Fred Itua, Abuja
The acting Managing Director, Interim Management Committee of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Dr Joy Nunieh, has denied knowledge of any senator under investigation for allegedly executing 300 projects awarded to him by the agency.
She stated this when she appeared before the Senate Committee on Niger Delta Affairs to defend the 2019 budget of the agency.
The acting Executive Director of Projects in the Commission, Cairo Ojougboh, had alleged last year that a sitting Nigerian senator was handling 300 of the commission’s project.
Ojougboh, who did not name the senator, said 120 of the contracts had been fully paid for, and that the contracts were being investigated.
However, the acting Managing-Director escribed the allegation as a media affair when a member of the Senate panel asked her to give details of the matter.
She said: “I am not aware of such case. I think it’s a media affairs. No such issue was brought to my attention.”
Ojougboh, who sat close her and didn’t dispute the claim. She didn’t make any attempt to substantiate his claims.
The Senate through its Committee on Niger Delta Affairs, therefore formally gave official recognition to the interim board.
The panel also threw its weight behind the ongoing forensic auditing being carried out on accounts of the agency by the executive arm of government.
The Senate had said it would not recognise the IMC following the screening and confirmation of a 15 member board of the commission by the Senate in November last year.
But the President, Muhammadu Buhari, wrote the Senate this year that in view of the forensic auditing going on in the agency, the IMC would hold sway , pending his recomposition of a fresh board .
In line with the request, the Senate Committee on NDDC led by Senator Peter Nwaoboshi, granted audience to the IMC members and considered the N346bn 2019 budget proposal of the agency .
Nwaoboshi said, ” The Senate supports the ongoing forensic auditing going on in NDDC and by extension not against the IMC running the agency now .
“We are here to consider and approve the agency’s budget proposals for 2019 as forwarded to the Senate by President Muhamnadu Buhari in December last year.
” However in doing that , we shall be guided by policy thrust of the government on budget proposals, implementation and performances “, he said .
He added that in line with submissions made by the President on the 8th of October 2019 during presentation of the 2020 budget estimates , performance status of projects in previous years , will be strictly considered in giving Appropriation to any proposal .
The agency however ran into trouble waters when the committee demanded for documents on all its emergency projects which could not be provided by Nunieh.
The committee consequently directed her to make the documents available unfailingly by next week Tuesday failure of which will lead to Organisation of public hearing on them .
The NDDC acting boss, quickly assured the Committee that the documents would be made available latest by next week Tuesday.
She said, “I know that there are a lot of misplaced projects in this budget and that’s what we’re trying to correct in this new position.
“Now, we’re trying to ensure thay there is proper assessment for projects to be taken to various communities. We’re not just going to say “yes, I know Mr X so let’s buold a stadium for them.”
“I would like to say that we are particular about the environmental impact assessment. In the case of water hyacinth, the amount budgeted was N800m but what was spent was N10.3bn.
“For distilting, N2 bn was in the budget and what was spent was N37bn. I have been under so much pressure and blackmailing because I’ve been pressurised to pay contractors quickly.
“Everyone has complained that the people in our region are hungry. But we belong to those communities and the communities must take ownership of tbe projects.
“So, I assure that we are not going to be under any pressure to pay contractors that have not performed. We have started verification exercise. A lot of embarrassing things have happened.
“Some contractors got awarded contracts before their companies were registered. Some of them are not registered. They have so many fake IPCs. Almost everyone you see in Nigeria, has an IPC.
“There is no emergency job that has the stated sum on the award letter. So, they awarded a contract without an actual sum.
“We have contacted the council of Quantity Surveyors and the likes to look at this projects with our teams thay we have put together.
“We’re calling on the NGOs, the local government chairmen, members of the CDC, the community will be out there during the assessment exercises.
“I get the same photos for different projects. In submitting the list to the governors of the nine states, we have found out duplications. People have collected contracts for the same roads from the state government.
“They have collected from FERMA and then they come to NDDC and collwct the same road project.”