By Zik Gbemre
Recently, there were reports that sacked Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) Board members have explained that they are approaching the Judiciary to have their sack reversed by President Muhammadu Buhari because, according to them, the law setting them up bars him from taking a unilateral action to send them home because they are in the same category as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC), and should have been left untouched also.
In a lengthy explanation and details of their position which Civil Rights lawyer, Mr. Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, filed at the National Industrial Court (NIC), the NDDC board members viewed as illegal and absurd the decision to keep three members of the dissolved board representing three States while others representing other oil producing States and other stakeholders were sent packing with no strong voice in the retained management to speak for their States. Apart from asking for reinstatement, they want the President and National Assembly barred from reconstituting the board until their term expires in two years time.
While we would leave the argument regarding the sack and call for reinstatement of the said NDDC board to be decided by the court, we find it rather appalling that the NDDC board are not even ashamed to be coming forth to make such demands and noise regarding their removal from office when the Commission it is heading has been a cesspool of corruption with not much to show forth in terms of achievements despite the huge funds that comes into their coffers. It is even funny that they are now comparing their right to the board membership to that of the anti-graft agencies, and therefore should not be touched. For us, we believe the President acted in the best interest of the nation by ‘cleaning the NDDC board’ off the rot that has eaten deep into its existence. We also believe that no member of the NDDC board should be left to remain no matter the reason behind it. The truth is that, no responsible and serious-minded government would seat down, fold its hands and allow the sort of rot that is evident in the NDDC to remain unchanged.
Before now, there were reports that several petitions have been fired to the Presidency to move against the said NDDC board and urgently launch a full scale probe into the operations and finances of the NDDC, whose contractual obligations now stand at a frightening N800 billion as of the end of July 2015. The debt is said to have risen exponentially following the award of frivolous and politically-motivated contracts to individuals and groups by the sacked board in the run-up to the last election. One of the petitions now before the Presidency and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) was written by Niger Delta Stakeholders Forum (NIDESTAF). In the petition dated June 15, 2015 and signed by the President, Benson Georgewill and National Secretary, Timi Oghalle, the stakeholders pleaded with President Buhari to urgently raise a probe panel to ascertain the true position of the finances of the NDDC. The group also asked the President to take steps to retrieve the funds of the Commission from those found to have illegally taken them.
With this at the back of our mind, we are therefore surprised that the same NDDC board is now going to court to seek redress of their sack. In a civilized society where public office holders truly understand the demands of their offices and the need to act responsibly and accountably, the best line of action is to quietly resign, especially when the body one is working for is found wanting and engrossed in corrupt practice. And if one is sacked, one should take it in good faith and move on, rather than running to the court to question ones removal. The NDDC, despite being a development-oriented commission that has received billions of funds since its inception, has not really made its presence felt in the Niger Delta region. Which leaves us to ask, where has all the money been going to?
Doubtless, the Federal Government of Nigeria, has, to a large extent, within the past 16 years or less, demonstrated its commitment towards paying special attention to the Niger Delta region’s development, by the allocation of a 13 percent derivation fund, establishing the NDDC, the Niger Delta Ministry, running an Amnesty Programme for ex-militants of the region, plus the operations and activities of other established Development Intervention Commissions/Agencies by State Government of the region. But despite all of these efforts and all the money that has been sunk into them, the Niger Delta, and oil producing states have remained grossly underdeveloped with overwhelming environmental degradation and its people have remain impoverished. The NDDC especially, has been receiving huge amount of funds since its inception from both the Federal Government and International Oil Companies (IOCs), including the World Bank, for the commission to be able to carry out its statutory responsibility of developing the Niger Delta region. Unfortunately, this has not been the case. The presence and positive impact of the NDDC has not really been felt by the common citizens of the Niger Delta region.
It is no news that the NDDC, instead of being a commission that improves the lives of the people of the Niger Delta and the oil producing states, has been a conduit pipe that misappropriates public funds into private pockets. In fact, stakeholders in the country have recently posited that, in pursuit of his anti-graft crusade, President Muhammadu Buhari may have to beam his searchlight on the activities of the NDDC. If the findings and documents made public recently in some reports are anything to go by, the NDDC is panning out as a cesspool of corruption. The documents indicate that the agency, which is being supervised by the Presidency through the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, has brazenly ignored the provisions of the Public Procurement Act (PPA), in the award of contracts for projects and services, thereby allowing its cronies to smile home with huge amounts of public funds.
