NDDC: Startling revelations, drama at Reps hearing – Vanguard

By Emma Amaize, Regional Editor, South-South, Sam Oyadongha, Jimitota Onoyume, Festus Ahon, Egufe Yafugborhi, Chioma Onuegbu, Davies Iheamnachor, Emem Idio, Ozioruva Aliu, Tordue Salem, Olayinka Ajayi & Francis Efe

THE on going investigative hearing of the House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee into the activities of Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, was yesterday full of drama.

Acting Managing Director of the agency, Kemebradikumo Pondei, did not only collapse while being grilled by the lawmakers, the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio, also got into a hot exchange with some of the lawmakers after alleging they were beneficiaries of most of the commissions contract.

Another drama of the day resulted from the stepping down of chairman of the investigating committee, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, who recused himself from yesterdays sitting, following protests from the NDDC team that he is an interested party and would, therefore, not be fair to them.

The NDDC team, led by the acting MD, Pondei, had last Friday walked out on the committee, insisting the committee chairman should recuse himself.

Emotions ran high yesterday after the committee members subjected Pondei to series of probing questions on the alleged financial recklessness at the commission.

We spent N1.32bn, not N1.5bn on COVID-19 palliatives

Pondei said the commission spent N1.32 billion as COVID-19 relief funds for staff, not N1.5 billion as alleged by the lawmakers.

At a Senate hearing about a fortnight ago, Pondei had said the commission spent only N1.5 billion to take care of staff, despite being paid their salaries.

The youth were given palliatives to help cushion the effect of the pandemic on the people. The youth were idle and to avoid violence, they were paid.

Five million for youths and five million for women and five million for people living with disabilities in each senatorial district, he had said.

However, yesterday, when asked again about the relief funds, he said he must have said 1.5 billion while he was not attentive.

The amount the IMC used to take care of NDDC staff as COVID-19 palliative was N1.32 billion, not N1.5 billion, he said to the question posed to him by coordinator of the panel and Vice Chairman of the committee, Thomas Ereyitomi, who took over after the chairman stepped aside at the start of the hearing over allegations of bias.

Pondei also disagreed with the committee that the commission had extra-budgetary spending by approving that sum for themselves.

He also said N81.5 billion was spent from October 2019 to May 31, this year by the NDDC.

Of this, he explained that the incumbent interim management committee he heads, which came in February spent N59.1 billion.

He said: Of this, N38.6 billion was spent on capital projects. N35.3 billion was paid to contractors hired by previous administrations.

He added that N20.5 billion was spent on recurrent expenditure between February 20, 2019, and May 21, this year.

They are a backlog of debt for about three years. Duty tour allowances havent been paid for three years; we cleared it. Scholarship fees havent been paid since 2016, he said, adding that the NDDC paid N500,000 to each beneficiary.

He also told the committee that the commission paid a contractor N641 million for the completion of what he called turning point road in Asaba and over N500 million to a consultant to identify NDDC projects in different parts of the nine Niger Delta states.

Not satisfied with his explanations, the lawmakers fired questions which the acting NDDC chair could not provide convincing answers.

Pondei slumps, taken to NASS clinic

Pondei had been grilled for over an hour and he slowly slumped over his desk. Once he was spotted, several people present at the hearing rushed to his aid, propping him up and attempting to stabilize him, with the proceedings halted.

He then appeared to be in a seizure, with a man holding open his mouth as others held him upright. After he appeared to regain consciousness and lose composure intermittently, he was moved out of the session.

Vanguard gathered that Pondei was eventually taken to the National Assembly clinic, from where he was transferred to another hospital.

Consequently, hearing was suspended for 30 minutes by the lawmakers. Giving his brief remarks at the opening session earlier, chairman of the House Commission on NDDC, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, had announced that he was recusing himself from the probe to allow for fair hearing.

The forensic audit must go on. We have not condemned anybody; we have not concluded the assignment and have not found anybody guilty. This is only an investigation, nothing is personal.

The investigation is to have a better and more productive Niger Delta. Im not on any revenge mission, Tunji-Ojo said, and handed over the proceedings to his deputy, Thomas Ereyitomi.

Gbajabiamila intervenes

Meanwhile, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, entered the investigation room moments after the acting NDDC MD was rushed out to the clinic.

Gbajabiamila apologised to the NDDC team and other people in the room over its stuffy nature.

He urged the committee to allow, after the Minister, Godswill Akpabios testimony, other NDDC staff appearing before it to send in their presentations because the room is very hot.

Another ensued after the Minister, Akpabio, was asked to make his presentation before the committee and take questions.

Akpabios declaration that most of the contracts awarded by the NDDC were given to National Assembly members stirred the hornets nest.

Akpabio: NASS members got most NDDC contracts

Making his presentations, the minister said: Who are even the greatest beneficiary of the contracts?Its you people at the National Assembly,

A female lawmaker interrupted him, saying: Can I ask you a question? What is the National Assembly benefiting from NDDC?

The minister responded: I just told you that we have records to show that most of the contracts in NDDC are given out to members of the National Assembly but you dont know about it, the two chairmen can explain to you. I was a member of the NDDC committee so I know about it.

