Buhari extends tenure of NDDC Management as HODs pencilled for compulsory leave

President Muhammadu Buhari has extended the tenure of the Professor Keme Pondei-led Interim Management Committee (IMC) of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) from May 1 to December 31, 2020.
The extension comes as many top staff, including heads of departments, have been pencilled to proceed on mandatory leave by the IMC, sources said.
Others whose heads are on the chopping blocks are those with disciplinary measures against them. They are also to proceed on mandatory leave, while those that are due for retirement within 24 months are to proceed on retirement.
The IMC decision is said to be based on the recommendations of Forensic auditors.
However, in a statement from the Presidency, the extension of the IMC is to cover the period of the forensic audit of the NDDC, earlier approved by the Federal Executive Council, under the chairmanship of the President.
“In the same vein, President Buhari equally approved that the NDDC provides intervention support to complement efforts of the Federal and State governments against further spread of COVID-19 in the nine States of the Niger Delta region, in the sum of Six Billion, Two Hundred and Fifty Million Naira (N6,250,000,000.00) only.
“The materials and supplies are to be done through Emergency Procurement method as provided in Sections 42(b) (c) and 43 of the Public Procurement Act, 2007,” the statement added.
Meanwhile, the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) disclosed that several plots meant to derail the forensic audit ordered by President Muhammadu Buhari will fail.
Speaking in an interview at the NDDC headquarters in Port Harcourt, its Director Corporate Affairs, Mr. Charles Odili, said that the allegations against the Interim Management Committee were deliberate falsehood orchestrated to undermine the on-going forensic audit exercise.
“When this IMC came in with the mandate to drive the forensic audit, it was well aware that it will have enemies. There are some people who have unjustly benefitted from the system who will be brought to book. They are the people fighting back. People like this don’t have any other arsenal other than to resort to the media because the media gives them space to vent their venom.
“When you say you want to carry out a forensic audit, it is a delicate matter. It requires a lot of courage and forthrightness. It puts you at a certain pedestal where you are most likely going to be judged by people you want to investigate,” a statement quoted him as saying.
While describing as ‘completely untrue’ the several allegations against the commission, Odili noted that IMC did not spend N200 billion in two months contrary to claims in some quarters.
He noted that the IMC received N33billion in three months, out of which N22billion has been spent.
NDDC’s spokesman explained that the expenses covered payments to vendors and suppliers like hotels, and contractors, especially those owed N50 million and below.
Reacting to issue of scammers duping members of the public in the guise of assisting them with agricultural loans, Odili advised those who have genuine businesses with the NDDC to always visit the commission’s official website and other social media handles.
“We got reports from Rivers and Bayelsa states stating that some persons are asking unsuspecting members of the public to pay a certain amount of money so that that they can have access to a loan facility in the Agriculture and Fisheries Directorate of the NDDC,” he said.
Additional reports by Channels Television