NDDC: NIGER DELTA YOUTH FORUM (NDYF) PETITIONS TO THE PRESIDENT, SENATE PRESIDENT, SPEAKER HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVE AND THE NSA

“Godswill Akpabio and his IMC are corrupt and completely out of control and therefore, the IMC needs to be disbanded immediately to forestall a breakdown of law and order and a return to the inglorious days in the region when  peace, security and stability were severely challenged”…. NDYF

With the cry for justice by the people of the Niger Delta region attaining an alarming level, a concerned group has called on the President, Commander-In-Chief of the Nigeria Armed Forces, the leadership of the National Assembly and other prominent officers of government to immediately, come to their aid.

In a statement on Tuesday, Chuks Otikpo Esq, Chairman of the Niger Delta Youth Forum, NDYF, disclosed that it has become imperative that the NDYF joins other well meaning individuals and organizations both in the Niger Delta and beyond, to put pressure on relevant institutions in the country, in order to bring to an end, the campaign of corruption being perpetrated against innocent and good people of the Niger Delta region, by Godswill Akpabio and his Interim Management Committee.

In the petitions addressed to the President and Commander in Chief, Mohammadu Buhari, the Senate President, Distinguished Sen. Ahmed Lawan, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, the National Security Adviser, Rtd Maj Gen Babagana Monguno and copied to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, Deputy Senate President, Ovie Omo Agege,  Chairman, Senate Committee on Niger Development Commission ( NDDC), Sen. Peter Nwaoboshi (PDP, Delta), the Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Rep. Olubumi Tunji-Ojo (APC, Ondo), and all Service Chiefs including the Chief of Defense Staff, the Chief of Army Staff, the Chief of Air Staff, the Chief of Naval Staff, the Inspector General of Police and the Director General of the Department of State Security Services, the NDYF chairman, Chuks Otikpo Esq said it has six appendices of documents attached to the petitions to butress their case that Godswill Akpabio and his IMC are corrupt and completely out of control and therefore needs to be disbanded immediately to forestall a breakdown of law and order and a return to the inglorious days in the region when  peace, security and stability were severely challenged.

The Niger Youth Forum (NDYF) in the petition is also disputing the claim by Godswill Akpabio and his Interim Management Committee that his effort to conduct a forensic audit in the commission as directed by President Mohammadu Buhari is being frustrated by the directors in the commission.

The NDYF says the claim is bogus, baseless and an effort to distract and divert the attention of the people of the Niger Delta and Nigeria from the bigger issues, which are the illegal award of contracts and payments to cronies of Godswill Akpabio and his hand-picked Interim Management Committee without due process and in complete violation of the Public Procurement Act of 2007.

Recall that the Minister of  Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio and his hand picked  corrupt Interim Management Committee of the Niger Delta Development Commission NDDC, few days ago sent letters to staff of all cadre who are perceived to be opposed to the reckless and corrupt practice of the Interim Management Committee in award of contracts, to proceed on mandatory leave and early retirement.

The move came just days after  contract award letters exposing corruption in the award and payments of contracts to Signoria Concept Services Limited and Osmoserve Global Limited were leaked to the public. But in a desperate move to cover up their tracks, Godswill Akpabio and his Interim Management Committee sent letters to some of the staff of the NDDC who are the most trained and experienced to better manage the affairs of the Commission and provide most valuable information to the forensic auditor to proceed on mandatory leave and early retirement in a bid to silence them for opposing his illegal and corrupt  practices in the award of contracts. With this cleansing, the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC is now left in the hands of Akpabio's cronies and the least experience staff who cannot run the affairs of the Commission.

In the statement released by the NDYF, it said the Forum has it in good authority and intelligence report it gathered from within the Commission that in a brazen reckless abuse of power, the IMC has promoted the following loyal staff who have been colluding with them to perpetuate these crimes:

1) Silas Anyawu - Assist Director GL 15 promoted to GL 17 and deployed as Director of Human Resources

 
2) Alex Enebeli - promoted from Assist Director GL15 to GL17 and deployed as Director of Procurement (procurement officer who signed the controversial Covid 19 contracts).

