TheCable

Effiong Akwa, interim administrator of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), says the commission has never received full budgetary allocation since inception.

Akwa made this known when he delivered a lecture titled, “The Role of Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) in National Development” at the University of Abuja, on Wednesday.

The lecture was organised by the Department of History and Diplomatic Studies of the university.

NDDC was established in June 2000 during the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

Akwa said NDDC has suffered a funding deficit, saying it remains a major challenge.

He said the agency is being owed by some fund providers, adding that efforts are in place to address the issue.

“We have a funding deficit. The NDDC as a commission has not received the full budgetary allocation since inception, and funding remains a major challenge till date,” he said.

“It is a known fact that NDDC is owed in excess of monies by specific fund providers and the current administration is making all efforts to ensure that this is addressed so that contractors can be paid.”

The interim administrator noted that about 70 percent of people in the region live below the poverty line in spite of contributing 90 percent to Nigeria’s earnings.

He said that there is a need to maintain peace in the area in order to achieve a robust economy in the country.

Kemebradikumo Pondei, the then-acting managing director of the commission, was sacked over allegations of mismanagement of funds.

President Muhammadu Buhari had in 2019 ordered a forensic audit of the NDDC’s operations. No report on the audit investigation yet.