Revealed! One Nigerian Senator Got Paid For 300 NDDC Projects, But He Executed None Of Them

A member of the newly inaugurated 3-man Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) committee, Cairo Ojougboh has revealed that a sitting Senator singlehandedly got 300 contracts and executed none of them.

KanyiDaily recalls that President Muhammadu Buhari had ordered a forensic audit of the operations of the NDDC from 2001 to 2019, because he doesn’t think projects on the ground in the region are commensurate with how much has been disbursed.

Buhari said since the establishment of the NDDC by former President Olusegun Obasanjo in 2000, the commission has received at least N15 trillion project funds, yet failed to achieve the Niger Delta Regional Development Masterplan to lay the foundation for transforming the region into Nigeria’s Dubai.

The president subsequently inaugurated a three-man committee to oversee the operations of the NDDC.

Cairo Ojougboh, a member of the newly inaugurated panel and the acting Executive Director of Projects, said that they discovered that a sitting Nigerian senator is handling 300 of the NDDC’s project.

Speaking during a press briefing which held in Abuja, Ojougboh disclosed that 120 of the 300 contracts were fully paid for but “this Senator” is yet to begin work on any of them.

Ojougboh, who refused to disclose the name of the Senator said the Ongoing forensic audit would uncover how the Commission accrued a N3 trillion debt which could not be accounted for, because some workers are currently being owed 15 years salary.

Also, he mentioned how the unnamed Senator has been frustrating the efforts of the Interim Committee in order to stop the probe.

“Somebody who is particularly interested in a major contract of the NDDC, who is a member of the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, he alone has 300 jobs in the NDDC. Of the 300 contracts, 120 has been fully paid and he has not mobilized to site for these 120,” Ojougboh said.

“It is obvious that the reason he is behaving the way he is behaving is that he wants the system, the looting in the NDDC to continue, and this is what the Interim Management Committee will not support. It is as simple as that.

“The NDDC Interim Payment Certificates that are pending are worth over N3 trillion. That is what the NDDC owes these phantom contractors. It is these phantom contractors that are preaching and making noise to stop the probe. All they want is for the stealing to continue.

“Therefore, when given the opportunity that we have just been given, our job is to make sure that we avail the auditors all the necessary documents and information, all the necessary help they need because we are not protecting any interest but to help the auditors do their job as it is required.”

In addition, Ojougboh disclosed how some workers were still being owed 15 years salary.

“All they want is to bring puppets to manage the forensic audit because they know that the members of the IMC will not compromise. If you look at the records at the NDDC, you will cry,” he said.

“Some genuine people that have done jobs for the board have not been paid for over 15 years and their families are suffering. Many of those who were paid are these phantom contractors.