This is a rejoinder to the recent Press Statement written, signed and published by Prof. Kemebradikumo Pondei, Ag. Managing Director, Dr. Cairo Ojougboh, Ag. Executive Director, Project, and Chief Etang Ibanga, Ag. Executive Director, Finance & Administration, all of them being members of the Interim Management Committee (IMC) of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), in defense of Chief Godswill Akpabio, the Honourable Minister of Niger Delta Affairs and the supervising Minister for the NDDC, on corruption allegations levelled against him.

The Press Statement is, no doubt, an attempt to respond to a number of publications and petitions written by the Niger Delta Ijaw Development and Response Assembly (NDIDRA) against the backdrop of the ongoing corrupt practices in the NDDC under the stewardship of Chief Godswill Akpabio, which has refused to abate. This rejoinder is therefore to restate the position of the NDIDRA concerning the corruption allegations as the IMC’s Press Statement woefully failed to address the issues.
In doing this, the NDIDRA will advance further evidence to prove the corruption allegations against Chief Godswill Akpabio and sustain the call for his sack and the disbandment of the IMC.
But before dwelling on that in details, the NDIDRA will like to place on record that it has no pecuniary interest in mind for this battle against the squandering of public funds, most particularly those of the NDDC. The NDDC is a product of a ‘People’s Struggle’ – the ‘Ijaw Struggle’ and was not gotten on a platter of gold. Lives were lost and those of us alive must protect it for the betterment of all the people of the region.

We are therefore neither the group scared of the outcome of a non-existent forensic audit because we are not NDDC contractors; nor the group described as professional trouble makers seeking for attention because we have never had cause to fight any management, as there has been no NDDC management as corrupt as this; nor the group described as online publishers out to extort money from the NDDC management because we are not journalists and do not own a blog with which news are published. We are simply Ijaw people who took part in the Ijaw Struggle and played different roles to see that the Ijaw people have a better deal in the affairs of the country called Nigeria. And the NDDC is one of the outcomes of that struggle.
On the specific allegations of corruption, the position of the NDIDRA is that the establishment of the IMC, masterminded by Chief Godswill Akpabio, is itself an infringement on the law that governs the running of the NDDC. It is therefore a misnomer and must be disbanded. We demand that a Board be constituted. This is not a call for negotiation and settlement. The laws of our land must be obeyed, be it at the Federal, State, or Local Government levels and, even in a quasi government. We make bold to say that the much-touted forensic audit in the NDDC is a ruse hence the pilfering of funds is going on at a much larger scale now than ever. We shall, in the course of this rejoinder, provide copious evidence to substantiate this assertion. And if the Federal Government and its anti-graft agencies, in this instance, fail to protect the law, we, the people of the Niger Delta, will take actions we deem fit, to protect and preserve the NDDC from total collapse.
We have, in order to put the records straight and counter the fallacies concocted by the IMC in its Press Statement, reproduced Chief Akpabio’s specific financial impropriety against the Commission and the people of the Niger Delta.

CONTRACT FOR THE COMPLETION OF THE NDDC PERMANENT SITE: On assumption of office, Chief Akpabio hurriedly visited the site for the NDDC Head office project and announced March, 2020 as the project completion timeline. In the Press Statement, the IMC suggested that Marshland Nig. Ltd, the initial contractor, brought the project to 50% completion level. What they did not tell us is how much Marshland received as payment for the 50% job done. The records show that Marshland received the sum of N4b to bring the project to 50% completion and was demanding for additional N4b only, to complete the project. The IMC did not also disclose the contract sum for the completion of the remaining 50% of the project. The team of NDDC engineers empanelled by the Commission to re-evaluate the project pegged the cost at N6b and recommended the likes of Julius Berger to complete the project; just N2b above what the initial contractor, Marshland, demanded. Nsima Ikere, who happened to be the MD at the time, jettisoned this recommendation and reassigned the contract to Rodnab (Rodnap) Construction Ltd at a whopping sum of N16b. The IMC made a futile attempt to refute the cozy relationship between Chief Godswill Akpabio, Nsima Ikere and Rodnab. It is of public knowledge that Nsima Ikere contested the 2019 Akwa-Ibom governorship election but lost. Did Chief Akpabio support Nsima Ikere in this election? Yes, he did. Chief Akpabio used Messrs. Rodnab Construction Ltd for most projects in Akwa-Ibom State when he was the governor. That is the relationship between Chief Akpabio, Nsima Ikere and Rodnab. Rodnab had received close to N10.4b before Chief Akpabio took full control of the scheme. Upon assumption, Chief Akpabio paid Rodnab the sum of N2.6b and gave March, 2020 as the project completion deadline.

