The Ministry of Niger Delta has said it received N178bn under the regime of the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.).
The ministry, which manages the affairs of the Niger Delta Development Commission, disclosed this in its, “Presentation on the President Muhammadu Buhari Scorecard 2015-2023.”
It said it received N11,041,701,439.40 as “special release” in 2019, N 19,670,000,000 as “special release” in 2020, and a “grand total” release of N178,283,518,025.65 from 2015 to 2022.
“The table (data) on preceding slide, shows clearly that over N178,283,518,025.65 has been committed from 2015 to 2022 through the Ministry by the present administration of President Buhari to projects and programmes in the region,” the document read in part.
According to the document sighted by our correspondent, following a forensic audit carried out by an audit firm, Olumuyiwa Basiru and Co, and 16 other forensic auditors on the activities of the commission from 1999 to 2021, the Federal Government was advised to cancel 4,000 contracts and projects.
In compliance with the directive, the ministry said it terminated 1,250 contracts and projects, adding that it awaited a White Paper on the audit for further action on the contracts.
It also said that some contractors had returned some funds due to a lack of project performance and other reasons. In a bid to curb corruption, wastage, and duplication in its development projects the ministry had put in place measures through its Strategic Implementation Work Plan and portal.
It added, “The recovered funds released by EFCC to the Ministry are to be utilised to fund specific critical projects and programmes in the region.
“The Ministry has institutionalised SIWP as a tool for tracking and coordinating the development of the intervention being carried out by the governmental and non-governmental organisations operating in the Niger Delta region to ensure accountability, eliminate duplication of efforts, wastages of scarce resources as well as prevent abandonment of projects in the region.”
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