Group urges President Buhari to act on NDDC forensic audit report now

By
Usman Kadri
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Report: Buhari cancels restoration of Intels’ pilotage contract with NPA
Buhari

Pressure is currently mounting on President Muhammadu Buhari to take action on the forensic audit carried out on the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).

This is even as the Progressive Impact Organization for Community Development (PRIMORG) has called on the President to act on the matter.

PRIMORG urged President Buhari to expeditiously take action against the staff of NDDC and contractors found culpable in the brazen criminality, contract scams, and embezzlement of the Commission since its establishment in 2000.

The admonition is coming on the heels of the expose by the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio, which says that the recently submitted final forensic audit report of the NDDC had 12,128 abandoned projects that could not be traced to any contractor.

President Buhari had in October 2019 ordered for forensic auditing of the Commission after pressures from governors from the Niger Delta region, civil society organizations, and Nigerians over the endemic corruption in the agency.

Programme Coordinator at Social Development Integrated Center, Isaac Botti led the call during an anti-corruption radio program, PUBLIC CONSCIENCE on RADIO, produced by the Progressive Impact Organization for Community Development, PRIMORG, on Wednesday in Abuja.

Botti who lamented the culture of overlooking audit and corruption reports in Nigeria said President Buhari must address the gaps in the forensic audit report of the NDDC objectively and without bias, noting that the “NDDC forensic audit will not achieve anything if there is no political will to implement it”.

“With regards to the NDDC forensic audit report, President Buhari should show the public he meant business, he should make the report available to the public, he should ensure that proper and right actions are followed and that will instill confidence in the public and show that he is ready to fight corruption.

“If the President says he is fighting corruption, then let him fight it without bias and objectively which include doing everything that will help control the incidences of corruption and supporting every process that curbs corruption,” Botti stressed.

He added that the two decades of mismanagement and embezzlement of funds meant to develop the region have been made possible due to corruption and failure to institute governing board of the NDDC; which plays a significant role in overseeing the operation of the commission.

A Nigerian, identified as Joseph who called into the radio programme also had these to say: “The youth of the Niger Delta region should mobilize themselves, every youth should insist that this report be made known; Let us know who are doing these things, the best way to tackle the corruption is to know who are the enemies of the Niger Delta.”

Public Conscience is a syndicated weekly anti-corruption radio program used by PRIMORG to draw government and citizens’ attention to corruption and integrity issues in Nigeria.

The program is supported by the MacArthur Foundation.

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