President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday said it was regrettable that the special development fund of the entire northern delta region was squandered by few individuals at the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) for more than 20 years, leaving many in penury.
He, however, promised that the Federal Government will recover “every kobo” squandered by the looters, and those found culpable would face the law, following the conclusion of the forensic audit of the NNDC.
Buhari said this on Thursday in Abuja while speaking at the virtual commissioning of the NDDC Prototype Hostel at the University of Uyo, Akwa Ibom.
The president directed all statutory contributors to the NDDC to remit all outstanding funds to the Commission, and to ensure this is done transparently and according to laid down procedure and process.
“The Niger Delta Development Commission needs to demonstrate that it can achieve the objectives it was conceived for and make its impact felt all over the Niger Delta Region,” he said.
”The lives of the people of the Niger Delta could be so much better, if the funding received by this commission since its inception, in billions of naira over the last 20 years, have been judiciously deployed in service of the people.
“The serial abuse, lack of delivery, and what had become an entrenched institutional decay, was the reason why I called for the forensic audit.”
Buhari, in a statement issued by his spokesman, Femi Adesina, directed that all abandoned projects that directly impact the livelihood of the people should be revived and completed.
The Minister of Niger Delta, Godswill Akpabio said the completion of the NDDC headquarters complex and other projects clearly showed the President’s commitment to improving the livelihood of people in the Niger Delta.
The Sole Administrator of NDDC, Effiong Akwa, thanked the President for honouring the institution by commissioning three projects in a year.
