Group Urges Federal Government To Audit NDDC Records

OGBONNA IWUAGWU

A Non Governmental Organization – Nigeria and Entrepreneurship, Summit and Honours (NESH), has called on the Federal Government to quickly appoint a world class auditing firm such as PWC, KPMG, SIAC to carry out a forensic audit of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and submit its findings to the relevant authorities.

As a major stakeholder in the development of South East South South, the organization expressed concern that the institution (NDDC) is currently suffering from leadership paralysis occasioned by the existence of an interim management committee and a constitutionally confirmed Board of Directors at the same time.

“This situation is very unfortunate and avoidable. We believe that the right thing should be done urgently and that is, to officially inaugurate the new board of NDDC so that they can go ahead with the important business of re-orientating and repositioning the commission and in line with global best practices” the group said.

Emeka Ugwu-Oju, founder of the organization, made the call at the 3rd Ndigbo and Entrepreneurship Summit and Honours organized by NESH in partnership with the Imo State Government and the South East South-South professionals of Nigeria held in Owerri, the Imo state capital.

Relying on the theme of the event “Making the South-East South South the Most Developed Regions in Africa by 2035 from”, Ugwu Oju noted that although the Nigeria Entrepreneurship (NE) had from inception, focused on South East Development, NESH decided that the 3rd edition should provide the platform to examine the current state of Development Agenda South East-South South 2035 (DASESS 2035).

This, he said, is a 20-year development roadmap facilitated by the South East and South South Professionals.

The NESH founder explained that the concept of Ndigbo Entrepreneurship arose from the identified need by NESH to contribute with other relevant stakeholders to national development through encouraging private and public partnership in the existing Nigerian geopolitical structures to complement the efforts of the existing state governments.

Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, in a good will message through his Chief of Staff (COS), Otire Igbuzor, commended the organizers of the summit for their initiative to establish synergies in economic development between the SE, the Igbo nation and their neighbours in South South, even as he stressed the need to consolidate on the gains of the past summits.