Jubal Kanayo writes on the recent probe of the Interim Management Committee (IMC) of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), what it could mean for the region and its people in the future.
The continuous agitation in many quarters for the audit of the account of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) finally got President Muhammadu Buhari’s blessing two months ago and all was going just fine; until the discovery that over N750billion could not be accounted for, as it had been withdrawn in various ways over three months. NDDC officials, many appointed by governors, had diverted billions through phony contracts, contract splitting, over invoicing and other schemes.
And then it began to rain.
On May 5, 2020, the National Assembly (NASS) passed a resolution to investigate an allegation of N40 billion fraud against the Interim Management Committee (IMC) of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
The Trio and sons
The N750billion, Quick News Africa learnt, was shared by a gang of rogue contractors and a number of officials of the commission – Ag. MD/CEO, Prof Nelson Brambaifa; Ag. Executive Director Finance Chris Amadi and Executive Director, Projects, Samuel Ajenekevwe Ajogbe. The children of the MD/CEO – Christopher and David Brambaifa – who both served as special assistants to their father, got part of the ‘windfall’, too.
Worse, the funds were being diverted from the commission’s CBN account to those of other commercial banks.
The misappropriation was so wanton that the Economic & Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had to write a strongly-worded letter to one of the commercial banks to desist from the financial crime and refuse any payment made into it from the commission.
“Preliminary investigation reveals that funds are being diverted from the above account domiciled in the CBN to commercial banks.
“In view of the above you are requested to henceforth reject any payments instruction from the accounts of Niger Delta Development Commission to accounts of corporate bodies domiciled in your bank until further notice to fore stale further diversion of the funds.
“This request is made pursuant to section 38 & 34 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (Establishment) Act, 2004 and section 21 & 6 of the new Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act (as amended) 2011,” the statement from the EFCC read.
The EFCC went ahead to block the accounts and subsequent payments from the accounts of NDDC to those of corporate bodies or commercial banks, until “further notice”.
“It is a cesspool of corruption and I can confirm the authenticity of the letter to the Banks to stop payment instructions from NDDC. Our men have commenced investigation,” spokesperson of the EFCC, Tony Orilade disclosed said at the time.
Between March and May, the Federal Government has recovered assets worth over N10billion from former directors and acting directors of the commission.
Enter Akpabio & Nwaoboshi
In December 2019, senator representing Delta North in the National Assembly and chairman of the Senate Committee on Niger Delta Peter Nwaoboshi, called out the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs Godswill Akpabio to show proof of the over 1000 contracts which had cost the commission a whopping N1billion naira.
Like everyone mentioned in connection with the happenings in the commission, Akpabio called it a “smear campaign”.
But Nwaoboshi was not done. Through his aide, he granted an interview to a digital daily, where he supposedly spilled it all.
“He wanted to be made the supervising Minister of Niger Delta Development Commission and you know it wasn’t like that in the 8th Assembly. He got it.
“When he got it, he met $91 million. Quote me emphatically. He met another N60 billion and the first thing he did was to award himself phoney and fraudulent contracts; contracts that never existed [like] clearing of hyacinths from water ways.
“He awarded these emergency contracts. To pay himself, he ordered that the $91 million be changed to naira. Then the Acting MD, Mrs Enyia Legunma, an experienced civil servant and having worked in NDDC for a very long time, knew that those contracts never existed, refused to change; she refused to give approval.
“She refused that the dollar be changed into naira and an issue broke out between Akpabio and the woman. The issue leaked out to the National Assembly, especially the Senate Committee on Niger Delta Affairs.
“Akpabio came here seeking support of Senator Peter Nwaoboshi to convert the $91 million into naira but Peter Nwaoboshi flatly refused. He refused because he knew that those contracts never existed. How can 1,000 contracts be issued in one year? How many contracts can one entity issue in one year?”
It is constantly bandied that the commission had no budgets for the years 2017 and 2018. Nwaoboshi said it was “all lies”.
“And in 2018, the Committee didn’t attend to their budget, but those are lies. In 2017, there was budget, you all know that NDDC budget comes midstream into the year which does not come like other agency. It comes June/July of each year; there is 2018 budget which expires in July.
“The NDDC budget elapsed on 31st July this year and the joint Committee wrote them that they must not embark on extra budgetary expenditure and that they should submit their budget for approval.
“The letter was written during the former Acting Managing Director, Prof. Obasa, I have a copy of the letter which they acknowledged, so, the claim that there was no budget for 2017, and 2018 was a white lie.
“If you come to the office, you will see two copies of the budget, it is pure lies.”
