TheCable

President Muhammadu Buhari has extended the tenure of the interim management committee of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC). 

The president had in February expanded the committee and appointed Kemebradikumo Pondei, a professor of medicine at the Niger Delta University, as the commission’s acting managing director.

In a statement on Wednesday, Femi Adesina, presidential spokesperson, said the extension would be from May 1 to December 31, 2020.

“President Muhammadu Buhari has extended the tenure of the Professor Keme Pondei-led Interim Management Committee of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) from May 1 to December 31, 2020,” the statement read. 

“The extension is to cover the period of the forensic audit of the NDDC, earlier approved by the Federal Executive Council, under the chairmanship of the President.”

The president also approved that N6.2 billion would be provided by the commission to help in the fight against COVID-19. 

“In the same vein, President Buhari equally approved that the NDDC provides intervention support to complement efforts of the Federal and State governments against further spread of COVID-19 in the nine States of the Niger Delta region, in the sum of Six Billion, Two Hundred and Fifty Million Naira (N6,250,000,000.00) only.

“The materials and supplies are to be done through the Emergency Procurement method as provided in Sections 42(b) (c) and 43 of the Public Procurement Act, 2007.”

The president in October had first inaugurated a three-man committee to oversee the operations of the NDDC and ordered a forensic audit of its operations from 2001 to 2019.