The Federal Executive Council has approved N722.3
million for eight field forensic auditors to audit the
Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
The field auditors will undertake a complete forensic
exercise of the NDDC activities in their respective
States of assignments and ascertain total funds and
resources paid to contractors for all projects.
They would also compare the total amount of
resources expended with the value of what was
delivered to the Commission and establish if such
value is commensurate with the resources expended.
The Minister of Niger Delta, Senator Godwill Akpabio,
disclosed this on Wednesday after the virtual FEC
meeting presided over by President Muhammadu
Buhari.
The eight field Forensic auditors will undertake the
forensic audit of NDDC from 2001 to 2019 with Ernst
& Young in charge of the NDDC headquarters.
The payment for the forensic auditors will come
directly from the Federal Government of Nigeria to
jumpstart the forensic audit process in the nine
states of the Niger Delta.
It would be recalled that President Buhari had ordered
a forensic audit of the operations of the Niger Delta
Development Commission (NDDC) from 2001 to
2019.
The President gave the directive when he received
governors of the states in the Niger Delta region at
the Presidential villa in Abuja in October last year.
The president said the directive had become
imperative in view of the persistent criticisms of the
operations of the commission.
He said what was on ground in the Niger Delta did
not justify the huge resources that have been made
available to the commission.
Many Stakeholders of the Niger Delta region have
expressed support for the forensic audit as ordered
by President Buhari.
According to Senator Akpabio the measures that
would be put in place would ensure the prevention of
fraud and mismanagement of the Commission in the
future and establish proper regulatory and operational
guidelines for the Commission .
