By our reporter| The acting Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Kemebradikumo Pondei, on Thursday, told the senate committee investigating the “financial recklessness” of the Interim Management Committee (IMC) that the commission spent N1.5 billion for staff as ‘COVID-19 relief funds’.
He made this statement at the investigative hearing on the N40 billion corruption allegation against the commission.
The Senate seven-man ad-hoc committee set up on May 5, had alleged that within the last three months, the commission has spent over N40 billion of the ommission’s fund ”without recourse to established processes of funds disbursement which has opened up further suspicion among stakeholders of the Niger Delta Region.”
Part of the audit report read out by the chairman of the committee, Olubunmi Adetunmbi, on Thursday said N3.1 billion was spent as COVID-19 funds between October 2019 and May 2020.
In the report, the lawmaker said ”N10 million was paid to one person, N7 million to two people, N5 million to three people, 148 people took N3 million each, 157 people got N1.5 million each, 497 people got N1 million each and 464 people were paid N600,000 each.”
Another N475 million was given to the police to purchase face masks and hand sanitisers, he added.
However, Pondei and other delegates from the commission who appeared before the committee defended the expenditure incured by the management of the commission.
According to the acting MD, ”only N1.5 billion was used to take care of staff” despite being paid their salaries.
He further sted that part of the fund expended was for the youth of Niger Delta.
He said, ”The youth were given palliatives to help cushion the effect of the pandemic on the people. The youth were idle and to avoid violence, they were paid”.
”The remaining fund was spent on staff of the commission.”
“We used it to take care of ourselves. We are NDDC, we need to take care of ourselves too.”
On why the police was given N475 million, he explained tha a request was made from ”the high command of police and the management took a look at it and approved it.”
According to him, the money ”was an intervention and the NDDC is expecting a report as to how the money was spent.”
The acting deputy director, projects, Cairo Ojougboh, further added that the money given to police is for all the nine commands in the Niger Delta region.
Cover Pix: The acting Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Kemebradikumo Pondei
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