3) Peter Ebe  - promoted from Deputy Director, GL 16 to GL 17  and deployed as Director of Finance and  Supply

 
4) Henry Effiong  -  promoted from GL 13 to GL 15 Assistant Director and deployed to Finance & Supply 

5) Charles Akpan  promoted  from Assistant Director GL 15 to GL 17 and deployed as  Director of Administration

6) Eno Ubi  promoted from Assistant Director GL 15 to GL 17 and deployed as Director of Internal Audit

7) Gbenga promoted and deployed to Executive Director of Project's  (EDP) office

8) Goddy  promoted and deployed to Executive Director of Project's  (EDP) office  to Edp office

9) Chuks Osuji promoted and deployed to procurement

10) Engr Emeka Ani promoted from Assistant Director, GL15 to Director, GL17

11) Engr Onduku Abrahams promoted from Assistant Director, GL 15 to Director, GL17 and the list goes on and on.

These loyal staff were given double/special promotion by the IMC in contravention of public service rule and the commission’s approved condition of service which states that ONLY a legally constituted governing Board can authorize and approve the promotion of officers on grade level 14 and above. The IMC being an illegal body has no such power to recruit, redeploy and promote. However, in a bid to reward their loyalists, with no capacity, whom  they are using to perpetrate their illegal contract awards and payments of phony contracts, these people were hurriedly promoted without any written examination, oral interview and  no board authorization and approval as provided by the public service and the commission’s approved condition service.

Niger Delta Youth Forum (NDYF) as an umbrella body of all the youth bodies in the nine Niger Delta States has been very active in issues affecting the region and the country in general. It has already spoken out against the use of Interim Management Committee in NDDC instead of a legally constituted board as provided by the 2000 NDDC ESTABLISHMENT ETC act. The body is already in court challenging that decision and has warned of breakdown of law and return to the inglorious days of violence in the region if the government continues to disregard the provisions of the laws of the land for which it was supposed to protect and defend.

Recall that some days ago, the media was both traditional and social was inundated with allegations of corruption in the award and payments of contracts to various companies believed to be connected to Chief Godswill Akpabio and members of his Interim Management Committee. At the root of these scandals were three companies, Osmoserve Global Limited, Signoria Concept Services Limited and Rodnab, Godswill Akpabio's  surrogate that was awarded a contract to complete the NDDC headquarters building without public advertisement and bidding and in complete violation of the Public Procurements Act. Rodnab has since been fully paid in the amount of N16 billion while the contract is yet to be completed.

A N4.8 billion contract was also awarded to Akpabio's connected companies, Osmoserve Global Limited for unspecified medical supplies. The contract was awarded to Osmoserve on April 6 and an upfront payment of 55 percent was effected. In an usual practice under Akpabio and the IMC, the award letter does not specify the lots, quantity and quality of materials to be supplied, giving room for fraudulent manipulations.  Same contract was never advertised and there was no bidding to that effect.

Also, another company belonging to Akpabio's allies, Signoria Concept Services Limited was awarded contract following similar practices. The letter to the company dated April 6, 2020, read 'Award of Contract for the Emergency Procurement of Specialized Medical Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for Health Workers and Provision of Community Based Sensitization Campaign Against the Spread of Covid-19 and other Communicable Diseases in the Nine States of the Niger Delta Region' and signed by Head, Procurement Unit on the instruction of the IMC. Akpabio and the IMC later suspended payment on that contract following disagreements over sharing formula and when it was leaked to the public by staff of the Commission they walked away from it and began destroying all evidences relating to the contract including sending the best trained and experienced staff to mandatory leave and retirement under the guise of forensic audit.

The award of the contract to Signoria Concept Services Limited  was made on April 6, 2020. Signoria Concept Services Limited was also paid N357 million for maternal delivery kits on February 22, 2020.

The two contracts  awarded to Signoria and Osmoserve and dated April 6, 2020, were signed by the Head of Procurement on behalf of the Acting Managing Director of the Commission.  The contract award letter to Signoria has a Reference Number NDDC/MD/HPU/20/4/EHSS/05, while the one to Osmoserve Global Limited has a Reference Number NDDC/MD/HPU/20/4/EHSS/02.

Following the award on April 6th, 2020, the IMC has paid Osmoserve Global Limited upfront payment of 55 percent of the contract value of N4.8 billion while the one awarded to Signoria was temporarily suspended following disagreements on sharing formula which led to its leak to the public and the subsequent order to some of the staff believed to be behind the leak to proceed on mandatory leave and early retirement.