The 2007 PPA sets limits on contracts that key officials of the commission can award; what the board can approve; what should be sent to the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), and what the Federal Executive Council should handle, in the spirit of transparency and accountability. Under the PPA, the Managing Director of the NDDC, can award contracts that are not above N200 million while the board can approve jobs that are not above N1 billion. Specifically, any job above N1 billion must be subjected to a competitive bidding process and awarded by the FEC after being processed by the BPP, another agency under the Presidency. However, findings show that the NDDC management has chosen to use contract-splitting as a weapon to award huge contracts beyond its limit without passing through the BPP, thereby making it possible for ‘insiders and their associates,’ particularly influential political elements, to make away with billions of Naira from the Commission.
The report revealed that the Commission under the said ex-board, appeared to have ignored former President Goodluck Jonathan’s directive to it not to award new contracts but to strive to complete abandoned ones so as to clear the backlog of funds being owed local contractors. Contrary to the Presidential directive, the said board embarked on ‘contract bazaar’ within the first two weeks of its inauguration actively acquiring even second-hand exotic vehicles at the cost of new ones. Documents revealed in the report showed that within its first two weeks the managing director single-handedly issued a Local Purchasing Order (LPO), valued at N888, 175,500 to a Port Harcourt-based car dealer to supply 40 assorted vehicles. Of the vehicles ordered, four were armored Sport Utility Lexus and Land-cruiser vehicles valued at N213.8 million. It is not clear when the vehicles were supplied and who is using them. Shortly after the acquisition of the expensive vehicles, the Commission ordered the procurement of security vehicles for the Nigeria Police at the cost of N12.5 billion to enable the police provide adequate security for the six Niger Delta States of Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Bayelsa, Rivers, Edo, and Delta, as well as, three oil producing states which includes Abia, Imo and Ondo.
However, to prevent the huge contract from getting to the BPP and the Federal Executive Council (FEC) for scrutiny and approval, the Commission carefully split the supply job into 12 slots and awarded it at the cost of N985 million to each of the contractors. Not done, the NDDC shortly after awarded another contract worth N2.7b to 30 limited liability companies suspected to be owned by close associates of key officials for what it called “Intelligence-gathering and management.” Each of the 30 firms got N99.7 million from the NDDC for the job which should have been handled by the security agencies. The contract bazaar was quickly followed by another award of N1.6 billion job carefully split among 85 companies for the ‘procurement, transportation and delivery’ of waste disposal trucks to the commission. Each of the ‘lucky’ contractors were said to have gotten between N61 million to N835 million depending on the strength of their connections with the top hierarchy of the agency and influential politicians managing the Commission.
The ‘contract bazaar’ has even led to some disagreement between the board and some accounting/procurement officials. In one very despicable case, the commission ignored the professional audit query/advice not to award a ‘Quick-impact’ job valued at N715 million to one person to act as both contractor and consultant. But trouble is currently brewing in the commission following the resolve of some aggrieved management staff and top officials to expose the rot in the establishment, leading to the release of financial malfeasance that has been going on in the place since the last board was inaugurated in November, 2013. One of the documents indicate that the sum of N1.3 billion was approved and released for NDDC Christian Fellowship and NDDC Children and Disable families end-of-the-year parties. While the Christian Fellowship reportedly received N500 million, the NDDC children and disable families got N800 million. The commission is also said to have inexplicably moved the sum of N100 billion from its Access Bank account on Agip Road branch to an undisclosed location, in the heat of the last election, in which Buhari won thereby raising eyebrow among staff and stakeholders.
We can still recall in 2012 when the EFCC Chairman, Ibrahim Lamorde, disclosed that investigations showed that NDDC officials connived with contractors to misappropriate billions of Naira meant for projects and programmes execution. The EFCC Chief said due to such practices, contracts were often awarded to the wrong contractors with the aim to sub-let same contracts afterwards. He also revealed that some contracts were not awarded for the benefit of the people, but for the purpose of embezzling public funds. Lamorde then urged contractors not to allow government officials to use them to steal public funds, saying: “If you do, we will arrest and prosecute you and your accomplices.” The EFCC Chairman also disclosed that the Federal Government would recruit World Bank officials to vet all Federal Government Contracts in order to reduce corruption in the public procurement system. “When done, nothing will be procured by the Federal Government unless it bears the team’s (Word Bank officials) stamp of approval.”
