Bassey Udo
At least N183 billion that was meant for the development of Nigeria’s oil rich Niger Delta, was diverted by those put in charge of the government development commission for the area, the Auditor General of the Federation, Samuel Ukura said Wednesday.
Mr. Ukura insisted on the veracity of his special audit report accusing the management of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, of diverting the money.
The Auditor General said his office stood by the report and directed those not satisfied to be prepared to defend their position before a special committee of the National Assembly.
“The Office of the Auditor-General for the Federation stands by the Special Periodic Checks on the NDDC and its contents. Any person or corporate organization not satisfied has the opportunity to defend itself before the Public Accounts Committees (PACs) of the National Assembly,” said a statement by a spokesperson for the office, O.A.Ogunmosunle.
The auditor general had earlier made his findings about the money known to the National Assembly, as constitutionally required.
Following the reports, which urged the lawmakers to take immediate steps to recover the missing money, the NDDC took to the media to discredit the report, dismissing it as “very misleading and untrue”.
The Executive Director, Finance and Administration of the Commission, Henry Ogiri, who described the report as “premature and misinforming”, said the report tended to accuse the current NDDC management of being responsible for the alleged missing money. Read full on PT
