The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) on Tuesday accused some Federal lawmakers of demanding payment oF N6.4 billion from it for Unverifiale Projects.

It also accused the members of asking it not to send “certain files” to its forensic auditors in a bid to scuttle the probe ordered by President Muhammadu Buhari.

The Interim Management Committee (IMC) of the NDDC urged the management of the National Assembly to investigate the activities of the lawmakers.

Acting Managing Director Prof. Keme Pondei, who spoke at the NDDC headquarters in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, said most members of the two National Assembly committees on the NDDC were not aware of the motives behind the action of the chairmen of the committees.

Senator Peter Nwaaoboshi is the chairman of the Senatr Committee on Niger Delta while Rep Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo is the chair of the House of Reps committee.

Piondei said: “We have faced so much pressure from some members of the National Assembly not to send certain files to forensic auditors. We fear this will compromise the integrity of the exercise and have refused to do their bid.

“We have refused to pay out N6.4bn for the 132 jobs which have no proof of execution. We believe that an IMC set up as a cleansing structure cannot become part of the old story of rot,” he said.

Pondei lamented that 50 per cent of NDDC inability to deliver on its mandate came from the stranglehold of the National Assembly on the commission.

He said the IMC was courageous enough to tell members of the public the truth about the overbearing and selfish attitude of some federal lawmakers on the commission.

Pondei also alleged that the National Assembly was fond of delaying the passage of the commission’s budgets.

He said: “The 2019 budget was passed two months to the end of its implementation period. In fact, the hard copy was received by the commission on April 10, 2020 when the implementation period ends in May 31.

Read full story:https://www.pinnaclereport.com.ng/nddc-forensic-audit-some-national-assembly-members-demands-6-4bn-bribe-money-from-the-imc-as-a-cover-up-over-unverifiable-projects/

A looting ground for looters.