We cannot close down the Niger Delta Development Commission because of the fact that we are doing (a) forensic audit.

The NDDC plays a vital role in ensuring peace and security of the region and 90 per cent or more of the resources of the country come from there.

If you close it down in totality all you will have is chaos. You will have a lot of, not just militancy, you will have a lot of insurrection.

So it is important that people who have gone to court, people who genuinely did jobs should be paid for their jobs.

Speaking further, Akpabio said: Whatever we do here is subject to judicial review as he contends the legality of the proceedings.

The minister did not hijack the committee. No NDDC staff was sacked to my knowledge. I never asked anybody to swear to an oath. There was never an issue of oath taken.

I have no Presidential ambition. The 2019 budget of the NDDC was not available. So there is no way the minister would ask NDDC to bring N10billion to share.

How I wish this probe had been done before now, we would not have been in this mess we are in now. I want to state emphatically that no N40 billion was missing. Nothing was paid to the minister and no contract was given to the minister.

You would have asked me to speak first before the acting MD who fainted, may be he would have had enough time to take fresh air.

In 2019, the Federal Government appropriated N100 billion to NDDC. I believe the NDDC now has the budget of 2019 in May 2020.

On procurements

Ernst & Young was approved by the Bureau of Public Procurement for the forensic audit of NDDC and forensic audit is on-going and we are following due process. Since I came on board, its only three contracts I have embarked on. Among them is COVID-19 emergency contract which is under the law. You cannot leave the entire Niger-Delta to only two people.

Asked if he has influenced or acted in the capacity of the MD of NDDC, he said: If I find out the action is in the interest of Niger-Delta, I have to intervene but it does not include tax files.

On contracts

The NDDC management withdrew N4.2bn cash in one day. I am not even aware that such contracts have been given. I dont have to be aware of payment. No money is missing. I have only awarded three contracts which include the COVID-19 and procurement. They are all in the 2020 budget.

Why the NDDC is where it is today is because of lack of proper monitoring. It is important for the Minister to be appointed as chairman of the Presidential monitoring team. If we want to change the Niger-Delta, we must consider the forensic.

On IMC

The constitution gives power to the President to appoint, to supervise.

It is the NDDC that procured the forensic auditors. All the procurement came through them.

On rift between Akpabio and ex-MD

Most of the payments NDDC made do not have to go through the minister. She does not have NYSC certificate. She was removed because of insubordination. She even swore to a fake affidavit.

Pondei ignored doctors advice NDDC

Reacting to Pondeis collapse yesterday, the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, said he ignored doctors advice to observe some rest.

In a press statement, entitled: Prof Pondei has been ill, and signed by Mr. Charles Obi Odili, Director of Corporate Affairs, NDDC, the commission said the MD had been ill for two weeks, prior to the sad incident.

The statement read: The Acting Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, Prof Kemebradikumo Pondei, collapsed today at the public hearing by the House of Representatives Committee on NDDC.

The Commission wishes to disclose that Prof Pondei, has been ill for the past two weeks. This morning, his condition deteriorated, and his doctors advised against attending the hearing. However, he ignored his doctors advice because of the realization that his traducers will use his absence at the hearing to soil his name and reputation.

He thought he could make it through the hearing and take care of his health later. As it turned out, his doctors were right. Prof Pondei is in a stable condition at a clinic in Abuja.

The commission rubbished the conduct of the investigative hearing, claiming that proceedings of the panel were wrong-headed.

It exonerated the Acting MD, saying he was not involved in any alleged malfeasance at the commission.

Prof Prondei became Ag Managing Director of NDDC on February 20, 2020. By May 5, the two arms of the National Assembly ordered a probe of his tenure of exactly 74 days at the time, two-thirds of which was spent under Covid-19 lockdown conditions.

Prof Pondei, as the Managing Director of the Commission, has an official duty to answer for the activities of the Commission like what happened between 2008 2012 which is the subject of another hearing based on the auditor-generals report for the period.

It would, however, be unfair to hold him personally liable for acts which took place when he was not the head of the Commission.

When the two arms of the National Assembly called for a probe, it was over a missing N40 billion. The Commission took the rare step of publishing all payments made by it under Prof Pondei. No organization in Nigeria, public or private has ever got to that level of transparency in our national history.

As this publication undermined the claims of his accusers, the subject of the public hearing changed to financial recklessness. While this might appear insignificant, it amounted to changing the goal posts to smear a clean man.

While misappropriation of N40 billion is a matter demanding objective proof, the question of financial recklessness is one open to subjective judgement, the commission stated.

The commission, however expressed satisfaction with the decision of chairman of the committee, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, to step down.

The commission is delighted that Hon Olubunmi Ojo, the Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on NDDC has recused himself from the hearing. At the end of the day, everyone has to answer for his role in the misappropriation of the resources of the commission.

It is this search for answers that led President Muhammadu Buhari, on the request of the nine governors of the region, to institute a forensic audit to probe what happened to the resources of the Commission from 2001 to date.