The NDYF says in its statement that these evidences of large scale corruption by Akpabio and his IMC of the NDDC make a mockery of the anti corruption mantra of President Mohammadu Buhari and they constitute serious insult to the intelligence of the people of Niger Delta and Nigeria who are destitutes, especially at a time when resources are limited.

The statement reads, it is inconceivable to have a man who contributed the most in the corrupt atmosphere in the NDDC and who is currently under investigation by the anti-graft agencies for misappropriation, diversion and even embezzlement of over N108B of money meant for the development of his state, lead such an important exercise as forensic audit that requires men and women of unquestionable character and high degree of intergrity. It's only in Nigeria that a man who spent over a decade as a governor  and senator appointing his stooges and cronies as chairman, MD and state representatives to a board and who controlled those appointees from his bedroom will be appointed to supervise an audit of same people with the objective of sanitizing such an agency. It says Godswill Akpabio lacks the moral authority and is the worst person positioned to lead such an exercise when he has contributed the most in creating the corrupt atmosphere in the NDDC.

The statement continues; the IMC supposedly was set up by President Muhammadu Buhari to manage the Commission as it goes through forensic audit of its financial records and activities from inception to date but we fear however; that “the goat that was given custody of the yam has turned around to devour the yam”. The Honorable Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Chief Godswill Akpabio due to his past antecedents in the NDDC should ordinarily not HEAD  OR SUPERVISE the activities of the NDDC which is legally outside his sphere of control as a minister and more importantly because he can be said to be a negatively interested Party in the process of the sanitization of the NDDC. This is taking cognizance of the fact that as a former Governor of a Niger Delta State (Akwa Ibom) and a Distinguished Senator from the region; he actively participated in the nomination of various Board members of the NDDC; who are also being forensically audited presently. Aside that, we are in good authority and reliably informed that since its inception, the IMC awarded and paid fully various dubious contracts to cronies and stooges of the present leadership of the IMC and the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs without due process. The list of such dubious contracts awarded by the IMC includes but are not limited to those awarded for lassa fever treatment, those awarded to Signoria Concept Services Limited with reference No: NDDC/MD/HPU/20/4/EHSS/05, Osmoserve Global Limited with reference N0: NDDC/MD/HPU/20?4/EHSS/02, Rodnab etc, all of these contracts and more; were designed and contracted to fraudulently siphon the funds meant for the development of the Niger Delta Region and we cannot stand-by and watch these monumental acts of looting of the commonwealth of the Niger Delta region; which runs into Billions of Naira and are still continuing; the purported establishment of Isolation Centres for Covid 19 in the 27 senatorial zones in the Niger Delta Region; yet not even one isolation centre exists in the region presently. It is also most alarming that contrary to Presidential directives; emergency contracts are still being awarded by the IMC without recourse to due process whilst unlawful payments for contracts are being made; even for contracts not executed and other contracts are also being inflated and doubly awarded; thus bringing the functionality of the system to question.

The NDYF insists that President Mohammadu Buhari has an official duty and a moral responsibility to Nigerians to put an end to these grand heists which are happening under his watch. They urge him as a matter of urgency bring order to the NDDC by disbanding the IMC which has clearly shown itself to be a tool for fleecing the Niger Delta people of their resources. He should also ensure that all funds looted by the IMC are recovered and ploughed back into the development of the Niger Delta.

In the petition, the NDYF says in a desperate bid to cover their illegal acts; the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs and the IMC have resorted to victimizing our brothers, uncles and fathers working in the NDDC by issuing them with compulsory letters of retirement and leave for exposing their various acts of corruption as already captured.

Note that staff with less than two and half years remaining in service at the NDDC were asked to immediately proceed on compulsory retirement whilst others with more than two and half years remaining in service were asked to proceed on compulsory leave; after which, they are to automatically be also retired in contravention of Civil/Public Service Rules on retirements etc. It is also pertinent to point out that Section 8 of the NDDC ACT which confers powers on the BOARD OF THE NDDC DOES NOT EVEN PERMIT THEM TO RETIRE ITS STAFF; NONETHELESS AN ILLEGAL AND UNLAWFUL CONTRAPTION SUCH AS THE IMC. Disciplinary action of officers above level 13 which includes all directors and heads of department presently targeted by the IMC and Godswill Akpabio ought to have been referred to the Board (Board Establishment Committee)/Federal civil service Commission.

