The Federal Government has ordered a full forensic audit of the Niger Delta Commission to facilitate development of the Niger Delta region.

The Minister, Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs (MNDA), Godswill Akpabio, who disclosed this at a meeting with the Presidential Support Committee (PSC) in Abuja on Friday, said the audit was different from the statutory audit which is done compulsorily in every organisation but sometimes with a lot of conflicting figures to attract the public.

Akpabio said President Muhammadu Buhari was trying to put up a governance structure to audit the NDDC to achieve something good for the people of Niger Delta.

“If we don’t get it right because it has been in existence for many years all these development commissions may not be able to achieve anything because they will continue to see the commission as an ATM to pluck money wherever they want.

“To be able to set good example for the development commission, the commencement of the full forensic audit of NDDC will charge a way forward. I will tell you, sanity has started coming into the commission. A lot of people who took money in the past and abandoned projects have returned to sites while many are working in various communities, and some communities are having solar power light without new contracts given while some are working on roads we never knew. Most moribund structures, we are trying to revamp them,” he said.

The chairman, PSC, Alhaji Lawal Munir, while presenting his committee’s report to the minister, appealed to the federal government to empower the committee to enable it perform optimally.

(Daily Trust)

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