Group demands freezing of NDDC accounts

• Alleges fresh N20b fraud
• Accuses govt of promoting, rewarding corruption

A group, Act For Positive Transformation Initiative, has raised the alarm of persistent looting of the public funds at the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), urging immediate freezing of the agency’s account.

While the lawmakers are unraveling how N81.5 billion was spent by the commission in seven months, Head, Directorate of Research, Strategy & Programme, Kolawole Johnson, at a press briefing, yesterday, in Abuja, alleged that over N20 billion had again been carted away from the account of the commission.

Lamenting that the spree at the commission has remained unabated, John stated that despite the monumental corruption at the commission, the government’s body language appears to be promoting, rewarding, and protecting corruption.

According to him, there are plans by the commission to make some fraudulent secret payments this week that will further set the commission aback.

“This same alarm was raised in June 2020 via a letter to the leadership of the National Assembly that was made public. About N20 billion was carted away barely one month thereafter (as at July 28),” he said.

Johnson, who alleged that despite the outcry against the N1.5 billion palliative to take care of themselves, the commission abused the nation further by paying self another N340 million for emergency intervention against the pandemic, said: “We call on President Muhammadu Buhari, the National Assembly and genuine security and anti-corruption agencies to immediately freeze the accounts of the commission and apprehend everyone involved in the continuous scandalous pillaging of the agency’s treasury.”