A group of activists has called on the presidency to beam its anti-corruption searchlight into activities of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC.
This comes amidst controversies that have trailed management of the commission in recent times.
Correspondent Uche Okoro reports that former President Olusegun Obasanjo established the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC in the year 2000.
With an average annual budget of 300 billion naira, the NDDC’s mandate is to develop the oil rich region. But over the years it has struggled to achieve this while dealing with its own internal crisis.
From leadership tussles to corruption allegations the commission, which has its headquarters in Port Harcourt, often finds itself in the news for the wrong reasons.
Now the Niger Delta Activists Forum is demanding a full probe into the financial activities of NDDC including the immediate past management board.
In august 2019, President Muhammadu Buhari approved a new 16-man board for the NDDC. There are very high expectations that this move would bring a new lease of life to the commission.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC for its part says it is already investigating a number of cases for and against the NDDC and will proceed to court when that becomes necessary.
