BEVERLY HILLS, June 08, (THEWILL) – The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has released shocking information which appears to implicate a Nigerian senator in a N3.6 billion contract fraud.
NDDC, in a statement by its spokesperson, Charles Odili, on Sunday, said Peter Nwaoboshi, a serving senator, used 11 companies as fronts to secure for himself N3.6 billion contract in September 2016 describing it as the “biggest single case of looting of the Commission’s resources”.
Nwaoboshi, a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) senator representing Delta North District, Delta State, is the chairman of the Senate Committee on the Niger Delta and the NDDC.
Nwaoboshi had recently accused Godswill Akpabio, the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, of inserting N500 million worth of projects for himself in the 2017 budget of the NDDC while he was the Senate minority leader.
Akpabio, a former governor of Akwa Ibom state, represented Akwa Ibom North-West District in the eighth Senate and aside being the minority leader, he was a member of the Senate Committee on NDDC at the time.
There have been corruption accusations and counter-accusations between the Senate and Akpabio over a resolution in May to probe the allegation that the NDDC’s Interim Management Committee squandered N40 billion within three months.
“We believe that until Senator Nwaoboshi can absolve himself of his role in the looting of the resources of the Commission, he should step aside from any investigative activity against the Commission,” the NDDC said in the statement.
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The NDDC said it has searched through its records and that there was no evidence the commission awarded any contract to Mr Akpabio or any company associated with him.
“From our findings, the person who has questions to answer to the Niger Delta People is Senator Nwaoboshi,” the commission said in the statement.
The NDDC listed the 11 companies which it said Senator Nwaoboshi allegedly used to get the N3.6 billion contract as follows:
i. Noan Integrated Services;
ii. De Towers Constructions & Allied Services Ltd;
iii. Franstine Nigeria Enterprises;
iv. Edrihide Company;
v. Isumabe U.K. Global;
vi. Benchmark Construction & Allied Services Ltd
vii. Millstone Allied Builders Ltd.;
viii. Nelpat Nigeria Company;
ix. Agh-Rown Ventures;
x. Edendoma Stars International; and
xi. Antlers Construction and Allied Works Ltd.
“The inventory records show that these items were supplied and received on Senator Nwaoboshi’s business premises and warehouse.
“However, some of the items supplied to Nwaoboshi’s warehouse through his cronies, were later resold to the Delta state government, while the others were sold to other states through contracts awarded to him.
“All supply agreements were signed by one and the same person being Mr. Agbamuche Nelson, traceable to Senator Nwaoboshi.
“This is in flagrant contravention of section 58(4) (a) and (d) of the Public Procurement Act. No wonder Sen. Nwaoboshi and his cohorts are jittery about the ongoing forensic audit exercise in the NDDC and are doing everything possible to derail it,” the statement said.
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