ICPC Quizzes NDDC Directors Over Misappropriation Of COVID-19 Funds
The Presidency has confirmed that the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission, ICPC has quizzed top management staff of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC.
According to the Spokesperson for the ICPC, Mrs Azuka Ogugua, the quizzed NDDC officials were accused of various acts of corruption such as diversion of funds, procurement fraud and misappropriation of the agency’s COVID-19 funds.
In the statement, it was stated that some directors of NDDC were interrogated at the Commission’s headquarters recently, after months of intelligence gathering.
ICPC said the invitation follows the receipt of petitions from Nigerians over the alleged illegalities and contracts fraud by some officials of the NDDC.
It was gathered that top officials of the NDDC are being investigated for their complicity in an alleged diversion of 5.474 billion naira meant for the purchase of Personal Protective Equipment for Health workers handling the COVID-19 pandemic in the nine states of NDDC.
Also, the ICPC is investigating the payments of millions of naira to the staff of the agency for foreign training during the COVID-19 full lockdown which were never attended as well as the non-payment of entitlements to students on foreign scholarship.
Other allegations being investigated by the ICPC include the selling of back-dated contracts award letters for projects and awards of contracts that were not captured in the budget of the NDDC.
However, the ICPC added that it as retrieved relevant documents with which to continue investigations towards the recovery of diverted funds and prosecution of breaches of the law.