By Harry Awurumibe, Editor Abuja Bureau
The snail-speed of development in the Niger Delta region may not be unconnected with the huge debt of over $4 billion owed to the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) by International Oil Companies (IOC) who have refused to pay their Three Percent (3%) percent of their annual budgets.
This is even as the much-awaited Forensic Audit of NDDC embarked upon by the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio is ready for submission to President Muhammadu Buhari.
These were made public on Thursday by the Minister while addressing State House Correspondents at the Weekly Ministerial Briefing coordinated by the Presidential Communication Team at Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Akpabio who used the briefing to speak on the “Buhari Infrastructure Revolution” and the impact in the Niger Delta Region, lamented that the present administration would have achieved more than what it has set out to achieve if the IOCs had fulfilled their obligations to the NDDC.
According to him: “NDDC is also being owed $4billion by the OICs in unremitted funds. The Federal Government is owing a little bit of its own part (fund) that should be due to the NDDC. I believe that with the Audit of the Commission, we will begin to offset those things by working closely with the Ministry of Finance.
There are plans to pay those debts by the government. I want to see a balance sheet of the NDDC that is bankable. The IOCs are expected to pay the NDDC 3 percent of their annual budgets. All of them have failed to do so at different times.”
On the Forensic Audit of the Commission, Akpabio disclosed that the Audit Report is ready for submission to President Muhammadu Buhari, pointing out that, “it was earlier planned that it will be submitted to Mr. President today (Thursday, August 19, 2021), but he is very busy attending to other national matters. We will take another date to submit the report to Mr. President”.
Explaining further, the former Governor of Akwa Ibom state, promised that the outcome of the Forensic Audit will be used to change the modus operandi of NDDC, adding that “the organogram of NDDC has been changed hence the new impetus in the way the Commission is succeeding.
Asked if the Audit Report will be implemented by the federal government when the President receives it, the Akpabio said: “there’s no way the findings will not be implemented by President Buhari”.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, has said President Buhari has touched the lives of many Niger Deltans through huge developmental strides the his ministry and NDDC have made in the region.
Said he: “people of the Niger Delta region have benefited immensely through several developmental projects executed by President Buhari’s administration. They include but not limited to East-West Road Projects; the 338km roads, that run from Warri-Port Harcourt-Oron to Calabar.
The dual carriageway which is expected to be commissioned by Mr. President in 2022 has 41 bridges along the corridor. Over N10 billion will be committed into the completion in 2022 and about N7 billion has been expended on the project since I came on board in August, 2019″.
Akpabio also revealed that NDDC is undertaking about 18 road projects in the nine NDDC states of Abia, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo, Imo, Ondo and Rivers states.
