Just as the probing of NDDC came into light, The House of Representatives has begun an investigation of the alleged stealing of N100 billion at the North East Development Commission (NEDC).
The North East Development Commission bill was signed into law in October 2017 by President Buhari to replace other initiatives such as the Presidential Initiative on North East (PINE) and victims support fund (VSF) and the board of management inaugurated in May 2019.
The motion to investigate the alleged missing money is moved and sponsored by Minority Leader, Rep. Ndudi Elumelu (PDP-Delta).
While presenting the motion, he said that “there has been a massive displacement of Nigerian citizens in the Northeast, as a result of the activities of Boko Haram insurgents, where houses, schools, mosques, churches, farmlands and businesses were destroyed thereby rendering people homeless and jobless”.
He also added that the” NEDC, which was set up to ameliorate the sufferings of the people is alleged to be enmeshed in serious corrupt practices by the management, the corrupt practices include high handedness by the managing director, Mohammed Goni Alkali, over-inflation of contracts, awards of non-existent contracts, massive contract splitting and flagrant disregard for the procurement laws in the award of contracts”.
He expressed further concerns “that the N100 billion so far disbursed to the commission by the federal government is said to have vanished under a year without any visible impact on the refugees nor any infrastructural development credited to the name of the commission in the whole of the Northeast.”
Rep. Elumelu also indicted the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Hajia Sadiya Umar Farouk, of illegally withdrawing money from the Commission.
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