Niger Delta News

Group Asks NDDC To Provide Revenue Profile From 2017 Till Date 

Ola ‘Kiya, Reporting

A group, the Community Development Committees of Niger Delta Oil and Gas Producing Areas (CDCNDOGPA), has requested the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) to provide its revenue profile from 2017 till date.

Stonix News reports that 2017 was the year the Interim Sole Administrator, Mr. Effiong Akwa was relieved of his post.

The group, CDCNDOGPA, said it was activating the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to make the request in the interest of accountability, probity and the public.

Chairman of the Board of Trustees of CDCNDOGPA, Mr. Joseph Ambakederimo, in a statement issued in Warri on Wednesday, said the group’s counsel, A.P. Oyibo and Co. has submitted a letter to the Acting Managing Director of NDDC to this effect.

He added that copies of the letter have also been sent to the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs and the Chairman of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) under the Freedom of Information Act, requesting financial records of the Commission in the past six years.

He stated that the group’s action was in response to the recent visit by the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs to the Commission where he called for the erstwhile Interim Sole Administrator Mr Effiong Akwa to account for over N300 billion allegedly wasted by the NDDC.

Mr. Ambakederimo also said the call for the FoI request was to further highlight the importance of holding people who are saddled with critical responsibilities to account for actions taken while in office.

He noted that the era of gloom and doom in the NDDC was gone for good paving for a new dawn in the Commission and expressed the hope that the people, whom the NDDC was established to cater for, will be happy and elated to see a new intervention agency that works for them.

“It is in the spirit of the above that the Community Development Committees of Niger Delta Oil and Gas Producing Areas, seeks to partner with the NDDC being the true representatives of the people in the oil and gas bearing communities.

“Because we represent the communities, it is our profound belief that we must continually hold the managers of the resources of the NDDC to account at all times.

“Going further on issues of transparency and accountability on the part of the managers of the oil and gas resources for the development of the communities, the defence of our people in the oil and gas communities in the Niger Delta region therefore we have to seek the cooperation of the new management of the NDDC and also from the Honourable Minister of Niger Delta Affairs to avail us our request to enable us have an informed expenditure profile of the commission as it relates to the period under review which is April 2019 to the October 20, 2022.

“This is the period the mismanagement of the resources of the commission surpassed the period covered by the forensic audit.

“We have to come by the way of the Freedom of lnformation to request for full disclosure of the management and application of humongous resources in excess of about one trillion that have had no positive impact on our communities in the region”, he said.

Mr. Ambakederimo said the FoI request was coming at a time a new management was taking charge and have the task of remaking and presenting a new NDDC to the people of the region, noting that this could only happen if the resources were religiously and judiciously applied to relieve the people of years of pain and agony.

He warned that the people of the region are demanding the full disclosure of the prayers which must be responded to by the new management of the commission within the constitutional seven days time limit from the date of receipt of the request.

“Failure to comply with our request shall automatically trigger a law suit seeking a mandamus from a competent court of jurisdiction,” he further warned.

What's your reaction?

Excited
0
Happy
0
In Love
0
Not Sure
0
Silly
0

Leave a reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

0 %