IPF calls on EFCC to follow ICPC’s lead in exposing corruption in NDDC, and calls to probe Ogbuku grow stronger.
OVL N e w s
The Ijaw Publishers’ Forum (IPF) applauds the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offenses Commission (ICPC) for criticizing the corrupt practices of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), which is led by Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, its managing director.
While advocating for a comprehensive investigation into the Niger Delta Development Commission’s (NDDC) leadership, the apex Ijaw media council, the Ijaw Publishers’ Forum (IPF), media practitioners urged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to take a cue from the ICPC and reveal suspected corrupt practices, including contract scams, unauthorized spending, ghost project-Hope, unrealistic youth intensive programs, failure to pay or third-party payment of contractors, execution of substandard contracts, abandoned contracts, and other failed commission projects in order to recover looted funds.
Comrade Ezekiel Kagbala, the Forum’s spokesperson, signed the statement, which contained the call. Copies of the statement were distributed to reporters in Warri Delta State on Monday.
In response to the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences’ warning to NDDC employees not to engage in corrupt activities, the Forum stated that the EFCC should prioritize its role as a watchdog for all institutions and organizations in the nation over friend-with-a-cat relationships.
The publishers went on to say that the EFCC’s recent statement praising Dr. Ogbuku’s administration was unhealthy and suspicious, adding that if this political praising of barter trade persists, the Niger Delta region may lose faith in the agency’s ability to combat crime in the nation.
The forum advised the EFCC to avoid dining with those who were in charge of the Niger Delta’s underdevelopment and to support the poor residents of the area in order to stop the commission’s corrupt practices.
“We voice our serious concerns about the current NDDC leadership’s use of “reckless and fraudulent practices” to divert funds meant for the Niger Delta region’s infrastructure development.
In the same way that the ICPC warned that “anybody caught in corrupt act would face the full wrath of the law” during their quarterly anti-corruption sensitization training for NDDC workers, the statement also asked the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to uncover corruption in NDDC.
“The Niger Delta Development Commission’s (NDDC) collaboration with anti-corruption organizations, especially the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), calls into doubt the effectiveness of the agency’s own anti-corruption initiatives.
“Instead of forming alliances that can unintentionally insulate dishonest officials from scrutiny, the EFCC must put its mission to detect and prosecute corrupt individuals first.
The Forum emphasized that in order to avoid becoming involved in the very corruption it was created to fight, the EFCC should reconsider its strategy and demonstrate its dedication to its primary duty of protecting public monies.
This News Is Reaching You From Ogulagha Vanguards Ltd.
The True Face Of Niger Delta.
We Tell Your Story Better.
Reach us at,
Call us at,
080 51 67 09 22
080 25 26 09 91
