The Senate has revealed that from available records, the police in the Niger Delta States received N475 million for the procurement of face masks and sanitizers.
Chairman, Senate Ad-hoc Committee investigating alleged N40 billion illegally expended by the Interim Management Committee (IMC) of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Senator Olubunmi Adetunbi, disclosed this at a public hearing, Thursday.
He further disclosed that from the records, out of the total sum of N3.14 billion the NDDC IMC spent on COVID-19, N1.5bn was shared among the police, and staff of the commission across the nine states of the Niger Delta region.
Adetunbi said the amount were contained in documents submitted to the committee by the Managing Director of the Interim Management Committee (IMC) of the NDDC, Kemebradikumo Pondei.
Pondei had admitted before members of the Senate adhoc committee that N3.14 billion was spent by the NDDC on COVID-19.
The money, he said, was paid to the police, NDDC staff, youths, men and women to cushion the negative effects of the pandemic and to avoid violence in the Niger Delta region.
The Senate adhoc committee, Thursday, held an investigative public hearing on an alleged misapplication of N40billion by the NDDC’s Interim Management Committee ( IMC).
According to him, N10 million was paid to an unnamed top management staff of the commission (believed to be the MD) while N7 million each was given to two other senior staff of the NDDC.
“148 NDDC staff got N3 million each, 157 staff received N1.5 million each, 497 staff were paid N1 million each while 464 staff were also paid N500,000 each as COVID-19 relief.”
Explaining further from the documents, Senator Adetunbi said: “the NDDC IMC expended on other issues, including COVID-19, to the total of N81.509 billion, from October 2019 to February 2020, and from February to May 30th, 2020, the reason of this investigation.”
The breakdown of the 81.509 billion naira, according to him, include: “Community relations, N1.3billion; condolences, N1.2 million; consultancy, N3.8 million; COVID-19, N3.14 million; duty tour allowances, N486 million.
“Imprest (October to May, 2020), N790 million; Lassa fever, N1.956 billion; legal services, N900 million; logistics, N31 million; maintenance, N220 million; medicals,N2.6 billion; overseas travel (February to May,2020), N85.6 million; projects payment, N38.6 billion; public communication, N1.121 billion; security, N744 million; staffing related payment (October to May, 2020), including payment of salaries and other allowances, N20.9 billion; engagement of stakeholders (February to May, 2020):N248 million; and travels, N56.5 million,” respectively.
Adetunbi further explained that out of the total N81.509 billion, “the first interim management committee (IMC) spent N22.5 billion from October,2019 to February, 2020 while the second IMC spent N59.1 billion between February and May 2020.”
Meanwhile, the NDDC has insisted that the “commission has not misapplied any kobo” as being alleged by the National Assembly.
Hon Cairo Ujoguh, NDDC Director of Projects while fielding questions from lawmakers stated that the IMC inherited a debt profile of N3 trillion.
“We have no problem with the NDDC but we have a problem with chairman of the Senate committee on Niger Delta. No one kobo is misapplied since the coming NDDC IMC”, he said.
