Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio, may have named senators Nwaoboshi, James Manager, Urhoghide, Anyanwu beneficiaries of NDDC contracts.
The minister, however, did not state if the lawmakers were directly awarded the contracts or they nominated the projects under their Zonal Intervention Projects, also known as constituency projects.
READ ALSO: https://www.thexpressng.com/2020/07/27/re-looted-nnpc-n392b-fund-count-magu-out-says-counsel/
The former Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on the NDDC, Mr. Nicholas Mutu, who represents the Bomadi/Patani Federal Constituency of Delta State, was among believed to have been linked by the minister with contracts.
The minister listed Mutu’s name against 74 projects, including various emergency road projects in Delta, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa and Rivers states.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had, on February 3, 2020, arraigned Mutu before Justice Folashade Giwa-Ogunbanjo of the Federal High Court in Abuja for alleged abuse of office and fraud involving about N320m.
Sen. Akpabio also linked the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Niger Delta Affairs, Sen. Peter Nwaoboshi (Delta-North), with 53 projects, which included emergency repairs of Asue Street, Owa Phase 2; ldumuogbe Road via Ojemaye; Otolokpo College Road, Otolokpo; and the Police lshu Ani Ukwu Road, Issele Uku.
Other lawmakers that Akpabio listed projects against are Senator Matthew Urhoghide (Edo-South), six; James Manager (Delta-South), six; Samuel Anyanwu (Imo-West, 8th Senate) 19; and others simply identified as Ondo and Edo Reps.
The minister, however, did not provide the cost of the projects listed against the lawmakers’ names, while the cost of contracts given to non-lawmakers had costs of various projects attached to them.
Our correspondents also observed that contracts listed against the names of the lawmakers were not up to 60 per cent of the 266 on the list provided by Akpabio.
