Delta group petitions Buhari over N183bn fraud at NDDC

A group, the Warri Study Group, in Delta State said it had uncovered N183 billion fraud at the Niger Delta Development Commission.
The WSG claimed that the alleged fraud was perpetrated at the NDDC between 2002 and 2012.
The group in a petition to President Muhammadu Buhari, signed by its Chairman and Secretary, Edward Ekpoko and Tony Ede, respectively, claimed that the award of contracts by the NDDC in Warri- North, Warri South, and Warri South-West Local Government Areas of the state from 2002 to 2012 were fraudulent.
A copy of the group’s petition was obtained by our correspondent.
According to the group, the NDDC board’s denial of the loss of such a huge amount of money may be traceable to and found in the shady deals that it had uncovered at the commission.
It, therefore, urged President Buhari to order a probe of the contracts and several others awarded by the commission in the past 16 years.
In the petition, the group alleged that contracts awarded within the period under review were abandoned after the contractors collected either mobilisation fees or the contract sum, stressing that the commission appeared not to be bordered by the alleged fraud, despite several petitions sent to it by communities and organisations within the area of its operations.
The group also expressed regret that for many years the Itsekiri people had been neglected while the degradation of their lands, associated with oil and gas exploration and failure by intervention agencies such as the NDDC to ameliorate their plight, had continued unabated.
Part of the petition reads, “Ugborodo Shore Production: This is a major project designed to protect Ugborodo town from extinction due to the menacing ocean surge, the community for about 50 years have been the host to Chevron multi-billion naira Tank Farm and the EGTL project. This important contract was awarded to Messrs Foby Engineering Company on 10th December, 2004 at the cost of N1,042,776,000.00. We learnt that the contract, some was later reviewed to about N10 billion and the contractor was mobilized and paid but nothing was done.
“The Koko Shoreline Protection: This is another project designed to protect the shoreline of Koko town in Warri North Local Government area of the state and it has also been abandoned after collection of mobilization fee and truly the river has cut deep into the main motor way by runs into the town. The contract was awarded on September 15th, 2006 to Smiec Chemical Engineering and Construction Company Ltd for N3,091,252,500.00