complain that the NDDC had fallen short of what it was intended to be in recent time.

Therefore, they asked the president to look into its affairs again, where one of the Governors said the NDDC has become a CONDUIT for FRAUD and a BLUEPRINT for CHEATING in the Niger Delta.

Based on the complaints from the leaders of the Niger Delta, Mr President instructed that a Forensic Audit be carried out and Interim C'ttee should be set up to look into the management of the NDDC while the operation lasted.

Meanwhile, Dr Ojougboh, had revealed that the NDDC is currently indebted to some “Big Weight” Contractors huge amount of money running into trillions of Naira.

He said one of such contractors was awarded over 300 multi million Naira contracts by the NDDC, out of which 120 of them had been fully paid for even when he had never mobilised to any of the sites.

He alledged that the particular contractor was mobilising thugs in the Niger Delta, especially in Bayelsa and Delta states to instigate the people to prevent the FORENSIC AUDIT.

“If you look at the records at the NDDC, you will cry, some GENUINE People that have done jobs for the Agency have not been paid for over 15 years and their families are suffering. Many of those who were paid are these big Weight Contractors,” Ojougboh said.

FEJIRO OLIVER IS A POPULAR BLACKMAILER KNOWN FOR GOING FOR THE HIGHEST BIDDER

Dr CAIRO OJOUGBOH REMAIN RESOLUTE IN SERVICE

E:TWIN THIEVES: ACCOUNT NUMBERS AND DETAILS USED IN DEFRAUDING NDDC OF N4 BILLION BY AKPABIO AND CAIRO OJUGBOH REVEALED

Our attention has been drawn to a malicious propaganda against the person of the Acting Executive Director of Projects, Interim Management Committee of the NDDC; Dr. Cairo Ojougboh.

The ill constructed malicious blackmail is not only laughable but portends the intellectual deficiency of the author and his sponsors, who is also known to go for the highest Bidder in his blackmailing business.

It has been established times without numbers that the NDDC's IMC was set up  by HE Godswill Akpabio, Minister of Niger Delta affairs on the instructions/approval of the President of the federal Republic of Nigeria; HE Muhammadu  Buhari after the nine Niger Delta state Governors visited him and requested/insisted a major Forensic Audit to be duly carried out in the NDDC haven critically observed the rot in the commission. 

However, Members of the NDDC's IMC was set up with our own very distinguished Dr Cairo Ojougboh who is the acting Executive Director of Projects.

We wish to state without equivocation once more that Dr Cairo is not the Executive Director of Finance and Administration in the Interim management committee, neither is he responsible for approving payments of any sort to anyone. 

His duties are laid down in the act setting up the commission and have been duly followed. 

The IMC has only carried out it's function as a committee set up to oversee the forensic audit. Apart from the Covid-19 contract that was approved by Mr President, the IMC has never involved itself in the award of spurious contracts as alleged by one Mr. Ojeh Godwin and published on the blog of all time notorious blackmailer and mighty 419, Fejiro Oliver.

We wish to remind Niger Deltans that the allegations are only the figments of imaginations of these fake news writers and their sponsors as it has been their usual routine to blackmail the members of the IMC with all sorts of forged and distorted information's to make them look incapacitated so as to be sacked and replaced with their disbanded board or their cronies to further syphone the God given wealth of the Niger Delta region. But this will never work.

We therefore assure the people of the Niger Delta that Dr. Cairo Ojougboh is never deterred in the course of cleansing the commission of the past rot despite the stones being thrown at him and other members of the IMC as he is very much aware that his new role shall earn him much enemies just for Niger Deltans to be free from the shackles of poverty and from those holding the region down from development.

The blackmailers has been inundated with the facts even on National TVs' that Dr Cairo Ojougboh is ever ready for any sort of probe once he has finished serving in the capacity bestowed on him to be tried of corruption, hence he shouldn't be distracted from carrying out his function.

*Gabriel Choba,*

Special Adviser Media and Communications to the Ag. EDP-NDDC

May 27, 2020

OPEN LETTER TO PRESIDENT MUHAMMMADU BUHARI, GCFR

H.E President Muhammadu Buhari,

President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, 

Federal Republic of Nigeria,

Aso Rock Villa, State House, 

Abuja

May 27, 2020

Your Excellency,

NIGER DELTA BASIN DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY, NDBDA: NOW A 'TWO-MAN BUSINESS'

AN URGENT CALL FOR IMMEDIATE DISMISSAL OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR ENGINEERING - NDBDA; ENGR. BEN OKWONU FOR CONTRACT RACKETEERING AND INSIDER DEALINGS IN CONNIVANCE WITH SENATOR OVIE OMO-AGEGE

As a stakeholder group in the Niger Delta, we must commend your administration for its commitment in fighting corruption to a stand still in our dear country. This remains no mean feat.

However, we must bring to your attention the very brazen and high profile corruption shamelessly ongoing in the Niger Delta Basin Development Authority by the Executive Director, Engineering, Engr. Ben Okwonu in connivance with the Senator representing Delta Central Senatorial District, Senator Ovie Omo Agege, his close associates and even his family members.

Your Excellency sir, for personalities who pride themselves as torchbearers of your next level agenda to turn an entire federal agency supposedly established for the good of the entire Niger Delta people, into a family business is most alarming and smirks of hypocrisy of the highest order.

Sir, we have it on good authority armed with cogent evidence to prove same, that over 80% of projects advertised by NDBDA are awarded to personal companies of Sen. Ovie Omo-Agege, that of his close associates and even immediate family members.

For Sen. Ovie Omo-Agege, the NDBDA is his personal property simply because he projected Engr Ben Okwonu for appointment as Executive Director, Engineering of the agency, forgetting that it was the approval and appointment of His Excellency, being deeply rooted in the betterment of the Niger Delta region, that made same possible, in the very first instance. 

As expected, the slavish Engr. Ben Okwonu who feels indebted to Sen. Ovie Omo-Agege has been indiscriminately awarding over 80% of contracts advertised by NDBDA to personal companies of Sen. Ovie Omo-Agege, his cronies and family members - an act which has led to poor performance and derailment from approved job specifications. 

This is also without forgetting how the so called Executive Director, Engineering, Engr Ben Okwonu provides confidential information to  Senator Ovie Omo-Agege's cronies and associates in respect of tender bids for advertised jobs. All as a ploy to give undue advantage over and against every other ordinary Niger Deltan interested in NDBDA jobs.

Sen. Ovie Omo-Agege through his personal companies; Frido Global Integrated Services Ltd, Salem CAT Limited, Elanth Nigeria Ltd and Nafro Nigeria Limited were awarded several contracts  indiscriminately.

Since the Senator sees NDBDA as his private business, his brother Jimmy Omo-Agege also,  through his companies Corday Global Enterprise and Fejsonia Limited has raked in over 25 contracts from the federal agency, so far. Where does this leave the common Niger Deltan contractor with no ties to the 'Distinguished' Sen. Ovie Omo-Agege?