The Prof Pondei-led IMC has committed to the success of that exercise. While we thought there will be a fight back by those who dipped their hands in the cookies jar, we never expected this level of boldness and malevolent aggression as witnessed by accusers at the hearing and their paid agents through all the media platforms.

The commission is participating at the hearing, even though it thinks that seeing to the conclusion of the forensic audit will serve the future of the Commission and the Niger Delta region more than the probe of 74 days of activities, the NDDC stated further.

Get well, clear your name, N-Delta stakeholders tell Pondei

Reacting to the development yesterday, leaders and stakeholders in Niger Delta empathized with the Acting Managing Director, Interim Management Committee, NDDC, Prof Kemebradikumo Pondei but urged him to get well quickly and return to clear his reputation.

Former National Chairman, Traditional Rulers of Oil Minerals Producing Communities of Nigeria, TROMPCON, and Pere of Siembiri Kingdom, Delta State, HM Charles Ayemi-Botu, and others, however, blamed the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio, who cleared the air on the various allegations against him shortly after Pondei was rushed out for medical attention, for the embarrassing state of affairs.

National Secretary, South-South Peoples Assembly, SSPA, Dr. Ayakeme Whisky and renowned environmental activist, Alaoga Morris, described him as an academic and administrator unschooled in the act of double-dealing like politicians, which greatly troubled his heart as he testified, making him to succumb to the enormous pressure from his subconscious mind.

National Convener, South- South Reawakening Group, Joseph Ambakederimo, differed, saying I call it a well -scripted soap opera to hoodwink Nigerians as they have always trivialized very serious allegations of corruption levelled against the minister and the IMC team.

All of them, however, lamented that NDDC, which was set up as an interventionist agency to develop the Niger Delta region has turned out to be a corruption contraption for some few privileged politicians, their sponsors from other parts of the country and cronies.

Former Deputy Governor of Edo State, Rev Peter Obadan, who believed that Prof Pondei faked his collapse, said the people of the region should wait patiently for the report of the probe he commended.

Its unfortunate Poindei fainted

HM Ayemi-Botu told Vanguard: It is unfortunate that the Acting Managing Director of NDDC slumped during hearing at the House of Representatives yesterday (Monday), but I pray for his quick recovery to enable him come back to clear himself in the ongoing investigation.

In my considered opinion, the appointment of the Minister of Niger Delta to have oversight responsibility on the NDDC by President Muhammadu Buhari is the bane of the litany of crises in NDDC. I presume Mr. President was misled by Senator Godswill Akpabio to transfer NDDC, a federal parastatal under the Presidency established to develop the marginalized people of the region to the supervision of the Ministry of Niger Delta.

It is a misnomer because the Minister has not got any budget to complete the East-West Road, but to concentrate on NDDC to milk it dry by throwing a spanner in the wheel of progress with the appointment of IMC, which is an aberration. Ask the minister what and what projects his ministry has executed since his appointment.

Be it IMC or forensic audit, all are canon fodders and camouflage to siphon NDDC dry, he added.

Reverend Obadan told Vanguard: I think it is their flames that is catching up with them and a man that collapses cannot raise up his hand, I saw that clearly, I think he was just faking it but what the House is doing should be highly commended, the armed robbers we crucify, they do not do one tenth of what these fellows have done. They have robbed the nation, they have robbed the future generation. One is so ashamed of them, one is ashamed of what has happened.

But let the truth be made known, be made public because most of the things we read on internet and social media, some of them may not be true because there are a lot of fake messages, let the truth be unveiled through the investigation, I think Nigerians should just be patient for the results to be out. Let Nigerians wait for the outcome of the committee. It is the wealth of the people, it is the wealth of the nation and the Niger Delta people are anxiously waiting to know what actually transpired, he said.

It was shocking

Well-known environmentalist and Head, Environmental Rights Action, ERA, in Bayelsa state, Alagoa Morris, said: First of all, it (Pondeis slouching) came as a shock to me, but on a second thought, even though l care about his safety; I recall that such things are not entirely strange as some facing corruption charges have appeared in court even on a stretcher and other features showing signs of illness.

However, l felt the Prof may not have been properly briefed about certain details by the older NDDC management officials and he did not prepare well before appearing. Again, I thought he should not have bothered to answer questions on anything he has no knowledge of since he is also relatively new in the office.

Answering for the actions of others would be a mistake on his part and I hope he did not, a clear conscience and not taking to defend what you know nothing about would not result into such fainting scenario.

There is nothing wrong in investigating the interventionist agency, but it should be in the common interest and not witch-hunting. Only the best intentions would be good enough, he told one of our reporters.

Investigate thoroughly

Former All Progressives Congress, APC, presidential aspirant, Alhaji Mumakai Unagha, who spoke in Warri, Delta state, stated: On the issue of Pondei slumping, it is only the doctor that can ascertain if it is pretense. My take in the whole saga is that there should be thorough investigation to bring all corrupt members of the commission to book.

His words: Similarly, the commission should be decentralized to reduce the prohibitive corruption in the commission,

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NDDC: Startling revelations, drama at Reps hearing - Vanguard