By Harry Awurumibe, Editor Abuja Bureau
Determined to clean up the rot in the Niger Delta Development Commission (NCDC), the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs Wednesday got the approval for the appointment of eight Forensic Auditors who will work in the field in the Niger Delta region.
This much was disclosed Wednesday in Abuja by the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio while briefing State House Correspondents after the 13th virtual Federal Executive Council (FEC) meetings presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari at Council Chambers, State House, Abuja.
According to the Minister, “Ministry of Niger Delta presented a memo to the Federal Executive Council and at the end of the deliberations, the memo was approved. The memo is basically the appointment of Field Forensic Auditors to undertake the forensic auditing of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and the Field Forensic Auditors are going to be designated to go through the states of the Niger Delta region.
“Earlier we had the lead forensic auditor that was approved sometime in March and now we have about eight other forensic auditors who have been approved and they are going to be working in the field in the Niger Delta region. One of them is an international group and they will be in charge of programmes and activities at the headquarters and the one is Ernest and Young and so Council graciously considered the memo and approval was given today. This has really kick-started the commencement of evaluation of the abandoned projects of NDDC in the last 19 years estimated almost 12 thousand projects.
“At the end we will be in the position to know the ones that could be completed, the ones that will be useful, the low hanging fruits that could be plucked for the benefit of the people of the Niger Delta region and through this exercise, we will know the amount of monies that have gone into the region in the last 19 years and whether the value we have received so far are commensurate with the monies that have entered into NDDC”, Akpabio revealed.
