The Minister of Niger Delta affairs, Godswill Akpobio, has named lawmakers who got contracts from the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC.
Recall that Mr Akpabio while appearing before the House of Representatives committee probing the missing N40bn in the NDDC, had disclosed that some lawmakers had got contracts from the commission.
In his swift reaction, the Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila had threatened to sue Mr Akpabio if he did not list or release the names of the lawmakers who benefitted from the contract scandal in the NDDC.
Responding, the minister named four senators as receiving 74 contracts from the commission between 2017 to date.
According to a report by THISDAY, Sam Anyanwu, a former senator representing Imo east, and Nicholas Mutu, a lawmaker from Delta who chaired the house NDDC committee in the last assembly, were also named as beneficiaries.
Mr Mutu currently chairs the house committee on gas resources. While Nwaoboshi’s name was tied to 53 projects, Mr Mutu was said to have got 74 contracts.
Mr Urhoghide, Manager and Anyanwu were said to have got 31 contracts in total.
Meanwhile, the National Youth Council of Nigeria, NYCN, had expressed disappointment over Speaker Gbajabiamila’s alleged refusal to disclose the names of federal lawmakers.
President of the youth council, Solomon Adodo, said: “Mr. Speaker did not do us justice when he did not disclose to the National Assembly that the list of the beneficiaries he demanded had been attached to the letter sent to him.”
According to the council, Gbajabiamila’s decision to cover up his colleagues is unfair to the fight against corruption, quest for transparency, and to the commonwealth of our nation.
“We, therefore, urge Gbajabiamila to resign for covering up for a set of people who had erred and breached the rules of contract.” The youths said: “All the National Assembly members who benefitted from the contracts without executing them should be prosecuted to serve as deterrent to those who may want to follow a similar path.
“It is a clear case of organised crime to have individuals who benefitted from illegality now rising to probe the fact that their illegality is being exposed.
“We call on all the anti-graft agencies and security agencies to, in line with the directive of President Muhammadu Buhari, immediately investigate the matter.”
The youths said they were firmly in support of the forensic audit instituted by the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs because it had exposed those who had benefitted in the corruption that had festered in the NDDC.
