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The
managing director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC),
Chibuzor Ugwoha, and other officials of the commission are to appear
before the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences
Commission (ICPC).

Their invitation by
the commission, NEXT learnt, is in relation to the alleged unilateral
award of contracts worth N61 billion by Mr. Ugwoha, without following
due process.

Other officials to
appear before the ICPC include Power Aghinighan, the executive director
of finance and administration; and Esoetok Etteh, the executive
director of Projects.

The NDDC officials
were summoned to appear before ICPC investigators last week, but they
denied receiving any invitation letter by the commission.

When contacted, Folu Olamiti, the media consultant to the anti-graft agency, confirmed the invitation of the NDDC officials.

“We are
investigating the allegations. We found out that the managing director
and others have questions to answer. So they will appear before our
investigators before the end of the week,” he said.

It’s all lies

However, media
assistant to the NDDC chairman, Abraham Ogbodo, denied knowledge of any
invitation, saying, “I don’t have that information. It is speculative.”

The invitation of
the NDDC officials is coming one week after the committee raised by
President Goodluck Jonathan to investigate the allegations against the
NDDC chairman, submitted its report.

The committee,
which commenced sitting on June 21, submitted its report to the office
of the secretary to the government of the federation, Yayale Ahmed.

Though its report
is not yet made public, it was learnt that Mr. Ugwoha and other senior
officials of the commission may have been indicted. President Jonathan
is expected to carry out major personnel reforms in the NDDC after
studying the report.

A source close to
the NDDC operations, however, maintained that Mr. Ugwoha was innocent
of the allegations. “It is all these people who call themselves leaders
of thought in the Niger Delta that are making all these noise. They
want the MD to be ‘settling’ them. But the man will not do so, that is
why they are sponsoring all kinds of lies against him,” the source said.

The NDDC,
established in 2000 by former president Olusegun Obasanjo, is saddled
with the mission of “facilitating the rapid, even, and sustainable
development of the Niger Delta into a region that is economically
prosperous, socially stable, ecologically regenerative, and politically
peaceful.”

The activities of
the commission cover the nine oil producing states of Abia, Akwa Ibom,
Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo, Imo, Ondo, and Rivers.