NDDC to cancel 482 projects worth N90b, says Ndoma-Egba

By Michael Jegede, Abuja
In furtherance of its commitment to reposition the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) for better performance and greater efficiency, the Governing Board of the interventionist agency is set to revoke another 482 contracts valued at N90b.
This was disclosed by the Chairman of the NDDC board, Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba, SAN, while addressing newsmen shortly after a meeting of the board held in Abuja.
The board which met a contingent liability, in excess of N1.3 trillion upon inauguration in November 2016, had in July 2017 announced the revocation of over 600 projects put at more than N200b, as part of efforts to restructure the commission’s over-bloated balance sheet, clean up its book and remove non-performing items.
According to the Special Assistant to the Chairman on Communication, Mrs Clara Braide, Ndoma-Egba revealed that the additional 482 projects for which decision was taken at the board meeting to cancel, due to discrepancies in the procurement processes, were between 0-5% execution.
The Chairman stated that the board reviewed the activities of the commission in the outgoing year, took statutory reports on procurements, budget performance, revenue and expenditure.
He intimated that the board agreed to clear all issues surrounding the foreign scholarship programme of the agency before the year runs out.
“By Tuesday next week all outstanding issues regarding the foreign scholarship scheme would have been sorted out”, he assured.
The NDDC board helmsman also gave an insight into what should be expected in the year 2018, saying “Our Signature project Obia-Nembe road which is our flagship for partnership with oil producing companies, will be ready this December and we are looking forward to commissioning it early next year.”
He equally said the Board took a decision on some Memorandum Of Understandings (MOUs) signed with state governments on projects that would be jointly executed.
He further emphasized that 2018 will be dedicated largely to reforming NDDC systems, audit of personnel, restructuring the commission’s governance protocols and projects, with more focus on ongoing projects.