Niger Delta Affairs Minister Godswill Akpabio failed to execute
a contract he got from the Niger Delta Development Commission
(NDDC) worth N500million, according to Senate Committee on Niger
Delta Chairman Senator Peter Nwaoboshi.
He alleged that Akpabio used his position and influence as
Senate Minority Leader to secure the contracts.
But, the minister denied the allegation, saying it was a smear
campaign against him and that Nwaoboshi was jittery over the
forensic audit of the NDDC.
There have been allegations and counter-allegations between the
Senate and NDDC, which Akpabio’s ministry supervises.
The Senate and the House of Representatives launched a joint
probe of “reckless” spending of N40billion by the NDDC.
NDDC Executive Director of Projects (EDP), Dr Cairo Ojougboh,
claimed that Senator Nwaoboshi and his House of Representatives
counterpart, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, “raised and vandalised” the
commission’s 2019 budget by unduly jerking it up to the tune of
N85billion for selfish purposes.
Nwaoboshi said Akpabio wrote to him to include certain projects
meant for his constituency in the NDDC annual budget during the
Eight Senate.
But Akpabio said the letters were addressed to the National
Assembly leadership to make recommendations for zonal intervention
projects as requested by the leadership.
Yesterday, Nwaoboshi said Akpabio got NDDC contracts, which he
failed to execute in 2017.
In documents he made available to reporters in Abuja, the
Senator alleged that in 2017 alone, Akpabio was awarded contracts
worth N500million by the NDDC after he asked for them.
He said: “In a letter dated August 7, 2017, addressed to the
Chairman, Senate Committee on Niger Delta, Akpabio requested that
five projects worth N500million be added for him in the NDDC’s
budget.
“Akpabio as Minority Leader of the Senate then used his office
to include projects not budgeted for in the Appropriation
Bill.”
The projects, he said, include fencing of the Federal
Polytechnic Ukana, Akwa Ibom North-West Senatorial District at N200
million.
Others are fencing of Federal Government College, Ikot Ekpene
(old site) at N100 million and entrepreneurship training on the use
of modern farming implements for youths at N75 million in Akwa
Ibom.
The rest are entrepreneurship training on the use of modern
farming implement for women in Akwa Ibom North-West Senatorial
District at the cost of N75 million, and the renovation of one
hostel facility at the University of Nsukka, Nsukka Campus, at the
cost of N50 million.
“Findings show that while there was no physical evidence of
implementation of these projects, the contracts were awarded and
fully paid for.
“Such practices have turned the region to sites of abandoned
projects,” Nwaoboshi said.
Akpabio’s spokesman Anietie Ekong denied the allegations, saying
they were part of a smear campaign against the minister.
He challenged Nwaoboshi to name the companies that the purported
contracts were awarded to, if any, to show if Senator Akpabio had a
link with any of them.
Ekong said: “We want to categorically deny the allegation that
he wrote to the Committee to include the purported projects and was
awarded the contract to execute them by the NDDC.
“The jobs were never given, and this is where your ingenuity as
an investigative journalist would come in. Did you ask him to
furnish you with the names of the company that those jobs were
awarded to and if Senator Akpabio has anything to do with them?
“So, we categorically deny it. This shows you the level of
desperation that the forensic audit is attracting because people
have raped the NDDC over the years and they are getting hysterical
because the forensic audit is going to expose what is going on.
“That is why you see this level of desperation, that a
Distinguished Senator can go to the level of concocting things just
to smear my boss.
“Senator Akpabio has nothing to do with those projects. So, it
is one in a series of a smear campaign by the man because he is
afraid that the forensic audit will catch up with him.
“Since he has so much information about the NDDC, we challenge
him to name the companies that those jobs were awarded to and if
they ever had anything to do with Senator Akpabio, if they were
awarded at all.”
Niger Delta Affairs Minister Godswill Akpabio failed to execute
a contract he got from the Niger Delta Development Commission
(NDDC) worth N500million, according to Senate Committee on Niger
Delta Chairman Senator Peter Nwaoboshi.
He alleged that Akpabio used his position and influence as
Senate Minority Leader to secure the contracts.
But, the minister denied the allegation, saying it was a smear
campaign against him and that Nwaoboshi was jittery over the
forensic audit of the NDDC.
There have been allegations and counter-allegations between the
Senate and NDDC, which Akpabio’s ministry supervises.
The Senate and the House of Representatives launched a joint
probe of “reckless” spending of N40billion by the NDDC.
NDDC Executive Director of Projects (EDP), Dr Cairo Ojougboh,
claimed that Senator Nwaoboshi and his House of Representatives
counterpart, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, “raised and vandalised” the
commission’s 2019 budget by unduly jerking it up to the tune of
N85billion for selfish purposes.
Nwaoboshi said Akpabio wrote to him to include certain projects
meant for his constituency in the NDDC annual budget during the
Eight Senate.
But Akpabio said the letters were addressed to the National
Assembly leadership to make recommendations for zonal intervention
projects as requested by the leadership.
Yesterday, Nwaoboshi said Akpabio got NDDC contracts, which he
failed to execute in 2017.
In documents he made available to reporters in Abuja, the
Senator alleged that in 2017 alone, Akpabio was awarded contracts
worth N500million by the NDDC after he asked for them.
He said: “In a letter dated August 7, 2017, addressed to the
Chairman, Senate Committee on Niger Delta, Akpabio requested that
five projects worth N500million be added for him in the NDDC’s
budget.
“Akpabio as Minority Leader of the Senate then used his office
to include projects not budgeted for in the Appropriation
Bill.”
The projects, he said, include fencing of the Federal
Polytechnic Ukana, Akwa Ibom North-West Senatorial District at N200
million.
Others are fencing of Federal Government College, Ikot Ekpene
(old site) at N100 million and entrepreneurship training on the use
of modern farming implements for youths at N75 million in Akwa
Ibom.
The rest are entrepreneurship training on the use of modern
farming implement for women in Akwa Ibom North-West Senatorial
District at the cost of N75 million, and the renovation of one
hostel facility at the University of Nsukka, Nsukka Campus, at the
cost of N50 million.
“Findings show that while there was no physical evidence of
implementation of these projects, the contracts were awarded and
fully paid for.
“Such practices have turned the region to sites of abandoned
projects,” Nwaoboshi said.
Akpabio’s spokesman Anietie Ekong denied the allegations, saying
they were part of a smear campaign against the minister.
He challenged Nwaoboshi to name the companies that the purported
contracts were awarded to, if any, to show if Senator Akpabio had a
link with any of them.
Ekong said: “We want to categorically deny the allegation that
he wrote to the Committee to include the purported projects and was
awarded the contract to execute them by the NDDC.
“The jobs were never given, and this is where your ingenuity as
an investigative journalist would come in. Did you ask him to
furnish you with the names of the company that those jobs were
awarded to and if Senator Akpabio has anything to do with them?
“So, we categorically deny it. This shows you the level of
desperation that the forensic audit is attracting because people
have raped the NDDC over the years and they are getting hysterical
because the forensic audit is going to expose what is going on.
“That is why you see this level of desperation, that a
Distinguished Senator can go to the level of concocting things just
to smear my boss.
“Senator Akpabio has nothing to do with those projects. So, it
is one in a series of a smear campaign by the man because he is
afraid that the forensic audit will catch up with him.
“Since he has so much information about the NDDC, we challenge
him to name the companies that those jobs were awarded to and if
they ever had anything to do with Senator Akpabio, if they were
awarded at all.”