On Thursday, The House called on President buhari to sack the Mr. Pondei- led Interim Management Committee (IMC) of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) over alleged mismanagement of funds.
They also urged the current IMC to refund the N4.923billion it paid to staff and contractors which is against the procurement process and approvals.
However, they also recommended that the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) which was formerly in control of the IMC but now under the supervision of the Ministry of Niger Delta, Gov Akpabio be returned to the SGF for supervision.
According to Senator Olubunmi( Ekiti North):
“In conclusion, the Committee noted that it is difficult to find a correlation between Niger Delta community development and cash invested in the zone.
“Continued cash injection in the Niger Delta challenge issue has not worked under the various IMCs.
“It may be useful at this juncture for the Government to intervene by stepping down the EIMC (Executive Interim Management Committee), thereby helping them leave the stage for a properly constituted board with specific mandate to address the pains of the Niger Delta people.”
The Senate also listed out monies to be returned by the IMC which include:
”Monies to be refunded by the IMC include cost for overseas travel to the United Kingdom in the sum of N85.7million, Scholarships Grants – N105.5million, Union Members trip to Italy – N164.2million, Lassa Fever Kit – N1.96billon, Public Communication – N1.2billion and COVID-19 Relief -N1.49billon.”