In June 2020, the commission, through its spokesperson, Charles Odili, answered Nwaoboshi, insisting that, back in 2016, Nwaoboshi used 11 companies as fronts to secure for himself N3.6 billion contract in September 2016.
Odili said, in the statement, that the contract was the “biggest single case of looting of the Commission’s resources”.
It continued to turn things around.
The NDDC also said it never awarded any contract to Akpabio, according to its records; rather, it made a request of the Senate.
“We believe that until Senator Nwaoboshi can absolve himself of his role in the looting of the resources of the Commission, he should step aside from any investigative activity against the Commission.
“From our findings, the person who has questions to answer to the Niger Delta People is Senator Nwaoboshi,” the commission said in the statement.
The commission went ahead to list the 11 companies which the senator allegedly used to do his deed, vis; Noan Integrated Services, De Towers Constructions & Allied Services Ltd, Franstine Nigeria Enterprises, Edrihide Company, Isumabe U.K. Global, Benchmark Construction & Allied Services Ltd, Millstone Allied Builders Ltd., Nelpat Nigeria Company, Agh-Rown Ventures, Edendoma Stars International, Antlers Construction and Allied Works Ltd.
“It is a desperate attempt to save Akpabio. My allegation that Akpabio asked for N500million contracts is unchallenged. I say it again and again, Akpabio wrote to me to include N500 million contracts (in the NDDC budget) for him. The letter is there. All this one they are dancing around, trying to save Akpabio is a waste of effort.”
On the NDDC’s demand that he excludes himself from any panel that is investigating the commission, Mr Nwaoboshi said, “I am not even a member of the ad hoc committee that is investigating their financial recklessness,” Nwaoboshi insisted.
But the grey clouds remained for Akpabio.
Shortly after that, he was fingered for bloating the figures approved for the publicity for the forensic audit of the commission’s accounts. After the FEC had approved the sum of N381million for the activity, Akpabio allegedly directed the release of N641million for the same activity, doubling the initial approval by then interim management committee chairman (IMC) Prof Keme Pondei.
Akpabio, in his own revelation told the committee that senior officials of the NDDC cashed out N4billion from the account of the NDDC in one day, in what appears to be a contract splitting.
Akpabio told the investigating panel of the House of Representatives probing the finance of the NDDC that officials of the NDDC were in the habit of splitting contracts above their approval limits, making it difficult for the Ministry to supervise most of the contract payments.
In his defence, Akpabio said those who were throwing his name around the press were those who kicked against the forensic audit of the commission’s account.
He had bombshells of his own. He accused members of the National Assembly of being the beneficiaries of most of the contracts awarded at the NDDC and went ahead to state that before his time as minister, the NDDC had over 300 bank accounts.
But the committee was more interested in hearing Akpabio defend himself. He scarcely did.
Nunieh and Kolawole’s damning revelations
After much fear over her safety and the drama that preceded her virtual appearance before the committee, immediate past acting managing director of the commission, Joy Nunieh, made explosive allegations before the committee.
She re-echoed everything which Nwaoboshi said and more, including the fact that she had been forced to take an oath of secrecy which she turned down. She refused to do a lot of biddings of Akpabio, she said, because they were fishy and had no legal backing.
While Akpabio said many considered the commission an “ATM”, it emerged that the commission had approved a number of mind-boggling purchases, among which were; N1.5 billion as ‘Covid-19 relief’ among staff, ‘community relations’ costing N1.072 billion, consultancy N4.1 billion, duty tour allowances N486 million, imprests (October 2019 to May, 2020) N790.9 million, Lassa fever intervention N1.956 billion, legal services N906 million, maintenance N220 million, medicals N2.6 billion, overseas travel (February to May, 2020 when we were all supposed to be on lockdown), N85.6 million, logistics N61 million, condolences N61.7 million, public communication N1.121 billion, security N744 million, engagement of stakeholders (February to May, 2020) N248 million, etc.
Next in line was Johnson Kolawole, head, Directorate of Research and Programmes, Act for Positive Transformation Initiative, a non-government organisation (NGO).
According to Kolawole, the IMC had expended over N80 billion between January 2020 and May 2020 as against the N22 billion repeatedly portrayed by the IMC, adding that the 2019 appropriation act as passed by the National Assembly provided for some emergency projects across the state in the region with an additional N800 million as emergency contingency sum.
The IMC spent N20 billion on emergency road repairs where there have been fraudulent cases of contract inflation and non-implementation.
“How would they explain the payment of N13.6 million for consultancy on the construction of ‘infant Jesus’?
He confirmed the first case against Akpabio and the bloated contract with Clear Point Media, a company which belongs to Moffat Ekoriko, a native of Akwa Ibom and ally of Akpabio.