The Public Service Rule (PSR) No.020810 provides for the retirement of a civil servant who must have attained the age of sixty (60) years or thirty five (35) years in service; the IMC did not take these factors into consideration before retiring our said kith and kin. The PSR No.106501 confers the power to exercise disciplinary control over officers in parastatals on the supervisory Boards/Councils. This power is however without prejudice to the provisions of Section 2(6) of Chapter 3 of the PSR. Under Rule 030301 of Section 3 of the PSR; which deals with misconduct, an officer must be informed in writing of the specific act of wrong doing or improper behavior inimical to the image of the Service charged against him, which must be investigated and proved before any disciplinary action can be taken against him; the act of victimizing the above mentioned staff cadre is in contravention of the express provisions of the above mentioned Rules. Under the provisions of Rule 030101 PSR, disciplinary action of officers above level 13, which includes all directors and heads of departments presently being targeted by the IMC; SHOULD BE REFERRED TO THE FEDERAL CIVIL  SERVICE COMMISSION. We therefore posit that the civil service system cannot be nullified by appointed officials (properly so appointed or otherwise) who insist on actions prohibited by the law. Note also that under the provisions of Rule 030601 of Section 6 of the PSR; if a public officer is to retire in public interest on grounds which cannot be dealt with under the procedures laid down in Rule No. 030305, the civil service commission shall call for full report from the permanent secretary/head of ministerial office in which the officer has served and the report must be considered and the officer given the opportunity to reply to the complaint by reason of which his/her retirement is contemplated and the usefulness of the officer to that institution and the country must be taken into account before any decision can be reached (See Appendix 7).

WE HUMBLY SUBMIT THAT THESE PROVISIONS WERE NOT ADHERED TO BEFORE THE COMPULSORY RETIREMENT OF STAFF HEREIN MENTIONED.  Please find attached relevant documents.

We therefore categorically and unequivocally hereby state our rejection of the illegal compulsory retirement of our kith & Kin in the NDDC; who comprise of Directors, Heads of Department and other senior staff affected by the negative purge and vociferously demand that they must be reinstated forthwith to prevent an imminent break-down of law and order in the NDDC and the Niger Delta Region.

We cannot tolerate a situation where God-fearing and experienced personnel of the NDDC are sacrificed for corruption to thrive and the people of the Niger Delta Region further drenched in underdevelopment and deprivation.
Consequent upon the above, we urge you to utilize your good office to ensure that the needful is urgently done so as to ensure sustainable development and peace in the Niger Delta Region and Nigeria by extension.

OUR PRAYERS:

1. That you use your good office to liaise with all relevant persons, authorities and bodies  in all branches of our government to include the executive, legislature and the judiciary to cause and ensure the immediate abrogation of the Interim Management Committee (IMC) of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).

2. That you also use your good office to liaise with all relevant persons, authorities and bodies in all branches of our government to include the executive, legislature and the judiciary to cause and ensure the immediate nomination, constitution, screening, confirmation and inauguration of a governing BOARD of the NDDC and in accordance with the Niger Delta Development Commission ESTABLISHMENT ETC act of 2000.

3. That you urgently intervene and cause to ensure the immediate reversal of the witch-hunt, vendetta-seeking  and unlawful compulsory retirement and leaves of the above mentioned cadre of Staff of the NDDC presently affected by the negative purge of the Honorable Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio and his Interim Management Committee (IMC).

4. That you help to cause and ensure transparency, accountability and probity in the affairs of the management of the Niger Development Commission (NDDC) and that you check those acts of corruption and illegality above complained about, whilst x-raying the activities, awards of contracts and payments by the IMC since inception till date.

5. That you also use your good office to liaise with all relevant persons, authorities and bodies in all branches of our government to include the executive, legislature and the judiciary to cause and ensure that the forensic auditor is invited to the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to explain his advice or recommendation to the IMC to send directors, heads of departments, unit and others on mandatory leave/ retirement and you uncover the real motives of the auditors by getting to the truth in this matter.

6. That you cause and ensure that justice is done in the present case.

Thank you for your kind consideration and prompt response.

Attached Appendices:

Appendix 1: Niger Delta Development Commission Establishment Act 2000

Appendix 2: Public Procurement Act (PPA) 2007

 
Appendices 3 and 4: Contract Letter to Osmoserve Global Limited

Appendix 5: Sample Mandatory Leave and Retirement Letter

Appendix 7: Public Service Rule (PSR)