Shell vows to audit its financial contribution to NDDC

Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) has promised to unravel its statutory contribution to the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).

Managing Director of SPDC, Osagie Okunbor, says his company’s will work with the NDDC to reconcile its statutory financial contributions to the commission, according to a statement by NDDCspokesman, Abosede Ibiyoye in Port Harcourt.

Ibitoye quoted Okunbor as stating this when he received a delegation of NDDC in his office.

Okunbor said that in spite of the funding challenges, the oil firm had tried to fulfill its financial contributions to NDDC as and when due.

He said: “NDDC is an important interventionist agency, and we look forward to providing all the support we can toward the execution of your (NDDC) mandate.

“It is in SPDC’s interest that NDDC succeeds. This is because it will make our work easier when NDDC succeeds in achieving its mandate.

“On the issue of statutory contributions to NDDC, we are willing to reconcile the figures,” he stated.

The SPDC managing director said that both organisations had enjoyed a long standing relationship through active collaboration running into several years.

“So, we have partnered with NDDC several times in the past and we look forward to a mutually-beneficial relationship with the current NDDC board.

“The 29-kilometre Ogbia-Nembe road project is one of such partnerships that readily comes to mind,” Okunbor stated.

Earlier, the Managing Director of NDDC, Dr Samuel Ogbuku, underlined the importance of SPDC reconciling its statutory contributions to the commission.

He said that upon his assumption of office recently, the NDDC board found out that Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had been receiving SPDC’s contributions on behalf of the commission.