Akeredolu reiterates importance of NDDC forensic audit

Gov. Oluwarotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State, on Friday, reiterated the importance of the forensic audit of Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).

Our correspondent reports that President Muhammadu Buhari, on Oct. 17, 2019, ordered a forensic audit of the commission from 2001 to 2019 for verification of the projects carried out.

Akeredolu stressed this in Akure during a courtesy visit by Senator Tayo Alasoadura, Minister of State for Niger Delta.

He explained that the audit was very important, due to the many abandoned projects by the commission in the state.

“I am happy you are taking it this way because there are so many abandoned projects in Ondo, and also projects that overlapped. It cannot continue like this.

“We don’t need new projects; the old abandoned ones on ground should be completed.

“Let me assure you that the state is ready to cooperate fully with you,” he said.

Earlier, Alasoadura had lamented that things were done with impunity in the ministry in the past.

According to him, nobody was reporting to anybody while huge amounts had gone to the commission over the years but nothing to show for it.

“It cannot continue to be business as usual. As at today, NDDC has close to 12,000 abandoned projects, so if we decide to start awarding contracts again, we will be adding to the problem on ground.

“So we decided and the president agreed that we should go for what we call legacy projects, and the first one is the Ilaje-lagos link road,” he said.