Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
A non-governmental organisation, Transparency and Accountability Advancement Group (TAAG), has expressed worry that despite the damning report by the Senate against the Interim Management Committee Committee (IMC) of the Niger Delta Commission (NDDC) and established financial recklessness in the commission, President Muhammadu Buhari has not taken action.
This is as another pressure group, the Vanguard for the Protection of Rights of Citizens of Nigeria (VPRCN), has called for the return of the Commission (NDDC) to the Presidency for accountable supervision.
In a statement by Damian Nwikinaka, director of information and strategy, TAAG said Nigerians were waiting for President Buhari to take action that would prove the government is disappointed by the financial recklessness, corruption, abuse of office and mismanagement in the NDDC.
“President Buhari cannot continue to act as if humongous corruption has become the synonym for his government. When he was asked recently what he thought of the ongoing revelations of corruption at the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the NDDC, the president said some of his appointees had abused trust by misusing their offices for their self-aggrandisement. Yet he is delaying action.”
The group urged President Buhari not to ignore the detailed Senate report and resolutions on the IMC, “if he is really serious about his anti-corruption agenda. The president’s failure to act promptly and decisively since the exposures seemed to have emboldened the IMC to continue their activities at the NDDC.”
It alleged that a fresh petition dated August 5, 2020, and addressed to President Buhari by Act for Positive Transformation Initiative, showed that the NDDC IMC made payments of over N24 billion in the period from June 1 to August 5, 2020, without an approved budget in place.
According to it, the petition signed by Kolawole Johnson, director of research, listed names of companies and individuals paid, including the splitting of contracts, the award of fictitious contracts and the abuse of due process.
VPRCN, while calling for the return of the Commission to the Presidency for accountable supervision during a rally held at the entrance of the National Assembly complex in Abuja, said it was wrong for the Niger Delta region to put the blame of the underdevelopment on the north.
The National Coordinator, Sharon Faliya Cham and Publicity Director, Bitrus Yakubu, said the rally was both to canvas for the return of the NDDC to the Presidency and a wake up call to Niger Delta youths to probe the real reason for the perpetual underdevelopment of the oil-rich region.