Admin l Monday, September 13, 2021
LAGOS, Nigeria – The Ijaw National Congress(INC) has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to make public the report of the forensic audit on the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC.
The INC said that now that the report has been submitted, the President should not delay in inaugurating the board which has been confirmed by the National Assembly. In a statement, President, INC worldwide, Prof. Benjamin Okaba said he is surprised that the President has not said anything several weeks after the report was submitted to him.
“Why has Mr. President till date not said anything about the report and the inauguration of the substantive board, over two years into the life of his 2nd Term despite public concerns and condemnation on the implications of managing the NDDC as a private estate for this long”, he said.
The INC, he said considers it as a huge integrity test and task on Mr President to immediately submit the Forensic report, undiluted to the corridors of public domain with the guarantee of free and easy access by anyone that cares, in line with the Freedom of Information Act.
“The ljaw nation is dissatisfied and displeased with the mere mention of figures such as N6trn spent on the NDDC and many others that when weighed and compared with figures from other available benchmarks published earlier by the External auditors and the office of the auditor general, exhibit clear discrepancies and confusion of data”, the INC president said.
The INC demanded publication of the audit report and how much was spent on the audit to allay fears that the Akpabio orchestrated NDDC Forensic Audit will not turnout to be another scam or instrument of witch hunting, intimidating and blackmailing perceived enemies and to further short-change the ljaw nation.
“The federal government should make the outcome of the forensic audit public including publishing the names of those culpable in the mismanagement of the funds of the NDDC and abandonment of projects over the years”, the INC explained.
“The INC frowns at the secrecy with which the outcome of the forensic audit is being handled. The people of the Niger Delta region deserve to know every detail relating to the report of the forensic audit. The INC also insists that there should be no cover up or sacred cows in the implementation of the outcome of the forensic audit. All the persons culpable irrespective of class, creed and political affiliations should be brought to justice without fear or favour”, he said.
The INC president explained that going forward, the federal government must stop the practice of using the NDDC as a political patronage agency which is controlled and managed from Abuja instead of by the people of the Niger Delta region.
“The NDDC going forward must be accountable to the people it was created to serve and not those in positions of authority in Aso Rock”, he said.
