NDDC: FEC approves appointment of 8 field experts for forensic auditing

  • FG to deliver 337km East-west road by Dec 2021- Akpabio

The Federal Executive Council (FEC) on Wednesday approved the appointment of eight field experts to undertake the forensic auditing of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).

The Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Sen. Godswin Akpabio, made the disclosure to State House correspondents after the council’s meeting, presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari at the State House, Abuja. The field auditors, according to the minister, will complement the work of the lead auditors, appointed in March.

Akpabio, said over N300 million was approved for the initial lead auditors, and over N700 million for the eight newly appointed auditors as payments for their services.

The minister also explained that the auditors would evaluate all the 12,000 abandoned projects in the Niger Delta region in the last 19 years.

He said: “The Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs today presented a memo to the Federal Executive Council and at the end of the deliberations, the memo was approved.

“The memo is basically the appointment of field forensic auditors to undertake the forensic auditing of the Niger Delta Development Commission.

“The field forensic auditors are going to be designated to go through the states of the Niger Delta region.

“Earlier we had the lead forensic auditor that was approved sometime in March; now we have about eight other forensic auditors who have been approved and they are going to be working in the field in the region.”

He cited one of them, Ernst and Young, as an international group that would be in charge of programmes and activities at the headquarters.

In a related development, Akpabio disclosed that the Federal Government will deliver 337km East-west road by December 2021.

Akpabio said “This has really kick-started the commencement of evaluation of the abandoned projects of NDDC in the last 19 years estimated at almost 12,000 projects.

“At the end we will be in the position to know the ones that could be completed, the ones that will be useful and the low hanging fruits that could be plucked for the benefit of the people of the region.’’

The minister added that the result of the evaluation would determine the next line of action on the projects.  (NAN)

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