As a cloak to cover this high profile contract racketeering, Sen. Ovie Omo-Agege brandishes them as 'his constituency projects', all in a futile attempt to turn acid into wine.

Sir, in view of the open nature of this medium of communication, we are compelled to observe some level of discretion even as this brazen corruption has gone unnoticed for sometime, now.

Mr President, the list of the corrupt practices traceable to NDBDA by Engr Ben Okwonu in connivance with Sen. Ovie Omo-Agege goes on and on; and we stand ready to provide evidence if and when required.

Our simple plea, on behalf of the good people of the Niger Delta is for Mr President to urgently swing into action in order to salvage the next level mandate from reeking corruption in NDBDA.

To this end, Engr Ben Okwonu, Sen. Ovie Omo-Agege and all their cronies  involved in this infamous act must therefore be made to face the legal consequences of their actions.

We therefore urge Your Excellency to order the immediate dismissal and prosecution of Engr Ben Okwonu and as well prosecute Sen. Ovie Omo-Agege and their allies who were involved in the Contract Racketeering and Insider Dealings in NDBDA.

We remain unshakably loyal to Mr President and support in entirety the anti corruption policies of his administration and hope that this petition is investigated and perpetrators brought to book.

Thank you, Sir

Signed:

Comr. Jonathan Imafidon,

For, Niger Delta Renaissance Movement (NDRM)

POLITICAL INTERFERENCE HAS DISRUPTED THE ORIGINAL PURPOSE OF SETTING UP NDDC ~ OJOUGBOH

President Muhammadu Buhari has saved the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, from being shut down due to over trading, bloated contracts and other sharp practices in the Commission.

Speaking at event recently, the Acting Executive Director, Projects, Dr. Cairo Ojougboh said Political Interference has disrupted the Original Purpose of creating the (NDDC) adding that the IMC Mission is to change the Narrative for Good

Dr Ojougboh emphasized that it's in the Best Interest of President Mohamadu Buhari to Develop the Niger Delta Region and eradicate corruption, he further revealed that the Commission was sinking and would have been “killed and buried” but for the intervention of Mr. President we are saved.

President Buhari had ordered a Forensic Audit of the Commission and appointed an Interim Management Committee (IMC), headed by Acting Managing Director, Gbene Dr. Joi Nunieh, Barr Ibanga Etang, Acting Executive Director, Finance and Administration, and our capacity Leader Dr. Cairo Ojuogboh, Acting Executive Director, Projects.

Dr. Ojougboh, who is also the Chairman of the Contract Verification Committee observed that the NDDC was set up not only to offer a lasting solution to the Socio-Economic and Environmental Problems of the Niger Delta region by conceiving and implementing plans aimed at Developing the Infrastructure, Human Capacity Building, but also complement the efforts of the various state Governments and other Developmental Agencies in the region.

Ojougboh said: “Whilst successive leadership of the NDDC may have done their best, today, the general conclusion of most stakeholders in the region is that the NDDC has not delivered on its mandate. At best, it has been a lack-lustre performance, with very little to show for the humongous resources that have accrued to it over the past 19 years. Stories of pervasive corruption, flagrant abuse of due process, abandoned projects, poor quality project delivery, etc. at the NDDC, have adorned our media space over the years.

“In an effort to stem this unfortunate tide, Governors of the nine states of the region, a couple of months ago, visited President Muhammadu Buhari to not only lay bare their perception of the Commission since its inception, but to also as members of the Advisory Council of the NDDC, offer useful advice on the way forward to the President. The result of this historic visit is the ordering of a forensic audit of the activities of the NDDC from inception to date by the President.”

Consequently, he said, the President on October 29, 2019 appointed the IMC to oversee the forensic audit of the NDDC, adding: “The Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs in conjunction with the NDDC Interim Management Committee, in preparation for the commencement of the forensic audit, secured a Certificate-of-No-Objection from the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) for the lead consultant for the forensic audit, while that of the sub-consultants was being processed.”

Ojougboh affirmed: “The contract verification committee is, therefore, to lay a foundation for the forensic audit of the activities of the Commission from inception to date. To this end, all contractors, consultants (design and supervision), vendors, suppliers and NGOs or their certified representatives, who have business transactions with the Commission, are thus requested to report with three photocopies each of their letters of award, Contract Agreement, and Interim Payment Certificate (where applicable), and also to present originals for assessment, evaluation and verification to the NDDC office where such business is located.

“They are also to present letters detailing a brief statement or summary of their claims/requests on their headed papers with verifiable addresses and certified true copies of their company registration documents.

The Chairman of the Verification Committee said that the exercise would among other things establish the true position of the emergency contract regime between 2016 and 2019 in the NDDC, observing that it was common knowledge that some of the awards were not only spurious but criminal, as available records showed that most of the awards were not backed by budget, bills of engineering measurement and drawings. “They were just open cheques for contractors and their collaborators to fill in at the nearest banks,” he said.

Ojougboh said: “In 2017, the NDDC awarded a total of 201 emergency contracts valued at N100,396,879,001.06; in 2018, a total 1,057 emergency contracts valued at N162,688,289,333.05 were awarded; and in just seven months of 2019, it awarded a total 1,921 emergency contracts valued at N1,070,249,631,757.70.

“We are talking about a total of over N1.3trillion in less than three years. The yearly budget of the NDDC is hardly above 400 billion and a situation where contracts that do not qualify for emergencies were fraudulently awarded to over one trillion naira valued in less than one year amounts to not only stealing from the pulpit but stealing the entire pulpit.”

Ojougboh assured that the verification exercise would expose those spurious contracts and advised contractors with fake or specious awards to stay away from the various documentation centres in their own interest.

He charged members of the Contract Verification Committee to discharge their duties diligently, honestly and professionally, urging them to note that the entire people of the Niger Delta and the Commission had placed heavy responsibilities on their shoulders.

27th May 2020

RANKING SENATORS REPRESENTATIVES BEHIND FRAUD IN NDDC

EXPLAINS HOW AKPABIO STOPPED FRAUDULENT CONTRACTS IN NDDC

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF PROJECTS OF THE NIGER DELTA DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION (NDDC) DR CAIRO OJOUGBOH IN THIS EXPLOSIVE INTERVIEW DISCLOSES THOSE WHO PERPETUATE FRAUD IN THE NDDC

Question: The activities of the NDDC,  especially the Interim Management Committee which you are a member have come under searchlight. As an insider, can you take us through the nature of the crises?

Answer: Thank you very much. What is happening in the NDDC is quite unfortunate. I will like to begin from when we came in as the Interim Management committee. When we got to the NDDC, we met a letter from the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio stopping a consultancy arrangement given to two firms.

One is star Line Nigeria Limited. Star Line was illegally collecting revenue on behalf of the NDDC for statutory payments and they were earning N1 billion every month. When the minister came in , the company invited the Minister to join the fraud. The Minister said "No", and immediately asked for the stoppage of that consultancy.

