Politics

N183b missing at NDDC

Published

9 years ago

August 13, 2015

In from Ali Smart …
The management and board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) is currently in the eye of the storm as the special audit conducted on its activities has revealed that N183.7 billion could not be accounted for between 2008 and 2012.
Making this disclosure on Wednesday was the Auditor-General of the Federation, Mr Samuel Ukura.
Ukura spoke with reporters after submitting three reports to the National Assembly.
Ukura recalled that his office submitted the environmental audit on the drying up of Lake Chad and special periodic checks on the activities and programmes of the NDDC.
According to him, a lot of discrepancies were noticed in the NDDC accounts with about N183.7 billion expected to be refunded to the federation account.
A cursory view showed the NDDC is expected to return to the Federation Account, among others N70.4 billion unaccounted for from the mobilisation of various contractors that never reported to site; the N5.8 billion paid to contractors for projects not executed or abandoned; N90.5 billion spent on extra budgetary expenditure without approval by legal authorities; N1.2 billion undeducted taxes from contractors; N10.07 billion to be refunded as tax deductions made without evidence of remittance to the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS); N3.1 billion transferred to unauthorised accounts and unaccountable staff advances of N1.7 billion.

“It is our belief that all the money spent by government, if it was properly spent in the region, Niger Delta would be a better place,” he said.
He added that N785 million of N1.1 billion allegedly paid to contracts for the supply of furniture to various schools in Delta State was also unaccounted for.
The Auditor-General noted that additional details of their findings are contained in the report he submitted to the Clerk of the National Assembly, Mr Salisu Maikasuwa.

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