Fresh crisis may be brewing at the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) over alleged failure of its new Interim Administrator to account for a whooping sum of N111, 621,716,618.4, which accrued to the Commission in the last four months.
For this reason, stakeholders have expressed fears that the NDDC may not be able to pay April salaries owing to its very lean balance in its accounts, which stood at N394, 225,271.02 as at April 26, 2021.
Records obtained from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) indicates that the Commission received N73, 459,210,640.42 through one of its two accounts number 9120179661018, domiciled with the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN and another N38, 054,241,559.60 through account number 0130179642013 still at the CBN.
According to the records, while the balance in the first account stood at N108, 264,418.38, the second one has N285, 960,862.74, as at April, 25, 2021.
Considering the fact that with a monthly wage bill of N1.2 billion, the NDDC requires additional N700 million to meet its salary requirement for the month of April.
Subsequently, there is palpable apprehension amongst staff and stakeholders including the state governors of the possible failure of the commission to meet its core mandate even as there are indicators of possible bankruptcy unless something is done.
Governors in the Niger Delta region had earlier advised that an embargo be placed on spending at the NDDC, pending the inauguration of a proper board but that seems to have been ignored.
Already, accusing fingers are being pointed at the Minister of the Niger Delta, Senator Godswill Akpabio for allegedly cajoling the Interim Administrator to embark on invisible spending which may have led to the present quagmire.
Some stakeholders who spoke to our correspondent on conditions of anonymity alleged that notwithstanding the denials by the Minister, he has been wooing officers of investigative agencies to forestall possible probes into the finances of the Commission.
Attempts to speak with the Interim Administrator of the NDDC, Mr. Effiong Akwa, were unsuccessful as he was not picking his calls, neither did he respond to enquiries via SMS.
On the other hand, the Director of Finance, Mr. Ubi Enoch, who is a signatory to the NDDC accounts, however told Blueprint that he was not competent to comment on the issue, as he is not the custodian of the records obtained from CBN.
“I am not competent to speak on the matter. It is only my Interim Administrator, so you can direct your inquiries to him please”, he stated.”
