President Buhari on Thursday October 17, ordered a forensic audit of the operations of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) from 2001 to 2019.
The President who announced this while receiving Governors from the Niger-Delta region at the state house in Abuja, said the current state of the region does not reflect the amount of money allocated to the commission for its development.
Also pointing out that states in the region require enormous resources when compared to other regions with firmer lands, President Buhari added that a forensic audit of the commission’s operations became necessary over the torrent of criticism against it.
“I try to follow the Act setting up these institutions, especially the NDDC. With the amount of money that the Federal Government has religiously allocated to the NDDC, we will like to see the results on the ground; those that are responsible for that have to explain certain issues,” he said.
“The projects said to have been done must be verifiable. You just cannot say you spent so much billions and when the place is visited, one cannot see the structures that have been done.
“The consultants must also prove that they are competent,’’ he said.
“I am very much aware, with my experience, that projects in your area are very expensive; that is why if any job is given, we must make sure that the company is competent and has the capacity to do it well, with experienced consultants,” he added.
LIB