Save Niger Delta Ministry from corruption

The report of the Ministerial Technical Audit Committee on contracts awarded by the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs has exposed monumental corruption, misplacement of priorities and mismanagement of funds meant for projects that would have brought development to the people of Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Rivers, Cross River, Delta, Ondo, Edo, Abia and Imo. Between 2009 […]

The report of the Ministerial Technical Audit Committee on contracts awarded by the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs has exposed monumental corruption, misplacement of priorities and mismanagement of funds meant for projects that would have brought development to the people of Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Rivers, Cross River, Delta, Ondo, Edo, Abia and Imo.
Between 2009 and 2015, the Federal Government spent over N700 billion on 427 contracts and achieved only eight percent impact, indicating that it was money not well spent, according to the report. Also 18 percent of contracts were stalled, with only 12 percent completed while 70 percent remains under construction.
“The technical auditing exercise of the projects revealed that the intervention expected in the Niger Delta only commenced at the level of contract awards and practically did not address the yearnings and needs of the region, as clearly captured in the mandate of the Niger Delta Affairs Ministry,” the report said.
The distribution of capital projects shows that contracts were awarded for canalization, electricity, food and cassava processing plants, housing schemes, land reclamation/shoreline protection, rehabilitation/remediation of oil-impacted sites, roads skill acquisition centres and water schemes.
The objectives of the audit included establishing the value for money and determining how impactful the contracts awarded have been in the communities where they were awarded. The audit also sought to ascertain the level of contract completion to date, determine the value of work done and level of payments, assess uncompleted projects and prioritize for execution as well as develop a performance evaluation and sustainable fund deployment.
The failure of the projects to deliver the envisaged impact, noted the committee, was a product of many factors. In general, the committee observed that the cost of projects awarded by the Niger Delta Ministry was higher than those awarded by other establishments, such as the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), which also operates in the same area.
It was discovered further that the trend of contract process violation and the indiscriminate award of contracts by initiating and benefiting departments of the ministry without the guidance of the procurement department was disturbing.
The committee also mentioned many abandoned and uncompleted projects which it blamed on the inconsistency in government’s annual budgetary provisions and the lack of capacity to deliver, especially in situations where funds released did not correspond with performance.
However, duplication of functions, which manifested in the repetition of programmes and conflict of projects in the region by the Niger Delta Affairs Ministry, NDDC, the Presidential Amnesty Programme as well as states and local governments was another obstacle noted the committee.
We commend the committee for the diligent job, an outcome that put a lie to many achievements that would have been claimed, when in reality the Niger Delta region and other beneficiary states are littered with either abandoned projects or those that do not have direct impact on the people.
The report is a big indictment of the Niger Delta Ministry that, from all indications, functions without a clear direction. The government should probe the contracts further and make sure that those that collected monies but failed to execute projects return the stolen funds.
Furthermore, government should expose the contractors by publishing their names in national newspapers to serve as deterrent to others. If the huge sum of money was well spent, the self-styled militants in the region would not have proudly embarked on criminal activities. We call on government to convert the Amnesty Programme Office and the NDDC to parastatals under the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs to ensure better coordination and avoid duplication of projects.