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Fraud: NDDC Scholarship Funds Increased From $1.9m To $7m, CSO Alerts
Stories making the rounds that the Interim Management Committee (IMC) of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) cannot pay the commission’s foreign scholarship students due to the absence of an Executive Director of Finance and Administration (EDFA), following the death of Mr. Etang Ibanga, has been dismissed as fake, and emanating from the NDDC.
This was disclosed in a statement by the President, an accountability advocacy civil society organization, Citizens Quest for Truth Initiative, Christie Obiaruko Ndukwe, in Port Harcourt, yesterday.
The statement, made available to The Tide, said that upon inquiry, both at the Headquarters of the NDDC and from the Central Bank of Nigeria, it was discovered that unlike other contracts or projects at the NDDC, the foreign scholarship is paid from foreign currency denominated domiciliary account, with the Executive Director Finance and Administration (EDFA) and the Executive Director Projects (EDP) as the authorized signatories.
“Sources at the NDDC headquarters informed the Citizens Quest that the inability of the IMC to meet up with the foreign scholarship obligation is not unconnected to the bloated figures they met, when they assumed office, earlier this year”.
According to the source, “the IMC is worried that the number of scholarship students appears to increase with a new management, giving the impression that the students don’t ever graduate from the scheme. A situation where the figures rose from $1.9million in 2018 to over $7million in 2019, is indeed, worrisome and scary, indicating the padding of the records with ghost names.
“The present management under the Interim Management Committee (IMC) has not awarded any scholarships, as such, it is worrisome that the figures for the students are on the increase in spite of payments of about $1.9million and $3.4million paid by the two previous boards.
“The Citizens Quest for Truth Initiative further learnt that the NDDC, upon this discovery, decided to suspend the payment, until the identities of the ghost names are unmasked, through the various bank details attached to the names.
“The source at NDDC also hinted that sustained scholarship-related protests is geared towards forcing the IMC to pay those ghost names, under pressure. This explains why the protest is getting dedicated media attention, being bankrolled by the scholarship payroll cabal, who are mostly from the National Assembly, past and present.
“An increase from $1.9million to $7million is almost 400% and such bleeding of the commonwealth should not be allowed to continue, under any guise. This is why, despite the Presidential directive to pay, and with available funds, at the CBN, the IMC is yet constrained to endorse the continued rape of the region, through such approval for payments that end up in private pockets. The IMC had, sequel to the Presidential directive, gone to the CBN to make a payment of $5million, to clear all outstanding entitlement of the students, only to discover that the figure had risen to a whopping $7million.
“It is sad that the innocent students on scholarship have to endure hardship, occasioned by corruption in the system, but it is in the overall interest of the country that the scholarship scheme be sanitized, to weed out ghost names from the payroll and pave way for a hitch free payment of the verified students.
“The group therefore calls on those behind the spate of protests by just a handful of students to put a stop to this unbecoming attitude which is only aimed at railroading the good intentions of the present government under President Muhammadu Buhari for the people of the Niger Delta.
“Those who have also constituted themselves into a group whose only stock in trade is to dish out falsehood backed by alarming figures aimed at pitting the management of the commission against the Nigerian people should retrace their steps by taking measures to verify whatever information at their disposal in order to avoid heating up the polity with the fake news syndrome”, the statement added.
Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, has called on Nigerians to reject silence in the face of extrajudicial killings and other abuses of human rights.
Soyinka stressed that accountability and civic courage remain essential to rebuilding public confidence in the nation’s institutions.
He made the call during the 28th Wole Soyinka Lecture held in Port Harcourt, last Friday as part of activities marking his 92nd birthday.
The lecture, themed “Reclaiming the Nigerian State through Accountability, Justice and Civic Courage,” drew participants from different sectors of society.
The renowned playwright and human rights advocate said the country’s greatest tragedy was not only the unlawful killings carried out by state and non-state actors, but also the silence that often follows such incidents, allowing perpetrators to evade justice.
According to him, indifference by citizens to abuses of power and violations of fundamental human rights has contributed to the persistence of extrajudicial killings and other forms of injustice across the country.
Soyinka said he dedicated this year’s lecture to victims of unlawful killings, noting that the event was intended to honour individuals who had lost their lives as a result of failures within the justice system and society’s inability to protect the sanctity of human life.
He stressed that the lecture was dedicated to what he described as the basic unit of every society – the human being, and urged Nigerians to place greater value on human dignity irrespective of ethnicity, religion or social status.
The Nobel Laureate recalled several incidents of violence, including the fatal shooting and killing of a young man in Ugheli in Delta State by a police officer, and the mob killing of Deborah Yakubu in Sokoto State sometime ago, lamenting that many of those responsible are yet to face justice.
He expressed concern that some perpetrators of violent crimes had openly admitted their actions without fear of prosecution, describing such situations as evidence of serious failures within the nation’s justice system.
Soyinka maintained that when justice is delayed or denied, public confidence in state institutions continues to erode, thereby encouraging further violations of human rights.
Responding to critics who accuse him of promoting religious or ethnic divisions whenever he spoke on such issues, Soyinka dismissed the allegations and pointed out that his advocacy has always centred on the protection of human life and the rule of law.
He urged Nigerians to remain vigilant and continue demanding justice in cases of alleged extrajudicial killings, including the recent shooting of a young man by a police officer, stressing that every life deserves equal protection under the law.
The literary icon also recalled an earlier pledge by a past incoming president to make public the files relating to unresolved assassinations and extrajudicial killings, questioning the status of the promised investigations.
He challenged citizens to continue asking questions about unresolved cases, insisting that justice, accountability and respect for human dignity are indispensable to building a peaceful, democratic and inclusive Nigerian society.
The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has clarified that there was no fire at Terminal 2 of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, contrary to its earlier advisory.
Earlier yesterday, FAAN had announced that a fire incident had occurred at Terminal 2 of the nation’s busiest airport, and assured that its Aerodrome Rescue and Firefighting Service had been deployed to contain the situation.
There were also reports that activities were briefly disrupted at the airport yesterday after smoke was seen inside parts of the terminal.
Videos circulating online showed passengers kept standing outside the terminal while firefighters responded to the incident.
However, in an update issued less than two hours later by the Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Henry Agbebire, and posted on FAAN’s official X handle, the authority said preliminary findings showed that the smoke seen at the terminal was caused by the discharge of the facility’s FM-200 fire suppression system.
“Further to our earlier advisory regarding the incident at Terminal 2 of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) wishes to provide the following update,” the statement read.
“Preliminary findings indicate that there was no fire at the terminal. The smoke observed within the affected area resulted from the discharge of the terminal’s FM-200 fire suppression system. The reason for the activation of the fire suppression system is currently being investigated,” FAAN stated.
The authority said normal operations had resumed at the terminal while investigations were ongoing to determine the cause of the incident.
“Normal operations have since resumed at the terminal, while detailed investigations are ongoing to determine the exact cause of the incident,” the statement added.
The authority thanked passengers, airlines, airport users and other stakeholders for their understanding and cooperation.
FAAN appreciated the understanding and cooperation of passengers, airlines, airport users and all stakeholders, and reiterated its commitment to the safety and security of all airport operations.