Another company called Candour went to LNG and claimed they were the ones who initiated statutory payments from LNG. And the company belongs to a serving Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The letter says they collected $28 million and then exchanged it for N360 to a dollar . As at that time the exchange rate was not N360 to $1. The CBN was exchanging for N225 to $1. And at the end of the day ,they asked for 20 percent of the $28million. They were paid . They wanted to continue. Senator Akpabio said "No", this is fraud against Nigeria and hell was let loose. They claimed that this is the money used to work in the National Assembly in Abuja. According to the chairman, if there is any contest in the National Assembly this is where they source the money from. The IMC wrote letters to these contracts and because of that they declared war on the IMC.

Let me make this clear. The Hon. Speaker and the President of the Senate are not aware of what the Chairmen of the Committees are doing in the National Assembly. And even members of the committees are not also aware . It is just One man squad.

Between 2016 and 2019 emergency contracts of over N2 trillion were awarded under the supervision of the Chairmen of both committees. And I have the list of how the contracts were distributed. In the list, the Chairman, Senate Committee on Niger Delta collected 1000 of those jobs and said he was going to share it among the senators, but the senators denied knowledge of such files. We have the records . These 1000 contracts were collected by a man called Nelson Agbamuche purportedly on behalf of the Senate.

The immediate crises that we are witnessing is as a result of the budget. How did the budget run into problem?. The bureaucracy told us when we came in that in 2016 there was no budget, 2017 there was no budget . 2018 there was no budget. The budget for 2019 was passed some few weeks ago . What led to it? When a Chairman of Senate Committee came in in 2015, he called the bureaucracy of NDDC and told them to insert jobs worth N15 billion for him, they went back and complied. But when the budget was sent to him he said he did not mean N15 billion but N150 billion. The bureaucracy went back but couldn't comply because there was no way they could do that. The Chairman advised them to award the contract as emergency jobs so that they won't go through the due processes. That was how the emergency procedures were breached and the commission presently has liabilities of over N3 trillion. How can this continue? 

And that is what the IMC and the Hon. Minister said we have to write in.  It didn't just stop there. The Chairman of the House Committee on Niger Delta came to us and brought out emergency training programme for N6.4 billion and said that he has met the first  milestone and that the commission should pay him N3.7 billion . We said this milestone you are talking about cannot be paid because you have not done it . He said the job belonged to the speaker and we said we cannot pay. We went and met the Speaker and the Speaker said he was not aware of such a thing. This was not in the budget at all. When they passed the 2019 budget, the Chairman, House committee included it and insisted we must pay the money and we said we cannot pay .

They said the IMC has stolen N40 billion, how can that be possible? All the payments we have made on projects were duly verified. I took my time as the Executive Director Projects, to go from State to State to verify the projects and document them. Whenever we are satisfied that you have done jobs that merit payments we will pay you. And we were not paying as they used to pay so the contractors are very angry.

Before now, once you have a contract in NDDC, it was like you have won a lottery. A contract in NDDC that was awarded for N700 million can be executed with N10 million to N20 million. But we brought in changes. When we inspect the project we look at your Bill of Engineering Quantity and rate the job that you have done and issue you the interim payments certificate for that Job. And through this process we have saved the commission over N50 billion already. Can you believe it that since the inception of NDDC the Agency has not done even 10 kilometres of dualized road in Niger Delta. Reputable companies like Julius Berger has never been engaged to execute projects in Niger Delta.

When Senator Godswill Akpabio came on board as the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, he had ideas to replicate what he did in Akwa Ibom State as Governor. In order to do that he said the Commission must bring in reputable companies that can deliver quality jobs to the people of the Niger Delta. And that is what those who are struggling to take over the NDDC do not want. Can you imagine that somebody who has oversight functions over the NDDC is the one recommending people for appointment into the management of the same Commission? If that was to happen how can he in his own conscience, exercise proper oversight functions over his nominees. As it turned out, the President didn't allow it, so we became enemies of the sponsors of that particular board that was not allowed to operate.

Question:  Between 2007 and 2011, the NDDC awarded some contracts in Delta State .N1.37 billion was supposedly spent on water projects . An investigation report was carried out towards the end of last year to look at these water projects. Of these, eleven of the projects listed as completed were abandoned.  In view of this what are your expectations from the forensic audit?.

Answer: These cases that you are talking about have nothing to do with the present Interim Management Committee. We were not there at that time . Since we came on board, the IMC has not awarded any contract. The only contract that we have awarded is the Covid-19 contract approved by the President. So the ones you are talking about like water hyacinth,  river desilting etc, the payments were not made by us. It has not nothing to do with us and that is part of what the forensic audit is unraveling.

The reason some people are fighting is that they are scared that the forensic audit is unveiling this already and they are doing everything to stop the forensic audit. They want to smear the IMC enough for people to say that the forensic audit is not necessary. Where were the two Chairmen of the National Assembly Committee before now, why didn't they institute this adhoc probe before now?  From 2001 - 2019, why had they not thought it necessary to investigate what was going on in the NDDC, but when we came on board we said it cannot be business as usual. The Minister gave us a marching order to stop corruption in the NDDC. So the N1 billion monthly payment to an individual has been stopped. The water hyacinth scam has stopped. The ghost trainings that they used to do has been stopped. River desilting contracts and other avenues of fleecing the Commission has been stopped. The payments we have made are verified commitments. Every Kobo we have spent, we will account for it. 

Question: You have mentioned the names of some persons and the Chairmen of the Committees of Niger Delta in the National Assembly. Do you have any facts to buttress your point?

Answer: In 2018 a contract was awarded for N3.7 billion. The contract was for the supply of plastic chairs and desks to schools in the Niger Delta. The contract was awarded to a Senator. The same commission that awarded the contract gave stores receipt to say that the chairs and tables were supplied to Aguede Akwis, Benin Express Way, Okpanam before Wichtech Aluminium Company. Who owns the store where NDDC supposedly supplied the chairs to?. Who received them? This matter is already before the anti-graft agencies.

What we plead with Nigerians, the President of the Senate and the Speaker is to allow the forensic audit to take its course. Let them not distract us from what Mr President has ordered. We are open to investigation today or forever. If at the end of any investigation I am indicted let me go in for it. When I speak, I speak the truth and I will leave this office full of confidence that I have had an opportunity to serve the people of Niger Delta. We are liberating the NDDC. What use to happen in the past won't happen again.

When a committee chairman will have 12 people in NDDC carrying files from table to table. This is when the Minister with the IMC said this must stop. You cannot go to NIMASA, you can go to Central Bank, you cannot go to NNPC and do that. So don't come and do it here. Enough is Enough, if they like, they can use the social media and the mainstream media to blackmail us. It will not work. Every payment that we have made can be verified and confirmed. The Honourable Minister has said go and work and stop the corruption in that place. The IMC will do just that. The IMC has not paid for water hyacinth.

