THE Nigerian government has failed to publish the Forensic Audit Report on the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) submitted by an ex-Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Mr Godswill Akpabio, more than 4 years after.

Mr Akpabio submitted the report on September 2, 2021, after receiving it from auditors in August. A glimpse into the audit showed that there were over 13,000 projects were abandoned in the Niger Delta. Lead forensic auditor, Mr Kabir Ahmed, in a brief overview of the report, said that the team recommended managerial and structural changes in the NDDC, including downsizing its board.

The former Minister, who is now the Senate President, had pledged that the forensic audit would expose those who had used their exalted positions to fleece the NDDC. While receiving the report, President Muhammadu Buhari said his administration would apply the law to remedy the deficiencies outlined in the audit report of the NDDC, saying that “this will include but not limited to initiation of criminal investigation, prosecution, recovery of funds not properly utilised for the public purposes for which they were meant for.”

President Buhari, who was represented by Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice at that time, Mr Abubakar Malami (SAN), said relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of government would be engaged in doing justice to the findings.

“It is on record that between 2001 and 2019, the Federal Government has approved Three Trillion, Three Hundred and Seventy Five Billion, Seven hundred and thirty five million, Seven Hundred and Seventy Six Thousand, Seven Hundred and Ninety Four Naira, Ninety Three Kobo (N3,375,735,776,794.93) as a budgetary allocation and Two Trillion, Four Hundred and Twenty Billion, Nine Hundred and Forty Million ,and Eight Hundred and Ninety Four Thousand, One Hundred and Ninety One Naira( N2,420,948,894,191.00) as income from Statutory and non-Statutory Sources, which bring the total figure to the sum of approximately Six Trillion Naira given to the Niger Delta Development Commission,” Malami revealed.

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“We have on record over 13,777 projects, the execution of which is substantially compromised, and FG is also concerned with the multitude of NDDC’s bank accounts amounting to 362 and lack of proper reconciliation of accounts,” Mr Malami further said.

In spite of these promises, President Buhari failed to implement most of the recommendations or publish the report for Nigerians to see. The implication of this is that people named in the report for corruption are walking the streets free.

In 2022, the NDDC announced the termination of 1,301 contracts as part of the implementation of the forensic audit of the commission.The NDDC said in a public notice posted on its website on November 10 that the termination of the contracts followed President Buhari’s directive, and that the affected contracts were those that the contractors failed to mobilise to site from 2000 to December 31, 2019.

“All affected contractors are advised to note that all monies earlier received by way of mobilisation for any of the projects are to be promptly refunded to the Commission’s Account with the Central Bank of Nigeria,” the notice had read.

No comprehensive overhaul

In all of the noise made about the NDDC during the Buhari administration, the only measure taken at that time was to sack the NDDC interim administrator, Mr Effiong Akwa, and replace him with an acting Managing Director, Mr Emmanuel Audu-Ohwavborua, who was serving as a Director in the Delta State office of the commission.

Minister of Niger Delta Affairs at that time, Mr Umana Umana, said the sacked interim administrator, must account for N300 billion contracts he awarded without following due process.

“The perception is that NDDC has failed. There is also the perception about widespread, endemic corruption in the commission. True or false, I don’t think it is a good story that you go somewhere and you are introduced as a staff(er) of NDDC and the first thing the person must be thinking about you is that this must be one of the corrupt ones.

“Even for your children, it is not a good story. It is in your hands to change that perception. There is a total failure. It is that failure that makes it possible for one man to sit alone in this commission and issue awards letters without due process, of N200 billion, N300 billion, under the guise of emergency,” Mr Umana said, while addressing the staff of the commission.

“This is clear cut impunity we cannot tolerate. Already we are talking of indebtedness of over N3 trillion and one man will still sit alone and issue letters of another N300 billion without following due processes? And this was during the pendency of the forensic audit.”

However, Nigerians were not told whether he refunded the money or not. He was also not arrested or prosecuted by any of the anti-graft agencies.

In the list released by Mr Akpabio earlier, Chairman of the Senate committee on Niger Delta, Mr Peter Nwabaoshi (now late), had his name listed against 53 NDDC projects.

Mr Akpabio had alleged that Senator Matthew Urhoghide got six projects, while Senator James Manager was given six contracts. A former senator, Samuel Anyanwu, got 19 projects. A former Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on the NDDC, Mr Nicholas Mutu, was also named by the minister as receiving 74 contracts – the highest among the listed lawmakers.

Calls for prosecution

There were several individuals involved in wrecking the NDDC, yet walk the streets free because the previouss government considered them sacred cows, political analysts said.

Currently, the NDDC has been subsumed in the Ministry of Regional Development, and the matter appears to have been forgotten. Economy Post had reported that the NDDC mismanaged about N6.32 trillion received from the Federal Government between 2001 and 2023. This, anti-corruption experts said, should be investigated.

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“The Bola Tinubu administration should summon the courage and publish the forensic audit for Nigerians to see those who contributed to crippling the NDDC,” said a human rights crusader, Dr Charles Amahie.

“So many people are involved in this, and there were hundreds of contracts funded but were abandoned. Tinubu should publish the report and then prosecute those who are indicted in the report. Alternatively, the matter should be handed over to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) or the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).”

A lawyer, Mr Darlington Wachukwu, explained that Nigerians had a right to read the report. “It is not an exclusive preserve of the government, and it is not a classified document. So, publish it for all to see,” he said,

“We need to read the report, name and shame those involved, while the government takes legal action to recover public funds that appear to have been embezzled.”

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