The Senate Committee on Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has vowed that it will ensure the debt International Oil Companies (IOCs) operating in the country owed to the NDDC will be paid to the commission’s coffers.
The contributions that the IOCs owe the NDDC amounted to hundreds of billions of dollars, revealed Senator Ned Nwoko, a member of the Senate Committee on NDDC.
Nwoko made this known while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja on Sunday.
The lawmaker stated that the Committee would invite the defaulting IOCs, investigate them, and ensure they do what is right by paying what they owe to the coffers of the NDDC.
What he said:
- “We must also insist that they do that. They must do that. You know, they are owing hundreds of billions of dollars to NDDC coffers. So we will invite them, we will investigate them and we will make sure they do what is right.
- “We don’t want to interfere with their works, but they have an obligation under the laws of Nigeria, they must host communities. They must deal with that.
- “I don’t think any member of the committee on NDDC will be compromised because we will not accept it,” Nwoko explained.
Senate’s Commitment to NDDC
Senator Nwoko further stated that the 10th Assembly and the Senate Committee on Niger Delta Development Commission to ensure effective project execution by the commission.
He emphasized that the Senate Committee on NDDC will ensure that contractors deliver on their undertakings, stressing that excuses would not be permitted.
- “The work of the NDDC is well explained in the act establishing it; yes, this is the tenth assembly, and we are different from the previous assemblies.
- “And I know that it will not be business as usual, we have made it clear to members of the committee that they cannot turn to substantive contractors like we had in the previous assembly.
- “If they must oversight properly and without fear of reproach, they must do things properly.
- “The fact that there is enough budget or work to be done will make a difference in the lives of the people and that is important,” he said.
Also, Nwoko said if there was a need to make more money available to the commission through budgetary allocation, it would be done.
Despite all the billions purportedly spent in the Niger Delta by the NDDC, the poverty and crime rates among youths seem to persist. I wonder if this alleged outstanding would make any difference if collected.