The Senate has demanded the sack of the Interim Management Committee (IMC) of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) for over suspicion of corruption and misappropriation of fund.
The Senate in a resolution on Thursday demanded that the management of the Commission return N4.9 billion illegally spent on unbudgeted items.
The resolution followed the report of the the report of its ad hoc Committee on “Investigation of the alleged Financial Recklessness in the Niger Delta Development Commission”.
The Chairman of the investigative Panel, Senator Adetunmbi Olubunmi, had told the Senators the IMC was running the Commission against its extant laws.
According to him, the IMC spent N4.923 billion on staff and contractors, illegally.
He gave the breakdown as follows: oversea travel to the United Kingdom – N8.7 million; scholarship grants – N105.5 million, union members trip to Italy – N164.2 million; Lassa Fever kit – N1.96 billion, public communication – N1.12 billion; Covid-19 relief – N1.49 billion.
The Senate recommended that the Commission should revert to the earlier practice, where the agency was reporting directly to the President rather than reporting to the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs.
The Senate Committee observed that the absence of a board of directors at the NDDC created a major lacuna of oversight, asking the President to activate the statutory provisions in the NDDC Act and the board of directors validly nominated for the confirmation of the Senate.
It also recommended that the Monitoring Committee and the Advisory Councils should also be inaugurated along with the board of directors as provided in Sections 20 and 21 of the NDDC Act, to guarantee checks and balances in the internal affairs of the Commission.
The Senate also asked the new board, when set up, to review the existing governance framework, for the improvement of the structures and the processes of the Commission.