The problem we have with the two Chairmen of the Committees on Niger Delta is that when we submitted our budget, they vandalized our budget, they raped our budget. For 2019 we have had additions that they made to our budget. We submitted the 2020 budget over two months ago, nothing has been done about it. The two Committee Chairmen sat on it, asking for all manner of things and we said No. NDDC must be allowed to function. The purpose for which it was instituted must be realized. I call on Niger Deltans to be alert to see how this works out . When the forensic audit is concluded, Nigerians will be shocked by the discoveries.  The reason I am calling these names is because we have facts and documents.

We had a meeting over the virement of some projects with the Chairman, House Committee of NDDC.  It was resolved that I should sit down with the chairman of the House of committee. We told them that this is what you have done to the budget and it is not possible. We have to rework it. And the Chairman agreed and said we should go and bring a letter of virement . The letter of virement is normally routed from the Minister to the President and then to the National Assembly. And they said as you are routing the letter to the President let us have an advanced copy so that we can work on it. The issue of virements are they payments? We will not be distracted.

Question: Who are the forensic auditors? What have they found out? Why has anybody not been arrested? Can you tell us more?

Answer: The forensic audit is different from the normal audit and there are laws governing the country . You have to pass through due process. For the forensic audit to become legal  you have to have the buy in of the Auditor General of the Federation, which we have already done.  You have to get the due process certification which we have already done. You have to also get the approval of the Federal Executive Council which has also been approved and given us the go ahead. These international audit firms have been have been engaged to carry out forensic audit. They don't go shouting . They are doing it quietly.  As we speak, a lot of properties, hotels have been seized. It is ongoing. Contractors who were paid for jobs not done are jittery. When we handed over all the documents of the commission’s projects to the lead forensic auditor, it was shown on national television. Immediately after that hell was let loose and those who have benefitted from the corrupt system started sponsoring smear campaigns against the Minister and the Interim Management Committee because they know that their end had come.

Question: Some people are saying that the interim Management Committee should not be involved in the forensic audit in any way . That the audit should be a completely independent exercise. And we know that the Accountant General of the Federation has had cause to raise a number of questions about the IMC in regards to the headquarters building. What are the details and do you agree that the IMC should not be involved in the audit?

Answer: The query you saw on the internet is a very big lie . It is fake news . There is nothing like that . It is the same people who concocted it. As an investigative journalist go and ask the Accountant General or the Auditor General if anything like that exists. They have never raised such issues because all due processes have been followed. It is non-existent.

About the Headquarters building, when the contract was awarded during this period of OMPADEC. it was awarded for only N400 million then, over 20 years ago. This was far before Senator Akpabio became Minister, during the tenure of  Obong Nsima Ekere as MD when pastor Usani Usani was the Minister. They took a memo to the Federal Executive Council that they needed to review the contract and change the contractor since the contractor that handled it didn't have the capacity to deliver it. It was awarded to a new contractor. By this time Senator Akpabio was Minority Leader in the Senate.

When Akpabio came in, the NDDC was paying N300 million annually as rent for the present headquarters building. Meanwhile nobody knows where this money goes to because the Rivers State Government said the building was given to the NDDC free of charge. Which means somebody is sitting on N300 million every year.  Senator Akpabio said No, that we can't continue like that. And gave us the marching order to work day and night to complete the headquarters building. As we speak if not for the coronavirus pandemic, the headquarters building would have been commissioned . When the sponsors of falsehood write that it is 50 percent completed, please I challenge you to go to Eastern By-pass in Port Harcourt and see the level of work there. All the Equipment are in place. All that is remaining is furnishing because we don't want to commission an empty building. We have concluded arrangements for the furnishing.

When the headquarters building was awarded for #16 billion , Senator Akpabio was in the opposition indeed the Senate Minority Leader. So how could Akpabio had influenced on the award of the contract. Since Akpabio became the minister the head quarters building contract has not been reviewed.

On the forensic audit, how independent can it be when you have the big four international audit firms in the world involved in the process. These are not persons you can bend . The people who have collected money without executing the jobs don't want these international companies to do it. They wanted to give it to charlatans so that they can compromise them but we said No.

If Senator Akpabio wanted to steal money the N1 billion that was paid out every month would have continued. If Senator Akpabio wanted to steal money the N3.7 billion that the chairman of the committee asked for would have been paid and shared to Akpabio. But we said No. We don't want all these things . Mr President has confidence in us. We cannot betray it. On a normal day in the past,  if you go to NDDC head office you will see very many people trooping in there . If you go to NDDC today, we have cleared the place.

We have paid money that have been owed people especially those under N50 million. We have the list . Some of them borrowed money to execute these contracts and they were not paid. The Minister said help these people, verify their jobs and pay them and clear the place and there is joy in the Niger Delta. The luck we have is that we don't have a mace in the NDDC. If we had a mace somebody would have come to steal it. There is no mace to be stolen.

Question: There are claims that the NDDC has not been properly funded. In your view how can the NDDC ensure proper autonomy?

Answer: First and foremost, if you are given One Naira and you cannot manage it , the tendency is that if you're given One billion Naira you would also not be able to manage it. The first thing to do is to clean the place up and that is what the forensic audit hopes to achieve. Once we get it right then the money coming into the NDDC will be properly handled. The NDDC does not need a third party to collect statutory payment on our behalf. We will enforce the Act setting up the NDDC and when we enforce it, the  Federal Government will pay what they are owing, because the federal Government is also owing. The oil companies are owing. When we aggregate all of them we can then go for regional projects.  If you look at what the two chairmen of the committees in the National Assembly did, all the regional projects of Mr President were removed from the budget. And as We speak go and ask them where the budget of 2020 is. We are still arguing about the 2019 budget in the middle of 2020. When are they going to give us our budget? I don't mind leaving my present position but while I am there, I have to give a good account of myself.

Question: In the course of this interview you have severally mentioned Senator Akpabio. Some people have said that Senator Akpabio may be out on a witch hunt mission targeting past managing directors of the commission especially Obong Nsima Ekwere and Ms Joi Nunieh. What's your response to these?

Answer: That is very laughable. Let me say this, the forensic audit was not initiated by Senator Akpabio. The forensic audit came as a result of the visit of the Governors of the nine states of the Niger Delta to Mr President. The Governors told Mr President that the NDDC was a can of worms, and that the corruption there must be unearthed. Did Senator Akpabio send the Governors to go to the President? The President accepted what the Governors said and instituted the forensic audit. How does that target Nsima Ekwere? Don't forget that Nsima Ekwere and Akpabio worked together during the last election not too long ago.

