… says Tunji-Ojo got no contract from NDDC
The Minsiter of Niger Delta, Godswill Akpabio, on Monday, said the late Chief of Staff to the President, Abba Kyari, had written a letter to him, saying that the former Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission, Joi Nunieh, did not possess the requisite certificates to lead the Commission.
Akpabio disclosed this during his appearance at the hearing of the House of Representatives Committee probing the activities of the NDDC.
His statement was in response to a question on the cause of the rift between him and the former managing director.
The minister, however, said that Nunieh was also relieved of her duties on account of insurbodination, noting that she was invited by the ministry to give her scorecard but she had refused to attend.
“I received a letter from the late Chief of Staff, Abba Kyari, that she did not possess the requisite certificates to be there,” he said, noting that her National Youth Service Corp certificate was also defective.
He defended the appointment of a medical doctor as Executive Director of the Commission, saying that 60 per cent of the NDDC budget was medical.
On missing files, he said files were not missing, but that about 8,000 files were handed over to relevant agencies for forensic audit.
On an alleged missing N40bn from the purse of the NDDC, the minister insisted that N40bn could not be missing because the account of the NDDC, under President Muhammadu Buhari, was domiciled in the Central Bank of Nigeria, adding that he had never done a contract in the NDDC and no amount was paid to him.
“I have endeavoured to discharge my responsibility together with the Minister of State, Senator Tayo Alasoadura. The propelling force driving me is to bequeath a legacy that future generations of Niger Delta will be proud of. We’ve achieved a lot in the Ministry, outside the NDDC,” he said.
Curiously, however, Akpabio retracted an earlier allegation that the Chairman of the House Committee probing the NDDC activities, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, who had earlier recused himself, got any contract from the Commission.
“I don’t think the NDDC has given a contract directly to Hon. Tunji-Ojo. I take that back. By saying that, you are saying that the contract was given to his company,” he said.
The minister also said a total of N318m had been approved for the forensic audit, noting that, in line with due process, the authorities should start by paying 15 per cent of that amount.
Akpabio and Nunieh had publicly attacked each other over corruption allegations, a situation that led to an invasion of the home of the former NDDC boss by the Police last week.
