TONY JOHN, Port Harcourt

The acting Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, of Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Professor Kemebradikumor Pondei, has said that the ongoing forensic audit in the commission was not an exercise to witch-hunt anybody.

Pondei stated this in Port Harcourt yesterday, while handing over more tools including 10 Hilux vehicles and five buses, to the auditing firms for the continuation of the audit process in the commission.

He noted that the ceremony was in continuation of the directive of President Muhammadu Buhari for audit on the activities of NDDC in the last 20 years.

Pondei, however, disclosed that the audit would make the commission function stronger to deliver on its core mandate to the people of Niger Delta, and called for a transparent process.

He said: “You will recall that President Muhammadu Buhari approved the setting up of the forensic audit to look into the activities of the Niger Delta Development Commission since inception to August, 2019.

“And this forensic consultants were appointed; today, we are here to hand over additional tools the forensic auditors and to let everybody know that the process has commenced since and it is going stronger.

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“We hope that at the end of the day, the forensic audit will unravel a lot of things that have gone on in the commission. It is not a witch-hunting process, but just for us to truly know the state of things and recommend way forward and make sure that the commission delivers on its core mandate”, he stated

The lead Consultant for the Forensic Audit team, Joshua Bashiru, a Managing Partner, said the audit was in fulfilment of the directive of the President, disclosing that 16 audit firms were involved in the process.

Also, the Principal Consultant, Kabiru Ahmed, reiterated that the process was a milestone to exposing what has happened in the Commission since inception.

Ahmed said: “Today signifies another important milestone to unraveling what has happened in this organization in the last 20 years.

“Tomorrow, we will be here to meet with the state directors and departmental directors. This is very important for the forensic auditors to understand how the state works and the departmental director”, he stated.

Ahmed further stated that one of the consultants would be involved in reorganisation and repositioning of the Commission, adding that as an interventionist agency, there would be need to tackle every of its challenges.