How can the minister witch hunt Joi Nunieh? For what reason? The Minister has been a Commissioner, a two term Governor, a Minority Leader in the Senate and now the Minister. So is Akpabio envious of Nsima Ekwere and Joi Nunieh that he would witch hunt them. What did they do to him. What is the area of conflict? This is just the figment of the imagination of those peddling it. And this is how they start problem. They will go and tell Nsima Ekwere one thing, tell Joi Nunieh another and tell the minister another thing. Their target is to destabilize the IMC, destabilize the minister and the NDDC so that the ongoing forensic audit cannot see the light of the day. It will not happen. We shall not be distracted.

Question: How buoyant is the NDDC? How much is in the account of NDDC? How solvent is the NDDC right now?

Answer: The NDDC has a commitment of #3 trillion. And this where your question becomes very relevant. The two Chairmen of the committees of Niger Delta without the knowledge of the  other members colluded and committed the the NDDC to over #2 trillion. Imagine that we have #2 trillion now, and started paying debts it will not change the landscape of Niger Delta. So the NDDC is not buoyant because the commitment is enormous. But what we have done is to go through those contracts that were awarded without due process with fine com, make sure that we cancel them within the limits of law. Many contractors have gone to court and got judgement against the NDDC.

The ones that are genuine and verified, we pay them. What we do is to go to the field and verify the jobs. What is remaining is for forensic audit to get those who have either been over paid or paid for jobs not done so that we can go and recover our money. You will see the amount of money that will be recovered  at the end of the forensic audit exercise. Even now, look at the properties and the hotels that the authorities have confiscated.  This is why we are encouraged to keep doing what we are doing. We are not listening to this smear campaign because they are distractions. But it's getting out of hand. With due respect the National Assembly is an  institution I belong to and I will hate to descerate it. And I will not . I have been there as a member. I have been there as a Presidential Liaison Officer to the President of this country and it is a place i understand the working. The Speaker and  the Senate President and the Members don't know anything that is happening there. It is just the two Chairmen of the Committees. Let me point out something to you. From 1999 till date the Chairmen of the House Committee on Niger Delta have been from Delta state. Today a PDP senator is the Chairman of such an important committee. Why? How does he merit it? Why should it be him? Knowing too well that as an opposition he will not protect the Presidents interest in the Niger Delta. Knowing too well that the president loves the Niger Delta, why would a PDP senator be saddled on us. We have competent and reliable senators from the region who can hold the position. Why do you distract us? These are people who have made it impossible for us to have our budget and this is very annoying. Look at what they injected into the budget about #85 billion. They removed the regional project of Mr President. And then you gather all manner of people in social media to throw stones at us when you know the truth.

Question: If you say the past management are responsible for the  corruption we are seeing, why haven't they been reported to the EFCC?

Answer: The case of the supply of chairs and desks that I've shown you, has been reported to anti-corruption agencies because you cannot imagine getting a contract from the commission and you supply the same items to yourself. Can you beat that?

Question:  I see that you have a file that contains documentary evidence. Those documents may be useful in court to prove cases against the people who have defrauded the NDDC.  I raise these concerns because recently Prof  Pomdei raised an alarm that there would be arson .

Answer: it was the Inspector General of Police who wrote to us and sent the Rivers State Commissioner of Police to alert us that some of these dubious contractors were planning to burn down the headquarters of NDDC. We have sent all the documents to the forensic auditors and they are safe. I had to retrieve those ones because of this interview. The public must know what is going on. There is no single Kobo missing in NDDC. I repeat we have not awarded any contract. We have not paid for river desilting. We have not paid for water hyacinth. The payments we have made are recurrent because people must earn salaries. Before we came in, the service providers were owed three to four years some went to court and we have paid. The jobs we have verified and confirmed we have paid. And that is all we have done.

Mark this date. On the 15th of May 2019. NDDC paid N50 billion in one day to NGO'S . If you see what has happened in the NDDC you will weep for this country. That is why they don't want the forensic audit to see the light of the day. But Mr  President is determined. The Minister is determined and we shall provide the enabling environment for the forensic audit to be concluded.

Question: An NGO has described as suspicious the  refusal of the Minister to allow the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit to participate in the forensic audit. What's your comment on this?

Answer: We are not averse to anybody joining. We started the forensic audit by inviting the anti - graft agencies like the EFFC , DSS etc to join us. The NFIU  normally does not participate in audits but we don't mind at all because they are also following. They follow the account of everybody. Have you seen a commission that signs an agreement without a date? All the agreements in NDDC none is date. Can you believe it? All the agreements for contracts,  agreements for consultancy etc none has a date. That is the NDDC that we took over from.

Question: What is the way forward? Some people have suggested that the way forward. Some say the IMC should be disbanded or the NDDC should be scrapped in the long term . What's your take?.

Answer: The first is forensic audit . The second is forensic audit and the third is forensic audit. The reason they say the IMC should be disbanded, they know that if the IMC is disbanded you will disorganize the forensic audit. They don't want it. Every attempt to induce and compromise us and make us scuttle the forensic audit have failed. The only hope they have to stop the forensic audit is to ask for the scrap of the IMC. Any person asking for the scrapping of the IMC is complicit in this affair.

Even if you want to scrap the NDDC or wind it down, you must audit it. So the forensic audit is central. It must happen. And the reason that you cannot scrap the NDDC is that you cannot throw away the baby with the bath water. We want autonomy for NDDC so that NDDC can prepare a budget and send it to the National Assembly and it will come out not distorted by any chairman.

NDDC CAN NEVER BE YOUR CIRCUIT PIPE, NIGER DELTA ACTIVIST CAUTIONED OMO-AGEGE AND HIS ALLIES.

Concerned with the raging war of propaganda highly sponsored by the Senate Deputy President, Senator Ovie Omo-age, a Niger Delta born activist, Mr. James Akpofure had called on his Urhobo Brother Augustine Omo-agege to desist from the act of blackmailing the interim Management Committee of the Niger Delta Development Commission...

Akpofure in news chat at Abuja recently revealed that the Senator representing Delta Central at the red Chamber, had conspired with some PDP Senators, Governors, and Members of the House of Representatives from the region to ensure the presidential directive on the forensic audit of the commission is frustrated.

Reacting to the alleged corruption of the IMC, the Human Rights Activist insisted that the various allegations are made up tales to discredit the team Constituted by the President to oversee the forensic audit. "I have carefully listened to the acting Executive Director of Project, NDDC, Dr. Cairo Ojuogbo on Channels and Arise Television News, his explanations are clear and i must commend him for been very discretional regarding his comments on their findings so far even though the IMC oppositions are trying hard to force words from his mouth".

While commenting on the Leadership of Omo-agege in the South-South particularly Delta State Chapter of the All Progressives Congress(APC), Mr Akpofure stated that "i am not aware of Ovie Omo-agege being Leader of the ruling party in South-South, but i understand he is the Leader of the Party in Delta State by virtue of his position as the Deputy President of the Senate. I am not a member of the Party but it clear that he is yet to prove himself as leader of the party before the public. You Journalist get some these information before us, since after the 2019 elections, Omo-agege have been involved in various media wars or what you media people called propaganda with eventually all well-meaning leaders of the party in the State. First it was him and Olorogun O'tega Emerhor,    Chief Great Ogboru (the Man whose political assets catapulted Omo-agege to his current political fortune), Dr Emmanuel Uduaghan and now Dr Cairo Ojougboh." 

