Auditor-general defends report of untoward practices in NDDC

The Office of the Auditor General of the Federation has defended its report in which it indicted the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), saying a lot of untoward practices held sway in the commission leading to unaccountable sum of N188.7 billion between the 2011 and May 2013 when it succeeded in conducting a special examination of the agency.

It was learnt that the NDDC had gone on television to deny the allegation against it by the Office of the Auditor General of the Federation.

But in a statement yesterday, the auditor-general of the federation’s office insisted on its findings and asked the NDDC to prepare and defend itself at the National Assembly Public Accounts Committee.

The statement, signed by the Head of Media, Mrs. Olawumni Ogunmosunle, reads in part: “The attention of the management of the office of the auditor-general for the federation has been drawn to the claims by the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) in some electronic and print media denying and casting aspersions on the special periodic checks recently submitted to the National Assembly.

Ordinarily, the management of the office of the auditor-general for the federation would not have considered it worthy to join issues with the former.

Nevertheless, the office make bold its statement, based on the negative sentiments occasioned by the NDDC’s condemnation of the special periodic checks in various media calculated to demean the efficacy of the constitutional mandate carried out by the office of the auditor-general for the federation.

It is noteworthy to state that it took NDDC 16 months to grant the office permission to commence the periodic checks beginning from 9th December, 2011 to 6th May, 2013. Similarly, it took another 16 months and several reminders to the NDDC with effect from the 24th of April, 2014 to 12th August, 2015 before the final report was submitted to the National Assembly.

It may interest the reading public to know that at the time of this press release, the NDDC is yet to respond to the special periodic checks.”

It is pertinent to state unequivocally that the office of the auditor-general has a constitutional mandate to submit its reports to the National Assembly and in doing so, due process are usually followed.

It is therefore important to let the NDDC and the public know that the office of the auditor-general for the federation stands by the special periodic checks on the NDDC and its contents.

However, any person or corporate organization that is not satisfied with the contents of the special report has opportunity to defend itself before the Public Accounts Committees (PACs) of the National Assembly.”