By Chinwendu Agoha (Governance Reporter)
The Buhari Media Organization (BMO) has said that the recent submission of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) forensic audit report to President Muhammadu Buhari by the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio, was a clear demonstration of the President's commitment to transparency in governance, in line with his administration’s fight against corruption.
The Buhari Media Organisation (BMO) recalled in a statement that based on the clamor of the people of the area for efficient service delivery, the President had empaneled a forensic audit team to look into the activities of the commission since its inception.
"Having worked tirelessly for about two years, it has now come to the fore that about N6 trillion which accrued to the commission between 2001 and 2019 was mismanaged, with many of the 13,777 projects uncompleted, or outrightly abandoned by the contractors".
BMO in a statement by its Chairman, Niyi Akinsiju and Secretary, Cassidy Madueke, noted that much of the mismanagement and abandonment of NDDC projects took place under the past PDP administrations "as due process was compromised, and transparency thrown to the dogs. This malfeasance created a huge gap between the humongous financial resources plowed into the region and the huge gap in infrastructural and human capital development.
"We also note that the President Muhammadu Buhari administration’s commitment to openness and due process in governance is once more being shown to the world, as was also evident in the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) where opaque operations have now been jettisoned due to President Buhari’s insistence on zero corruption in government activities.
"We believe that the submission of the NDDC forensic audit report to Mr President, and the revelation of flagrant abuse of due process, corruption, and mismanagement during the period under review, has proved some cynics wrong as far as the federal government’s interventions in the region is concerned".
BMO says it also believes that the President has, with his interventions, endeared himself to the people of the region, who, going forward, will reciprocate the good gestures by rendering their unalloyed support to his administration. NNL.
