The Acting Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) Professor Kemebradikumo Pondei has alleged that lawmakers blackmailed and arm twisted the commission before the 2019 budget was passed.
According to Pondei, the lawmakers forced the NDDC to pay for Projects which they refused to execute before passing the 2019 budget of the commission in March, 2020.
Issuing a statement in Abuja on Saturday, the acting MD said members of ad-hoc committees of the House held the Commission hostage with the passage of the annual budget.
He thereafter listed some of the contracts and firms involved in the scandal to include;
- Kith Global Ventures Limited – Responsible for remedial works at New Ogorede Road, lots 3 for the sum of N493,684,169.00 which was paid on 17/03/2020
- 301 Construction Limited – remedial works at Nja Road to Akoku Uno Lot 1 for the sum of N350,027,919.80 paid on the same date.
- Cracked Stone Construction Limited – remedial works at Ajaolubeti road environs, Lot 2, for the sum of N394,010,952.10, paid on the same date.
- Collincrystal Energy Limited, Emergency at Benin Township Road, Lot 7 for the sum of N361,357,276.20, paid on the same date.
- Grapik Limited – Emergency at Umudee internal road for the sum of N207,673,107.70, also paid on the same date.
His statement also said further that;
“This blackmail scheme explains why the 2019 Budget of the NDDC was passed by the National Assembly Committee in March, 2020.
We are talking about a budget that was billed to expire in May, 2020.
“This implication is that the management of the NDDC had only five weeks, to implement the budget of one fiscal year, and present a performance report on the same budget.
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“This scheme has continued to play out, because as at this Month of August 2020, the budget of the NDDC for the 2020 fiscal year has not been passed by the Joint National Assembly Committee on NDDC.
Sadly, nobody seems to care to ask questions because people are falling for the well-scripted smokescreen playing out in the two chambers of the National Assembly.”
He stated that the document was presented to the Investigative Committee of the House at the hearing but the lawmakers conveniently left it out during the public hearing.
He said further;
“It was based on this evidential claim that the IMC of NDDC staged a walk-out, on the first day they were to testify before the committee.
“The details of this list can be verified from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), through a Freedom Of Information (FOI) request.
Indeed, the same allegation informed the reason all well-meaning Nigerians urged the committee chairman, Hon. Tunji-Ojo, to recuse himself from the chairmanship of that hearing.
He faulted the manner in which the chairman of the committee as well as other members who are implicit in the dealings at the NDDC, decided to preside over the hearing before Hon. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo was forced to recluse himself.
He noted that the action cast a dark shadow on the entire hearing.
“The spokesperson of the House of Representatives, Hon. Benjamin Kalu, on a National Television Programme recently, admitted publicly that contractors often approached Chairmen of the House Committees and the members to use their office to compel MDAs to pay them.
“This definitely should be the new height of the abuse of the oath of office they swore, not to allow their personal interest interfere with the discharge of their official duties
“Recall that since these allegations were first made by the Acting Executive Director, Projects, Dr. Cairo Ojougboh on National Television, Hon. Olubumni Tunji-Ojo has not deemed it fit to discountenance the allegations by way of a law suit,” he concluded.