The embattled former acting Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission, Mrs Joy Nunieh, on Friday accused the Minister of Niger Delta
The embattled former acting Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission, Mrs Joy Nunieh, on Friday accused the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio, of hijacking the forensic audit of the NDDC ordered by the President Muhammadu Buhari, ThePunch is reporting.
Nunieh appeared before the House of Representatives Committee on NDDC over allegations of illegal expenditure and mismanagement by the commission, via online meeting platform, Zoom and apologised for not showing up at the hearing on Thursday.
Nunieh could not appear before the panel to physically testify because police laid a siege to her residence in Port Harcourt on Thursday. But for the arrival of Nyesom Wike, Rivers governor, she would have been arrested.
When the panel chairman asked about the forensic audit ordered by Buhari, for which the IMC was constituted, Nunieh said, “What I met was not exactly what is going on. Akpabio insisted that he would supervise the forensic audit. I reminded him and showed him the letter that the President had written, that there is no way we could spend the money that was in our budget.
“In his memo to the President, he requested that the money for the funding of the forensic audit be got from the Service Wide Vote. Mr President, in his wisdom, refused that request and in writing said it should be from NDDC’s appropriation, making NDDC the producing entity.”
Nunieh also stated that she spent a total of N8bn during her stay as acting MD between October 2019 and February 2020. The NDDC is, however, said to have spent not less than N81.5bn in 2020 alone.
Nunieh alleged that Akpabio gave her a list of NDDC officials to be redeployed or sacked, including the only northerner in the management.
Speaking on the issue of employment, she stated that the minister had collected curricula vitae from “godfathers” and she made it known that the issue of employment was already an issue before she came as the Federal Character Commission that used to give NDDC the approval for employment stopped it because of the scandal.
She added, “I want to tell the world that I never did any employment. I never gave out a single contract from NDDC. I am not corrupt. No contractor can sit anywhere and say they gave me N10. And I can say before the world that I’m the most unpopular MD ever that came to NDDC. The money of the people of Niger Delta is blood money, I refused to touch it. Even when my friends were contractors, even when they claimed that they were owed monies, my instruction was that everybody should finish their jobs. Everybody saw contractors going back to site when I was the MD. I was privileged to see all the videos. For one job, five people would send me videos of completion – the same job, the same video – and I would just laugh.”
Nunieh also blamed the IMC, NDDC workers and people of the Niger Delta for the rot in the commission and was also asked to spend N10 billion on Christmas bonus. She said if she had agreed, the 10 states under the commission would have got N1 billion each.
For the first time in the history of NDDC, no palliatives were given. I did not give out Christmas palliatives. I was under pressure to bring N10bn – N1bn per state – but I refused.
“The youths were complaining that things were difficult and I said ‘the day I give you this money, you know I have started collecting your money. I never gave any Christmas bonus or palliative during my time. For the first time in the history of NDDC, NDDC worked throughout December. There was no break except on public holidays.”
Meanwhile, after Nunieh’s presentation, the committee summoned Akpabio, asking him to appear before it on Monday. The lawmakers also summoned the acting MD of NDDC to reappear before them on Monday.
