Breaking: Akpabio Names Ibori, Kalu, Uduaghan As Alleged Beneficiaries Of NDDC Contracts |The Source

By Akinwale Kasali

Minister for Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill  Akpabio has revealed the names of more high profile beneficiaries in the scandalous NDDC Contracts.

The former Akwa Ibom State Governor has revealed that former Delta State Governors, James Onanefe Ibori, Emmanuel Eweta Uduaghan, alongside former Abia State Governor and Chief Whip of the Senate, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu are beneficiaries of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, projects.

Others on the list released by Akpabio, and forwarded to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, Included Senator Ifeanyi Ararume, among others.

Akpabio’s letter, which was also copied to the office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister for Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN,  was addressed to the Clerks to the House, Patrick Giwa, with Reference Number MNDA/HM/04/IV/158.

The letter was titled, Some Niger Delta Development Commission Contracts Allegedly Given to Some Members of the National Assembly (Senate and House of Representatives).

According to the document, the projects linked to them was awarded in 2018 at a cost  ranging from N400m to N560m each.

Meanwhile, one of the projects linked to James Ibori by the former Governor of Akwa Ibom state was the emergency repairs of Onoghove community road from Ajanesan to Western Delta University at a cost of N485.7m.

Uduaghan on the other hand, was linked to the emergency repairs of Close B, Alhaji Estate & Environs, Rumuodomaya, Port Harcourt, at a cost of N429m.

Like Uduaghan, five projects were linked to Kalu, who was simply identified in the document as OUK-Kalu (the project source).

The emergency repairs on road projects linked to Kalu are in Abia State and the costs ranged from N517m to N560m.

The details are Emergency repairs of Ezere-Acha-Ndiokoukwu Road (N517.9m) and repairs of Amaubiri-Eluama-Uru Ring Road, Lokpaukwu, Umuchieze (N560m).

Others linked to Senator Kalu are Ndi Oji Abam-Atan Road (N523.7m), Okafia-Ozuitem-Bende road (508m), and the Ozu-Amuru-Abam Road at the cost of N523.4m.

On the other hand, the cost of the 12 projects linked to Senator Ifeanyi Ararume, located in Imo and Rivers states, were not indicated in the documents.

Akpabio has been having   a running battle with the National Assembly over contracts awarded to some NASS members by the embattled Commission.

President Muhammadu Buhari bemoaned the abuse of public trust in the NDDC and the EFCC.