Nsima Ekere, other top NDDC officials in alleged N14 Billion contract racketeering [DOCUMENTS]

Three top management members of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) have been accused of involving in contract racketeering of N14 Billion Naira projects.

The contracts are projects to be carried out by the NDDC in Ondo State.

Oil Producing areas in the Sunshine state, under the aegis of Oil Producing Communities of Ondo state, (OPCOOS) have accused the three top management staff of the commission of having already sold out the 47 projects to the detriment and interest of the oil producing areas and people of Ondo State.

The oil communities in a petition to the Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo, accused the trio of the Managing Director, Mr. Nsima Ekere, Executive Director Finance /administration, Mr. Mene Derek and the Executive Director project, Mr. Adjogbe Samuel of intentionally marginalizing Ondo State and nepotistic in their management of affairs of NDDC as it relates to Ondo state.

The petition signed by the chairman of OPCOOS, Chief Eniyansoro Obazuaye, Secretary, Comrade Babatunde Wisdom Omojubi, PRO Chief Adesoji Aladetan and Comrade Adekunle Orisamuluwa, Organising Secretary, said in view of President Mohammadu Buhari’s anti corruption crusade, the allegation against the top management of the NDDC must be fully investigated.

The petition reads, “The three top management members of the NDDC, namely, the managing director, Executive Director (Finance and Administration) and the Executive Director (Projects) have shown by their conducts and official behaviors that they are not fair minded political office holders.

“The NDDC did two publications in April and May 2017 respectively, inviting the public to tender for projects. Ondo state has a total of 47 projects that were advertised.

“We report with sadness that these officers refused to give tender bids to people from the Ilaje oil producing areas as well as indegenes of Ondo state who sought to tender for the project. We say very emphatically that these projects were hidden away from the public

“They were kept with the procurement officers of the NDDC, who on the instruction of the Managing director, gave them out to their cronies and allies or they were manipulated by the office of the Executive Director, projects to the interest of his clan’s men from Urhobo and Itsoko in Delta state.

“All our people (From Ondo State) who paid N50, 000.00 tender fee in favor of the NDDC were turned back from Port-harcourt because the tenders are either locked up in the office of the MD or the EDP. No one has access to them ”

The NDDC officials, according to OPCOOS have run foul of the NDDC act, 2000, which stipulates in Section 7(2) that “in exercising its function and power under this section, the commission shall have regard to the varied and specific contributions of each member state of the commission “.

The petition alleged that the NDDC officials have thrown caution to the wind and began to act arbitrarily to the detriment of Ondo state.

It said, “We are pained that presently, all the benefits meant for the good people of the Niger Delta Region of Ondo state in the NDDC have become the largesse being shared by these three officers”.

OPCOOS is also alleging that security agencies have been bribed with some of the projects belonging to Ondo state so as not to investigate the NDDC’ three officials.

“Your excellency, we have it on good and sound authority, that in other for the Managing Director, Executive Director (Finance and Administration), and executive Director (Projects) to cover up their nefarious acts, they have also given some of the Ondo State projects to some security agencies.

“We know as a fact, that these security agencies are being placated with Ondo state projects so as not to investigate the dastardly act of these men” the petition reads in part.

The communities, however, called on the Acting President to as a matter of urgency set machinery in motion to investigate the allegations they have raised against the three NDDC officials.