James Akpofure who is also a Leader of the Niger Delta Renaissance Movement, called on the Leadership of the National Assembly to steer clear of the forensic audit as the constant comments coming from the National Assembly have proven that the National Assembly is not in agreement with the  President directive for proper cleansing of the Commission before substantial management board would be inaugurated. "I have watched carefully the recent activities of the National Assembly regarding the NDDC and i must say i am disappointed with them. The current crisis rocking the NDDC-IMC could be traced to the failed nominated board of Odubu/Okumagba. Recall there was power tussle between the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Sen. Godswill Akpabio and Sen. Omo-agege/Oshiomhole over the Constitution of the board that was suppose to take over from the then acting board led by Professor Nelson Braimbraifa. The National Chairman of the APC and Ovie Omo-agege connived with some powerful persons in the presidency and formed a list of Nominees who were urgently screened and confirmed by the Senate contrary to the act that established NDDC. By the NDDC act, the Chairman and Managing Director of any substantial board to take over leadership of the Commission within this current dispensation, ought to come from Delta State but Omo-agege in his desperation to be in charge of the Agency ignored the position of the NDDC act and a lot of Niger Deltans including the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs who doubles as the Supervising Minister of the Commission vehemently rejected the formulation. Sen Godswill Akpabio been a man of uncommon wisdom draw the attention of the President to the error and later suggested to the President the idea of forensic audit and the interim management Committee which the President in his wisdom approved."

"It is very obvious that the leadership of the National Assembly have interest they are protecting hence they could pay attention to conspiracy theories regarding corruption in the NDDC under the supervision of the Interim Management Committee. Though we (Niger Deltans) have welcomed their much talk about probe but we won't keep quiet and watch them derail into unnecessary politicking and leadership tussle sprang up by Omo-agege simply because he is pained that the President and the people of Niger Delta rejected and uncovered his plans to be the de facto head of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC)."

"For me as an Urhobo Man, i do not support the desperation of Ovie Omo-agege and his group of detractors. The Urhobo people and indeed the Niger Delta people in general strongly believe in legitimate means of power and not cutting corners to take over power and influence at the detriment of the people you so desire to lead. The President should call Omo-agege to order because it is a public knowledge that the President played a major role in the emergence of Omo-agege current position in the Senate. He just need to be caution because he is causing unnecessary political disability and civil unrest in the Niger Delta region."

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY WANT TO SCUTTLE NDDC FORENSIC AUDIT - PONDEI

The Acting Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, Professor Kemebradikumo Pondei, has accused the committees of the National Assembly responsible for the oversight the Commission of working against the forensic audit ordered by President Muhammadu Buhari.

Addressing a press conference at the NDDC headquarters in Port Harcourt Tuesday, Professor Pondei said that the probe being embarked on by the National Assembly was distracting the Commission from focusing on the forensic audit which all stakeholders, including governors of the nine Niger Delta States, agreed with Mr President as the way forward for the Commission.

He declared: “We suspect that the probe being trumpeted by the National Assembly is not for altruistic reason but an attempt by some members to arm twist the Interim Management Committee.”

Pondei justified the claim, stating: “We have faced so much pressure from some members of the National Assembly not to send certain files to forensic auditors. We fear that this will compromise the integrity of the exercise and have refused to do their bidding.

“We have also faced pressure from some members of the National Assembly to pay for 132 jobs which have no proof of execution. We have refused to pay out N6.4 billion for those jobs. We believe that an IMC set up as a cleansing structure cannot become part of the old story of rot.”

The NDDC Chief Executive Officer observed that since the IMC came to make NDDC better and had a limited mandate till December, it had summoned the courage its predecessors did not have to tell Nigerians the truth.

He lamented: “50 per cent of NDDC’s inability to deliver on its mandate is as a result of the stranglehold of the National Assembly on the Commission.

“The National Assembly delays passage of the Commission’s budget until it is too late for it to be implemented. The 2019 was passed two months to the end of its implementation period. In fact, the hard copy was received by the Commission on April 10, 2020 when the implementation period ends on May 31. Given the procurement rules, it is not enough time to call for tender and execution of the jobs. The statutory period for advertising tenders is six weeks.

“Two, the budgets are bastardised by National Assembly in a way that renders it useless. A case will suffice. In the 2019 budget, we had a provision of N1.32 billion to pay our counterpart funding to the International Fund for Agricultural Development, IFAD, for the $129.7m Livelihood Improvement Family Enterprises Programme in the Niger Delta (LIFE-ND). The National Assembly cut the provision to N100 million. Are we going to IFAD, a UN agency, to tell them to bring their $129.7m when our National Assembly says we can only pay N100m out of N1.32 billion obligation?

“Three, the National Assembly members insert items we had no plans for. These items are then forced on the Commission when it is not part of the master plan. Rather than be a major intervention agency, the Commission is busy erecting street lights and drainages, something local governments should do.”

Pondei explained that at the time the expanded IMC took over on February 20, 2020, the 2019 and 2020 budget of the NDDC had already been transmitted to the National Assembly, noting that the 2019 budget was laid before the two chambers and it was approved.

He said, however, that the problem was in harmonization of the budget which was to follow the approval. “For that to be done, we were told to pay for some contracts. That was relayed to us through the Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on NDDC. We waited for the meeting but it did not take place because we had not paid. On March 17, 2020 we managed to pay some and on March 19, 2020 we paid the others. That was when approval was transmitted to us on March 20, 2020,” Pondei said.

He added: “We understand that this had been the regular practice over the years. You have to accede to the requests of the National Assembly or you don’t have a budget. It was the lack of budget in 2016 and 2017 that led the past administrations in NDDC to device what is now called the emergency projects. That was the only way they could get some projects to be executed until it has now become a very big burden.”

Pondei stressed that until the NDDC returned to the drawing board to work out a budgetary process that was transparent and free from the stranglehold of the committees of the National Assembly, the problems of the Commission would persist.

He stated: “Even if you bring somebody from outer space, if you don’t remove the bottlenecks, the problems with the NDDC budget will persist. I can come here with a vision to put water in every community but you approve a budget without provision for water. How then can I contribute to changing the Niger Delta?

“Those who are clamouring for the change of members of the IMC miss the point. Without addressing the flaws of the system, changing people will take us nowhere. The problem is not who is running the place now, it is the underlying processes that are rotten and need to be sorted out.”