It is rather unfortunate that corrupt practices of high proportions have taken over the noble-intended activities of the NDDC. It is appalling that officials of the NDDC have decided to allow ‘greed’ and self-centered interests to overtake their conscience to the detriment of the common man. Inflation of contracts, encouraging kick-backs and bribery, contracts awarded not on the basis of merit, and so on, have become the order of the day in the NDDC, Contracts are awarded not for the common good of all but to satisfy the stomachs of some few. Rather than meeting the developmental yearnings of the Niger Delta people, the NDDC and its officials and contractors are more interested in increasing the size of their bank accounts.
We have said it many times that the NDDC has not been able to do a quarter of what is expected of them in meeting the needs of the Niger Delta region. The NDDC has not only failed to achieve the aims and objectives for which it was established in the first place, but it has also transfigured itself to being a ‘conduit pipe’ for wasting public funds. It is on record that the NDDC, since its inception, has been receiving huge amount of funds contributed by IOCs. For instance, it has been reported that major IOCs like the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC) is contributing three percent of its annual budget to the NDDC as part of its Social Responsibilities toward the development of the Niger Delta region. Similar contributions are done by other IOCs. And these are funds running into billions of Naira. Regrettable, the NDDC has not been able to translate these funds, plus that provided by the Federal Government’s purse, to physically bear on and positively impact considerably, the host communities of the Niger Delta region.
Almost on a yearly basis, the NDDC budget is increased subsequently, including the funds coming from the contributions by the IOCs. But yet, the evidence of these contracted funds are readily not seen in terms of physical projects and are never accounted for, not to the IOCs to the best of our knowledge, nor to the people of the Niger Delta region. One is often forced to ask; what then has the NDDC being doing with all the funds coming into its coffers. It is not enough to have some few projects here and there and they exclaim that billions have been expended. The question is; has the Commission been able to regularly and judiciously account for every penny that comes into its purse? Does all the present executed projects of the NDDC since its inception, correspond to all the funds yearly coming into it from the government purse and IOCs?
It is also funny that both the past and present Managers, Directors and Board members of the NDDC, are all Niger Deltans. In other words, the commission is being run by our own brothers and sisters. Yet, they have not been able to deliver the responsibilities that were given to them. In fact, except Emena, there is hardly anyone who has ever been appointed as NDDC Director for instance, that does not come out as an ‘overnight billionaire’. It is obvious that we, as Niger Deltans, are not ready to honestly develop the region.
However, we strongly believe the Niger Delta and other oil producing areas can actually develop in all ramifications without the NDDC. It all boils down to having the “will” and “commitment” of the various State Governments of the Niger Delta and their Local Government Councils, and of cause, inclusive of the Federal Government cooperation. We believe that if the Niger Delta Areas are part and parcel of Nigeria, then it does not require a ‘special Commission’ or ‘Ministry’ to see to its development. What has now made the region a ‘special case’ is as a result of the countless years of neglect that has left the Niger Delta, especially the natural environment, in a state of disrepair. But with all of these so called ‘special commissions’ and a Ministry, we are only creating avenues for people to feed fat from public funds meant for the development of the region. Other States in the country got to their level of development without any special commission, ministry or body of whatever. The Niger Delta region can also fair better in this direction.
The Niger Delta Governors have over the years, been characterized with all manner of “corrupt practices” and “abuse of public office” with reckless abandon and impunity. In other words, those in different strata of Federal and State government circles have used different means in the name of developing the Niger Delta areas to misappropriate and mismanage public funds through the NDDC. What then are we saying? Not until we stop all these dilly-dallying and cut to the chase by telling ourselves the hard truth and readjust our ways in addressing developmental issues evident in the Niger Delta and other oil producing states, we will remain underdeveloped in the midst of enormous natural and human resourcefulness.
We therefore urge the Federal Government and relevant anti-graft agencies concerned not to leave any stone unturned in exposing and prosecuting those found wanting to have misappropriated funds meant for the development of the Niger Delta region through the NDDC, no matter who or what is involved. The truth is, if all the funds that have gone into the NDDC since its inception have been judiciously used for the purpose they were meant for, the Niger Delta region will be like the Dubia of Africa by now. It is high time we start holding our leaders accountable, especially those in the NDDC as officials. There should be no more ‘praise singing’. It is time to start doing things the right way. This we urge.