On May 19, 2020, the IMC paid a firm N39.375 million as consultancy fee for rebuttal.
The company had earlier received N34 million into for ‘consultancy on reputation management for NDDC’.
“Same day, when businesses and countries were closing their doors, the same company, Clear Point Communication Ltd was paid N34 million for ‘Niger Delta Development Forum in Washington DC, USA’ and another N32.9 million for ‘Summit on NDDC and Investment Opportunities in Dorchester, London’, same day.
“There was no evidence of implementation of above contracts. Money paid went to private individuals; this ad hoc committee can call for the account statements of the firm to verify this. “Same company received into same account a sum of N536 million for ‘campaign to save lives’ in the Niger Delta on April 23, 2020,” he said.
Tunji-Ojo gets ‘smeared’
The chairman of the House of Representatives’ Committee on the Niger Delta, which had been listening to the revelations, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, was almost livid when the current MD of the NDDC, Prof Pondei, walked out on the committee, after requesting that Ojo step down as chairman of the committee.
On Monday, Ojo announced that he was stepping down as committee chairman, as a national daily had carried the news that he was guilty of corrupt practices within the commission, as he had profited from a number of contracts.
His deputy, Thomas Ereyitomi, took over as chairman.
Pondei’s Slump
On Monday, when everyone regrouped for more sordid details, the committee continued its inquiry into the whereabouts of the billions and how the commission could still getting into debt, despite having such amounts in its coffers; at some point, when questions were being directed at the IMC’s Prof Pondei, he slumped and had to be rescued by staff of the commission, bringing an end to the day’s proceedings.
Questions, reactions
The chairman of the NDDC Advisory Committee, Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State, said: ‘We do not want to criticise what has happened in the NDDC for quite some time, but the fact is that the cooperation between the states and the NDDC has not been strengthened over time and we have various cases of duplication of projects that are not properly planned.
“But I believe that with the inauguration of this body we will be able to sit down, meet together, work in collaboration and supportively to bring greater developments to our people.’’
Nunieh opined that a lot can be done to make the commission work again.
“Mr President should direct the immediate establishment of a National Procurement Council in NDDC; it should be the first thing even before we talk about a forensic audit. That could help Nigeria save so much money in terms of fraud and corruption.
“I will like to see the forensic audit really take place, I will like you to recommend to auditor general to give you a list of certified forensic auditors in Nigeria so that he can get them quickly to carry out a proper forensic audit of the NDDC.
“The audit is not just financial; it’s supposed to look through the personnel of the NDDC. When we are talking about billions of naira being spent by the commission, it’s unbelievable that they don’t have up to ten engineers. The staff audit is necessary,” she said.
The former acting MD said the National Assembly has a role to play, adding that an oversight function would help the new management that will come in.
“Supervise them and make sure they act only in accordance with the law. To Senator Akpabio, he felt the President has delegated all the powers to him, he felt he also had the powers of the board. There must be a re-orientation for the minister.
“We didn’t have this problem from the records I saw when the NDDC was under the office of the secretary to the government of the federation (SGF). The NDDC I will recommend should be taken back to the office of the SGF”.
Godknows Sotonye of the Niger Delta Renaissance Coalition called on the committee to proffer solutions after it is done with the ugly revelations.
“It should go further to make recommendations that will restore the law and due process at the NDDC.”
“The IMC is illegal and does not follow the Act. The IMC must be disbanded immediately because, as an illegal contraption, it serves no functional purpose in the administration of the NDDC. Rather, it has been exposed as a conduit for stealing the lean resources of the NDDC.”
It joined Nunieh in the call for an authentic forensic audit “by a reputable independent auditor, creditably and independently, just as the NNPC audit was done by Price Waterhouse a few years back while the legitimate Board and management was still in place. The board and management of the NNPC were not set aside for an IMC in order to do the audit”.
A commission which was created to bring succour to the people of the region has become a source of pain, regret and rues for the poorest of the poor in the region, as its sons and daughters champion an ugly fiesta of financial misappropriation amidst a web of lies and finger-pointing. The commission has embarrassingly deviated from its mandate to develop the oil-rich region over two decades, largely due to corruption among officials in the agency.
Will the people of the Niger Delta ever taste the sweetness of the land? Will they ever profit from this commission? Will the president get the NASS to scrap it? Will it be properly reined, so that it can work more for the people? Will it be directly supervised by the Presidency like the NNPC? How long before another episode of money-grabbing hits the commission? What will the NASS do about this? Who will come to the rescue of the Niger Delta people? The questions are a handful but they can be answered one at a time by a government plagued by the corruption it has pledged and hopes to fight.