Charles Obi Odili

Director, Corporate Affairs

May 26, 2020

WHY OVIE OMO-AGEGE DESPERATELY WANT TO BE THE DEFACTO HEAD OF NDDC

By Philip Amagada

Few months after President Muhammadu Buhari named H.E, Godswill Akpabio as the honourable minister of Niger Delta Affairs and Barr. Festus Keyamo SAN, as the honourable minister for state, Niger Delta Affairs, it was alleged that Sen. Ovie Omo-Agege became furious over the announcement.

He made frantic efforts to ensuring that the learned silk, Mr Keyamo got sacked from the next level cabinet since he was not his preferred nominee from Delta State neither can he (Omo-Agege) imagine his Delta Brother be in control of the Niger Delta affairs ministry.

It took the grace of God and the intervention of trusted allies for Barr. Festus Keyamo to be redeployed to the ministry of labour and employment where he is currently making plausible exploit.

Reliable sources had it that the furious Ovie Omo-Agege who wasn't happy over Keyamo's deployment to the ministry of Niger Delta, pulled a stunt with stakeholders from Ondo state to push for their ministerial nominee who was designated in the ministry of Labour and employment to be redeployed to the ministry of Niger Delta Affairs. This he did with the intention of paving way for his already drafted NDDC nominees' list which had Ben Okumagba an Urhobo man as the managing Director of the commission.

 Recall that when Mr President went on a weeklong summit in faraway Tokyo, the desperate Omo-Agege in connivance with some principal officers in the senate and key officers from the SGF's office sent an unauthorised NDDC nominees list to the senate for screening.

This caught the attention of Nigerians and looked more like African Magic drama being displayed.

Few weeks later when the president went on another scheduled travel, the same set of desperate persons brazenly carried out their inhuman act of screening a board that wasn't approved by the president and commander in chief.

This irked the president who ordered for disciplinary measures on those that took part in the dirty dealing. It is on record that the president worked out Sen. Ovie Omo-Agege and his acolytes who were on their knees begging the president for usurping his powers of making appointments and questioned them if there were two Grand Commanders of the federal Republic of Nigeria.

Omo-Agege who never relented after all these disgraceful and desperate acts brought upon his urhobo people, has continued to push his way into making sure that his nominees are sworn in as management team of the Niger Delta Development Commission.

Senator ovie Omo-Agege hands are all over the series of unfounded allegations and blackmails being peddled on all media platforms. This is just to discredit the IMC of the NDDC put in place by Godswill Akpabio through Mr President's consent to oversee the forensic audit of the commission.

The level of sponsored media rascality, protests and blackmails being paraded by Sen. Ovie Omo-Agege are unprecedented since the reign of democracy in Nigeria politics.

After much observations as to why the desperation of having the commission to his caprice, findings were made and a plethora of reasons were given by an aide to Omo-Agege why the Senate Deputy President is desperately in need of the commission.

According to the aide who preferred to be quoted on the condition anonymity, "Omo-Agege needs the top job of the commission to oil his 2023 gubernatorial ambition in Delta State. He has seen that without securing the top job for his recently found godson, Ben Okumagba, his ambition will be a fruitless charade."

Going further, why do you think my Boss is making majority of his appointments from members of the Ibori political family from most of the Local Government Areas. of Delta State, the aide asked.

It was also established that the over two hundred appointees he made are being service through loans despite slashing most of the legislative aides salaries to fifty thousand naira and senior legislative aides to one hundred thousand naira. Consequently, the Delta Central Senator urgently need to get the control of the oil commission to offset most of these payments.

It will interest you to note that senator ovie Omo Agege's only reason for the dirty fight is to fleece the commission's purse as he is doing with the Niger Delta Basin Development Authority (NDBDA) where he is the defacto commander contracting majority of the Commission contracts to his companies.

This will be elucidated upon in subsequent bulletin.

Yes, It was established that there is rot in the Niger Delta Development commission reasons the honourable minister of Niger Delta affairs; HE Godswill Akpabio who is the supervisory minister of the commission was instructed by Mr President to carry out a forensic audit of the commissions account since it establishment.

This necessitated the honourable minister goodwill in putting in place an Interim management committee that will oversee the audit without any interference from any quarter.

The committee is making headlong progress and with the recent extension of the IMC tenure until December 2020 clearly indicates that Mr President who gave them the mandate is aware of the progress made so far and he is very pleased with their actions so far.

Sen. Ovie Omo-Agege and his enemies of the Niger Delta region should allow Mr President's appointees to carry-on with their assignment and stop the distraction of due process.

Dr. Philip Amagada, Public Analysit writes from Lagos.

OUR MISSION IS TO SANITIZE NDDC, SAYS NO GOING BACK ON FORENSIC AUDIT ~ OJOUGBOH

In his avowed determination to reposition the Niger Delta Developement Commission, Acting Executive Director of Project Dr Cairo Ojougboh has vowed that the Interim Management Committee MISSION is to SANITIZE the Commission for incoming board's, WARNS Defualters to return to sites now or return NDDC stolen Money added that no amount of attacks of all kinds will stop the ongoing FORENSIC AUDIT of the Commission.

Dr Ojougboh while speaking to Smart Media Network Reporters recently, he frown at the continuous attacks sponsored by some agrieved Politicians, erring Contractors to discredits the Honourable Minister of Niger Delta Affairs Sen Godswill Akpabio and the Members of the Interim Management Committee,  noting that no amount of misIeading the General Public with unfounded allegations will stop FORENSIC AUDIT from investigating their account of stewardship in their various transaction with the Commission in the past he said.

Going further, he called on the Anti Graft Agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC) to revealed its plans by beeming their search on DEFUALTERS who absconded with Public funds of the Niger-Delta Development Commission.

He further told the EFCC to Arrest, Investigate, Prosecute (Financial Defualters) who received Mobilization, Full Payment of the Jobs awarded to their Companies and didn't execute the project nor return to sites should be investigated and prosecuted accordingly as the Graft War Intensifies.

Earlier, the EFCC says it will focus its attention on the NDDC, to ensure that the Niger Delta region feels the impact of the intervention agency. Head of the Port Harcourt Zonal Office of the Commission, Usman Imam said this while speaking to the media in the Rivers State capital.

Usman who said the that the Whistle Blowers policy of the Federal Government is still in force, urged Niger-Deltans to take advantage of the policy to give information about corrupt activities to the Commission. According to him; “We are looking into the activities of the NDDC. We have received petitions on projects that have been paid for but not executed.

“We are going to look into these petitions to ensure that the people get value for monies released to the NDDC and, that those who steal from the agency are dealt with in accordance with the law. He further said his GOAL is to dislodge perpetrators of all forms of FINANCIAL and CYBER CRIME from the REGIONS, just as he appealed to parents, faith-based organizations and community leaders to assist the Commission in steering the energies of the YOUTHS away from criminality by INCULCATING in them the RIGHT VALUES.

