Niger Delta Youths Call For Probe Of NDDC Over Alleged Corruption

The Niger Delta Youth Council (NDYC) has called on the Federal Government to probe the activities of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) since its inception to ascertain its efficacy, following its alleged suspicion of corrupt activities in the commission.

According to the group, the call became necessary in view of its findings that the NDDC is serving the interest of a few individuals at the detriment of the region it was established to facilitate its development. 
The group also called on the management of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to urgently look into its complaint of marginalization in the corporation’s recent recruitment exercise. 

The NDYC stated this in a communiqué issued Monday in Benin City at the end of the Niger Delta Youth Council Round Table, with stakeholders drawn from the 22 ethnic nationalities in the region.

The communiqué was signed by its national coordinator, Comrade Jator Abido, the secretary, Kede  Michael, and two other officials, Chinedu Livinus and Prince Danisin Momoh.

The sub-regional youth group alleged that it had severally raised alarm that the NDDC was hijacked by few individuals for personal benefit and urged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Independent Corrupt other related Offences Commission (ICPC), and the presidency to probe the current and past leaderships of the commission.

“We as a group frown at the performance of the NDDC in using the counterpart funding from the Federal Government and the oil companies to give the host communities a sense of belonging. Particularly, we are pained that projects are only completed on paper but are yet to commence in reality. The contract for the construction of Omadinor-Ukpokiti/ Escravos Bridges Project is one of such where the funds have been diverted.

“While the first phase of the projects have been fully paid, the second phase is being awarded when the first phase is yet to be executed.”

The youths further cautioned that should the EFCC and ICPC fail to probe the NDDC, it may in the days to come call on the multinationals to seize paying counterpart funds but rather carry out direct social responsibility services to the host communities.

“We are aware that the Act establishing NDDC demands 15 percent from the Federal Government and 3 percent of the oil companies annual budget remitted to the commission. However, where the NDDC, rather than stimulate development, is becoming a clog in the wheels of progress of the region, we may be left with no option than to boycott such a commission and set up a committee that will liaise with the companies in the region as to take our future in our hands”. 

On the recent NNPC recruitment exercise, the Niger Delta youths appealed to the corporation to speed up with the process of including its members in the interest of equity and justice.

“Let it be clear to the management that we only shelved our earlier planned protest as a show of our love for the country and respect for human lives, following the tensed security atmosphere occasioned by the activities of the IMN”.