The Minister of Niger-Delta Affairs, Chief Umana Umana, has charged members of the Governing Board of the Niger Delta Development Commission to be faithful in the implementation of the recommendations of the report of the commission’s forensic audit.
Umana gave the directive while inaugurating the new board of the commission in Abuja, urging the board members to immediately hit the ground running.
This was contained in a statement signed by the NDDC Director, Corporate Affairs, Dr Ibitoye Abosede, and made available to journalists in Port Harcourt on Wednesday.
The new board has a former presidential aide, Lauretta Onochie, as chairman and Dr Samuel Ogbuku as Managing Director.
Umana stressed the need for the board and the management to strictly adhere to the provisions of the Procurement Act, as well as financial regulations to ensure prudence in the management of limited resources.
“Every contract above the threshold of management is to be referred to the Ministerial Tenders Board of the Federal Executive Council. Any breach of contract approval limits will attract severe sanctions,” he warned.
Umana also charged the board to look into “allegations of irregular employment from 2019 and follow up on the ongoing personal audit in the Commission to make sure all cases of employment during the period under review were in accordance with extant rules and regulations of the service.”
The minister urged the board members to focus on the completion of ongoing projects and advised them to shun the lure of the “award of spurious and indiscriminate new contracts,” to help in repairing the negative public perception of the NDDC.
In his remarks, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr Boss Mustapha, noted that the inauguration of the new board would not have been possible without the collaboration of the National Assembly.
Mustapha, who was represented by a former Permanent Secretary, Mrs Habiba Lawal, urged members of the new board to bring all their expertise to bear to transform the lives and environment of the region.
Also speaking, the chairman of the board, Onochie, appealed to Nigerians, especially people from the Niger Delta region, to give them the necessary support to deliver on their mandate.
