Home NEWS Minister Akpabio Stops Payment Of NDDC Contractors’  N2 Trillion

Minister Akpabio Stops Payment Of NDDC Contractors’  N2 Trillion

Godswill Akpabio

The Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio, has ordered that payment of over N2 trillion to the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) contractors be stopped immediately.

At a meeting with the management of the interventionist agency in Abuja, the minister accused the commission of paying money to ‘political youths’ in the region and said that he had directed banks to stop payments for contracts undertaken in the last one month to enable the ministry to ascertain the incidence of asset stripping or otherwise.

The minister, who announced that a forensic audit had begun, blamed the agency for failing to leave up to expectations, even as he regretted that the agency had abandoned millions of the suffering people of the oil-rich area.

“People that you owed just N500,000 to N1 million are over 400 and they have been coming to the NDDC for over 10 years and the money has not been given to them.”

“I believe that the NDDC has not performed well. I do not want to say that you have failed the region, but I am saying that you have not performed well because when I saw so many of you looking so robust, I realised that at least you have not failed your families, but I do not know how far the people on the streets have gone.

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“There are a lot of complaints all over, even the real youths of the Niger Delta who undertook just clearance of water have not been paid. Those that were paid are political youths, not the real youths.”

He lamented the absence of a specialist hospital in the region, saying that President Muhammadu Buhari is disturbed by the deplorable state of the zone and was eager to leave behind a legacy project.

Also speaking, the Minister of State, Festus Keyamo, said that the ministry is determined to redefine the vision of the commission, adding that the NDDC had failed in terms of commensurability of projects.

“It may not be business as usual again. We have become a laughing stock to outsiders, as people say that our own people are under-developing in our region.

“The commission for long has been used to enrich politicians’ pockets. You can no longer sit down in Port Harcourt and do whatever you like because we learned directors sit down in Port Harcourt without going to work.”

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