NDDC extends contract verification exercise

PORT HARCOURT, Rivers, Nigeria – The Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, has extended the period for the verification of documents for contractors and consultants of the Commission to Friday, February 7, 2020.

The extension was announced yesterday during a press briefing by the alternate Chairman of the Contract Verification Committee and Director of Project Monitoring and Supervision, Engr. Dr Emmanuel Audu-Ohwavborua, at the NDDC Rivers State Office, venue of the exercise for the state.  

He declared: “The Chairman of the Verification Committee, Dr. Cairo Ojuogboh, has directed that we grant this press conference to let the whole region know that management has graciously approved an extension of one week for this exercise from Monday, February 3 to Friday, February 7.

“The exercise will now terminate on Friday, February 7, 2020. We urge all contractors that have business with NDDC that is still on-going to use the opportunity of the one week extension to come for documentation.”

The alternate chairman said that the contractors and consultants started responding after getting a marching order from the NDDC Acting Managing Director, Dr. Joi Nunieh, who addressed newsmen and stated that all contractors, suppliers and consultants that had any dealings with NDDC should come to submit documents for verification of forfeit their payments.

According to the NDDC director, the fear of sanctions, provoked a lot of rush throughout this week, stating: “We have been verifying series of messages from contractors pleading for extension of the time for the exercise, so that everyone concerned will be captured. For instance, in our database in River State, we have about 2,500 contractors and suppliers but as at today, we have captured and processed the documents of just 770 companies.”

Audu-Ohwavborua warned that any contactor that failed to be captured in the exercise would be deemed not to have any business with the NDDC.

In his own remarks, the Head of the Verification Committee in Rivers State, as well as the NDDC Director Agriculture and Fisheries, Mr George Ero, said that the contractors were now turning up for the exercise. “Initially, when we started, the flow was slow but now the momentum has picked up,” he said.