Towards the end of March, 2020, the current IMC paid Rodnab another N3b, bringing the total sum received by Rodnab to N16b, representing the total contract sum. Is it normal to pay a contractor the full contract sum when the contract is 95% complete as claimed by the IMC? What happens to the 6% retention as required by law and practice? The IMC, in its Press Statement, failed to address that. Rather, it went ahead to make another hollow argument to defend their master by saying that Chief Akpabio was the PDP Minority Leader in the Senate at the time this contract and other shady deals took place, and that he could not have had a hand in those deals initiated and packaged by appointees of the APC led government. We like to remind them that, by this time, Chief Akpabio was only a member of the PDP at day time but an APC member at night. This is because he was already having major disagreements with the Governor of Akwa-Ibom state at that time, and it was more than obvious that he wouldn’t work for the incumbent PDP Governor, and Nsima Ekere knows that. Hence, he effortlessly decamped to the APC. You should also recall that Chief Akpabio was facing corruption charges proffered against him by the EFFC but had the prosecution preposterously dropped or suspended as soon as he decamped to the APC.

CONTRACTS FOR CLEARING OF WATER HYACINTHS: On assumption of office as the supervising Minister for the NDDC, Chief Apkabio openly, on camera, directed Mrs. Akwagaga the Acting Managing Director at the time, to pay contracts for clearing of Water Hyacinths. He collected N1.9b and within two weeks interval, he collected another N700m. In the Press Statement under reference, the IMC claimed that youths protested against the non-payment of contracts for clearing of water hyacinths, hence he advised the Commission to pay the sum of N1.9b. If we may ask, what has youths got to do with contracts for clearing of water hyacinths that will warrant a youths’ protest. Are water hyacinth contracts a part of youth empowerment programme that the Commission has wasted over N65b on? This argument is least expected from people whose academic background and educational qualifications we do not intend to interrogate. If youths were to organize such manner of protests, it will be against the abandoning of the East-West Road Project directly under the control of the Niger Delta Ministry. Out of the N18b payment the IMC claimed it has made so far to contractors, roughly 20% are for phantom water hyacinths and River De-silting, and 80% for bogus Emergency contracts, leaving out road and land reclamation projects and the likes, that our people are in dire need of.

CONTRACTS FOR THE SUPPLY OF LASSVA FEVER EQUIPMENT: The IMC claims that these contracts were awarded and the contracts closed out before Chief Akpabio became the supervising Minister for the Commission. That is another failed lie! For the avoidance of doubt, we have released for publication NDDC’s internal memos to show that the contracts were awarded in 2019, by which time Chief Akpabio has resumed duty as the supervising Minister. The document marked as “Hi” is a document which shows that the said contracts were awarded in 2019, some without budget cover and others, exceeding budget limits, and are “to be captured in 2020 budget”.

This is a practice every appropriation law forbids. In the document, it is suggested that these items be smuggled into the 2020 budget, meaning that the Commission did anticipatory spending. The document marked as “Hiii” shows that the contracts were paid for in the year 2020.

These are payments for; Maternal Delivery Kits at -N1,128,750,000.00, Cholera Vaccines at -N680,000,000.00, Lassa Fever Protective Kits at -N1,092,283,500.00 and Outstanding Science Equipment at -N292,764,832.50, all amounting to N4b (-N4,096,798,332.50) also shown in the document marked ‘Hvi’. These items were never supplied.

So the argument that the equipment was supplied and distributed before Chief Akpabio came in does not exonerate him from culpability. After all, he is the one touting a forensic audit whose job it is to unearth the wrong doings of contractors and staff of the Commission. We insist that no equipment was supplied. If the Commission did, the general public should have known. Chief Akpabio, through phoney contracts, collected the over N4b for materials that were not supplied.
1. N5.5B CONTRACT FOR COVID-19 SENSITIZATION: In a letter dated 6th April, 2020, this current IMC awarded a contract for the “Emergency Procurement of Specialized Medical Personnel Protective Equipment (PPE) for Health Workers and Provision of Community based Sensitization Campaign Against the Spread of COVID-19 and other Communicable Diseases in the Nine States of the Niger Delta Region” at the sum of N5, 474,647,125.00. How was it possible to gather people in 2,775 communities in the Niger Delta region for sensitization 15 days into the lockdown? Is this not ridiculous? That is the callousness exhibited by the IMC. Hence, we have said, and are still saying that there has been no management in the history of the Commission that has been as corrupt as this IMC supervised by Chief Akpabio. We leave the reading public to decipher a guess as to the motive behind this contract. Remember, we are in a lockdown across the country and people are advised to stay at home. We are waiting in our homes to receive the contractor and his team for the sensitization exercise for which a whopping approximately N5.5b contract has been awarded. The document marked “M” is the contract award letter published for the public to see.




Cc: lalasticlala
Cc: Ishilove

Good

Amazing Grace.

So president can sack and appoint, but can not be seen for interviews,

President can sack an appoint but cannnot address his nation on hundreds of deaths in northern Nigeria.

Nigerians I sorry una.

I dey abroad dey observe.

Sack him yourself Buhari did not know people he appointed,abba the controller his gone the only people Buhari still know in aso rock his vp and the cabal the old man is weak

Akpabio Is Faceing War After War,
Please APC Dont Make PDP Make Him A Laughing Stuck, Forgive And Paddon Him, Forgive His Sin And Write His Name In The Book Of Good People.
Thanks,
Yours Faithfully, Me.