The Minister of the Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio has refuted allegations by a former Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, Joi Nunei that he approved from its coffers a whopping N10bn for her to share to contractors.
Akpabio also said that the forensic audit of the agency ordered by President Muhammadu Buhari in 2019 is ongoing as against the backstab by the past Managing Director that the audit is yet to start.
Akpabio spoke at the ongoing investigative hearing of the House of Representatives Committee on NDDC who had summoned and grilled the Minister with other officials of the Agency on the allegations against him by the past Managing Director.
He said that the forensic audit had taken off smoothly and added that nobody would have expected that the account of the agency would not be audited after nineteen years of its existence.
He further said that the N2.5 billion for the forensic audit exercise was included in the 2019 budget of the agency on the allegation that the agency had been awarding contracts to its contractors without going through the procurement process and signing of necessary documents, Akpabio said that the agency only awarded three contracts after he assumed office as Minister.
The Minister also hinted that in all the contracting processes, both the technical and financial bidding processes were conducted before the contracts were awarded.
Akpabio also added that 318 million naira was approved for the foresic audit of the Commission.
The Members of the Committee queried the Minister on his alleged usurpation of the powers of the past Managing Director, asking to what extent he had influenced or exercised such powers in the agency.
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The Lawmakers also stated that the Minister had done the jobs that ought to have been done by the interventionist agency.
(Editor: Ifeanyi Mark)
