President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday received the final report on the forensic audit report of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) from the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio.
The report which was contained in documents that were in sacks was received on behalf of the President by the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami.
Malami, while receiving the report, said that the Federal Government has allocated approximately N6 trillion to the agency since its inception, between 2001 and 2019.
What the Attorney General and Minister of Justice is saying
The Minister said, “It is on record that between 2001 and 2019, the Federal Government has approved N3,375, 735,776,794.93 (Three Trillion, Three Hundred and Seventy Five Billion, Seven Hundred and Seventy Six Thousand, Seven Hundred and Ninety Four Naira, Ninety Three Kobo) as budgetary allocation and N2,420,948,894,191.00 (Two Trillion, Four Hundred and Twenty Billion, Nine Hundred and Forty Million, and, Eight Hundred and Ninety Four Thousand, One Hundred and Ninety One Naira) as Income from Statutory and Non Statutory Sources, which brings the total figure to the sum of approximately Six Trillion Naira (N6,000,000,000,000) given to the Niger Delta Development Commission.’’
Speaking shortly before handing over the report, Akpabio disclosed that the forensic audit covered a total of 13,777 contracts awarded from 2001 to 2019 at a final contract value of N3.274 trillion, some $7.944 billion.
What you should know
The President had ordered a forensic audit of the NDDC in October 2019 to probe alleged financial misappropriation from 2001 to 2019.
The Federal Executive Council (FEC) had in August 2020 approved N722.3 million for 8 auditors in addition to the N318 million earlier approved for some lead auditors who mobilised to the region in March.
The then acting Managing Director of the commission, who had a running battle with the National Assembly, Kemebradikumo Pondei, was sacked over allegations of mismanagement of funds, and in December 2020, the president appointed Effiong Akwa as the new head of the agency.
However, a new board is yet to be constituted for the commission, following the dissolution of the previous one in January 2020.
Akpabio had on August 11, 2021, received the report from the field auditors who scrutinised over 12,000 projects handled in nine states of the Niger Delta region by the NDDC between 2001 and 2019.
