Despite the excitement that greeted the decision to carry out a forensic audit of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), a group, Global Forum For Accountability and Transparency, Nigeria, has dismissed the exercise as a mere ruse designed to curry the approval of the Federal Government.
The group in a statement signed by its Media and Publicity Secretary, Joseph Tamara, alleged that the forensic audit was designed by the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godswil Akpabio, to warm his way into President Muhammadu Buhari’s heart and be allowed a free hand to run and further ruin the Commission.
The group posited further that the Minister and others involved in the forensic audit drama cashed him on the anti-corruption stance of the President to sell the dummy.
It insisted that the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs as presently constituted does not have the strong will to midwife genuine audit of the activities of the Commission since it was created.
The group maintained that powerful Nigerians including former Presidents, former and serving governor, powerful traditional rulers and other highly connected Nigerians, were involved in the sleaze that bedevilled the Commission.
It maintained that there is more prospect in the Senate probe than the much advertised forensic audit.
According to the group, most elections in Nigeria were sponsored with NDDC funds and those behind the diversion of the funds are highly connected in government and will manipulate the purported forensic audit.
According to the statement, “it is saddening that the Federal Government could buy into such cheap plot as the forensic audit, it is a sham created to give cover for another set of criminals to continue fleecing the Commission, while the Niger Delta region will continue to suffer neglect”.
Giving a further breakdown of how the forensic audit was allegedly designed to work, the group submitted that, “the forensic audit will only indict companies and individuals the new cabal wants to dispense with and become fully entrenched thereafter”.
It alleged further that, “the stealing in the NDDC is exacerbating under the watch of Akpabio, therefore, the claim by the Minister and his cohorts that the agitation is as a result of the forensic audit only flies in the face.
“It is a truism that the call for the probe of the NDDC did not start today there have been calls from various quarters many years back before Mr.President took office. And the President must be made aware of this. Akpabio would not be the one to clean the Augean stable as he does not posses such capacity and Nigerians know it and please Mr President do not fall for this cheap crap.
“Any forensic audit on a public institutions as we know must have terms of reference, the Auditor General of Federation has a role to play in the case of the NDDC, we have not seen any of such terms of reference and the Auditor General of the Federation is completely shut out.
“On the other hand we did not see where the advertisements was made for selecting the auditing firm as there was no thorough selection process. As the saying goes he who pays the piper dictates the tune is what we are seeing”.
It also pointed out that, “key staffs of the commission who would have been helpful for this audit have been sent parking. Never have we seen where staffs would be relieved of their services because of forensic audit.
“It is also on record that the Minister kicked against the inclusion of the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit(NFIU), the inclusion of the NFIU in this auditing process would have given some resemblance of acceptability to the outcome and final repot. The reason he kicked against the inclusion of the NFIU is only known to him.
“What is presently playing out in the NDDC is a forensic audit which outcome is already pre-determined and one of such is to give a clean bill of health to the many companies that are at the behest of top officers in the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs, companies that have been enmeshed in receiving scandalous payments for unexecuted contracts”.