THERE IS NO RECKLESS SPENDING IN NDDC, CRITIC'S ARE POLITICALLY MULTIVARIATED TO SABOTAGE ONGOING FORENSIC AUDIT ~ OJOUGBOH

The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) through the Acting Executive Director of Project, Dr Cairo Ojougboh has again laid to rest the allegations of 40bn reckless Spending, saying that the National Assembly Probe will VINDICATE the Hon. Minister for Niger Delta Affairs, Sen. Godswill Akpabio and Members of the Interim Management Committee of the Commission.

Describing the reckless Spending been speculated on the Media against the Niger Delta Developement Commission (NDDC) to support Lassa Fever and Covid-19 Pandemic by some interest groups who are opposed to the FORENSIC AUDIT of the commission as strategic plans to divert attention of the Interim Management Committee from carrying out their Lawful Duties

Dr Ojougboh pointed out that the calculated attempts trying to discredit t

he IMC of the commiCommi is coming from agent's of "Pull Him Down Syndrome" who are mainly against the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Sen. Godswill Akpabio and the NDDC's Interim Management Committee (IMC) put in place by President Muhammadu Buhari to oversee the Commission while the FORENSIC AUDIT lasted.

Dismissing the alleged 40bn reckless Spending, Ojougboh, who spoke to newsmen said the attackers were mainly targeting Akpabio for driving the FORENSIC AUDIT of the commission as ordered by President Muhammadu Buhari to expose any CORRUPT person's who may be find wanting to give account of stewardship in their time.

He added that most of the attackers are partners in crime or agents of some big wheigth who may have done job with NDDC directly or indirectly benefiting illegally from the commission through CORRUPT practices been papertriated by past Successive Management of the commission to siphone Money meant for the Developement of the Niger Delta Region to fund their Political Ambition and family comforts.

Dr Ojougboh emphasized that the Interim Management Committee made up of some of the BEST PROFESSIONALS from the Niger Delta, should not be distracted. Going forward he said that some of the allegations are directly on someone Character, Integrity and hard earned name just to mislead the General Public of the TRUE POSITION of thing's with unfounded claims to discredits the commission Affairs.

Meanwhile, on the ongoing construction of the HEAD OFFICE of the commission, he said: the "Interim Management Committee" is focused on completing the Permanent Headquarters Project, as a result of this commitment its pays the contractor for WORK DONE in stage's. Noting that if not for the worldwide pandemic, the  the new Head office would have been completed.

Ojougboh however vowed that the Niger Delta Development Commission exists for the GOOD of the REGION, added that the Present Commission you are seeing today is different from the commission you saw yesterday, therefore, the COMMISSION can't continues to pay rent for a temporary Head Office rather than complete and occupy its own he said.

Speaking further, he revibrated it LOUD and CLEAR that it's disheartening and Great Disservice to its people of NIGER DELTA REGION for a few selfish elites to go on the ATTACKS every time their attempt to corner the RESOURCES of the COMMISSION is challenged. “He pointed out that the FORENSIC AUDIT ordered by the President Muhammadu Buhari, which Senator Akpabio is pursuing with his UNCOMMON passion, is for the GOOD of all stakeholders. 

Believe me he said: the Greatest tragedy we would not accept is for a few ELITES to TRUNCATE the GOOD INTENTIONS of the FEDERAL GOVERNMENT because their access to the COMMONWEALTH is being THREATENED. We shall HOLD to our FAITH and move on to deliver on our primary ASSIGNMENT, even as we continue to witness more of this attacks but i will rather assured you or borrowed from the word of FAITH of Bishop Miyerijesu: that since the Sky Exist no Body can Harm us and we hold to FORENSIC AUDIT to expose any CORRUPT hands he submitted.

POLITICS: NO ONE IS MORE HATED THAN HE WHO SPEAKS THE TRUTH ~ (DR CAIRO OJOUGBOH IN RETROSPECT)

• 

The name Hon. Chief Dr. Cairo Ojougboh needs no much introduction when it come to politics of reality, fairness, justice and equity in the Nigerian political clime. In Delta state, he's a household name to be reckoned with and a formidable political force that sends goose pimples down the spines of political gamblers because of his courage and willingness to defend the truth, his people and the course of the common man. He is one man whose astitudeness and political sagacity know no bounds, yet grossly misunderstood and demonized by haters of truth.

Despite all these and the countless attempts by these self-serving cabals to stop and intimidate him at all cost with ludicrous lies and character assasination, Dr. Cairo Ojougboh has relentlessly remained unmoved and unshakend but instead surmounted their devilish designs, shattered their pyramids of lie, exposed them to open disgrace and demonstrated that he's indeed an exemplary leader who cannot be intimidated.

In a state as Delta where he hails and where impunity and fragrant imposition of candidates hold sway, Dr. Cairo Ojougboh did not only resist it, he came out boldly to stop it. To him, the wellbeing of the masses must not be gambled with but squarely placed above personal interests, which is an unassailable truth. He has been wrongly villified and wickedly castigated for standing on the side of truth. But what were his sins? They were that lies, impunity, imposition and deceits that presently prevail and ail badly in the Politics in Delta state be to stopped forthwith if democracy must answer its name as government made by the people, for the people and answerable to the people.

Dr. Ojougboh whose antecedents as a worthy torch-bearer of ennobly ideals and as an advocate of the rule of law and due process, especially on the norms of democracy is now being understood by Deltans as a victim of cheap blackmail. It is now very crystal clear that the perpetrators of those heimous blackmails and smear campaigns against him are those who should be hated for their many years of lies and deceits, a proof that though a lie may be a strong sprinter, the truth is a humble marathoner.

One unique feature of Dr. Cairo Ojougboh that has continued to distinguished him from many politicians is his firm belief in the truth that when a determined mind is adequately prepared for a battle that will break the jinx of lies, wickedness of impunity and the errors of imposition, the amount of blackmail, insults, ludicrous attacks from people with strong penchant for spreading lies to taint him and malign his reputation shouldnt be a hurdle nor barrier to stop him from achieving his goal. He is one goal-getter in a school of his own. To him, it must be the truth and nothing but the truth.

For those who have been brainwashed to hate him over the years, this TRUTH Is for you ; Dr. Cairo Ojougboh is not a violent man in any sense of it but one man who is ready to go to war and lead the war for as long as it is aimed at politically emancipating the people. And I must not fail to categorically emphasise that his leadership is what is missing in Delta state at the moment, if not, Delta state would have progressed very massively. Another truth you should know is that all those who are afraid of Dr. Cairo Ojougboh are those who are afraid of the truth as he has never done any thing wrong to anybody.

Unfortunately some recalcitrant crop of self-serving people out of fear of the unknown just gather and conspire against him to give him bad names, smear him and create a wrong impression of what he stands for just to have their way.

BREAKING NEWS: 40BILLION ALLEGATION TRACED TO BILLEE NIG LIMITED ACCOUNT

The continue search for the 40billion allegations has been traced to a suspected Company account Billee Nig Limited who seek a Solar Light job from the NDDC in 2007 and absconded after collecting mobilization running into several million.

More details to come