By Ayodele Oni, Akure
There are more reasons than what the eyes can see as to why the Chairman, NDDC Committee, on Niger Delta Development Commission, (NDDC) probe, Mr Olubunmi Tunji Ojo, decided to step aside when the Committee resumed its sitting last week Monday.
As the committee, set up by the House of Representatives set for the days job to receive some top officials of the intervention agency, the committee’s chairman announced that he would be stepping aside.
It was gathered that a catalogue of accusations was levelled against the committee chairman, so much so that his continuous stay to preside over the committee may make its report incredible.
One of the petitions titled “Rogue Questioning a Thief: A Case Study of Bunmi Tunji-Ojo” was widely circulated in Akure, Ondo state capital. Tunji – Ojo is from the state.
Signed by Ernest Fabinu, President, and Samuel Imusesin, Secretary, on behalf of Integrity Group Nigeria, it states that “when the news of gross misappropriation of funds crept up with Interim Management Committee (IMC) of the NDDC where billions of naira were said to have been misappropriated, Nigerians believed that another exposure was in the offing.
“It was dramatic during the last session of House Probe Committee when the managing Director of NDDC alleged the credibility of the Chairman in person of Bunmi Tunji- Ojo was in doubt.
“He alleged, unequivocally, that Tunji Ojo, was involved in corrupt practices which includes, but not limited to being awarded numerous NDDC’s unadvertised contracts running into billions
“NDDC has given foreign scholarships worth the value of #500million to the chairman and value were given in cash
and benefitted immensely on numerous supplies to NDDC through his cronies.”
He was also alleged to have received a cash sum of #600million in dollar value, sometime in November, 2019 and gave employment to over ten individuals in the NDDC.
“Anchored on the above, our sources within the Commission, avered that he can not move far with the probe of NDDC.
“What gave the NDDC Managing Director the guts to stage a walk out on the probe Committee?
“We are calling on EFCC, ICPC and other anti- corruption agencies to put the allegation of the NDDC Managing Director against Tunji Ojo into questioning,” the petition added
Outlandish as the huge sums of money being bandied around are, they were enough to keep him off the Committee sittings.
He vehemently denied all the allegations.
