The Minister for Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Akpabio has denied accusing members of the National Assembly of collecting 60 percent of the contracts at the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
Senator Akpabio, in a letter read on the floor of the House during Plenary by the Speaker on Thursday, said the only reference he made to 60 percent during his presentation before the NDDC committee on Monday was in response to a question by a member of the committee.
He said the member had sought to know whether a Medical Director can serve as an Executive Director Project, to which he responded by saying that since 50 to 60 percent of NDDC contracts were medical related, there was nothing wrong in a Medical Director serving in that capacity.
Senator Akpabio also said that the Executive Director Project of the NDDC forwarded to him a list of 19 owed contracts which the Chairman of the House Committee on NDDC insisted must be paid before the 2020 budget of the commission is passed.
He also said that the NDDC has jot executed any contract under the 2020 budget since it has not been passed, while the 2019 budget was passed in April and has not been implemented.
The Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila, however, referred the letter to the House Committee on Ethics and Privileges.
Before the letter from Senator Akpabio, Speaker Gbajabiamila had threatened to sue the Minister for defamation, after he refused to publish names of those he alleged are beneficiaries of most NDDC contracts.
The Speaker had taken to his official Twitter handle on Thursday, to put out a series of tweets where he said:
““Last Tuesday I issued a 48-hour ultimatum to the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs to substantiate his allegation that over 60% (sixty per cent) of contracts awarded by the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) went to members of the @nassnigeria.
I said then that the Honourable Minister owed it to himself and the country to provide evidence to support these serious allegations. The Honourable Minister has failed to respond to my request.
Therefore, I must conclude that his statement intended solely to gaslight the nation to avoid accountability for the evident maladministration and malfeasance in the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC),” he said.
The Speaker continued by adding that:
“I have held every @HouseNGR leadership position from Minority Whip, to Minority Leader, Leader of the House (Majority Leader) and now Speaker. I recognise that the House has not always lived up to the high expectations of the Nigerian people.
As much as we still have a lot to do in that regard, I refuse to sit here in good conscience and allow anyone to assassinate the character of the House in an attempt to deflect accountability for their conduct in office,” he added.
On the next step to be taken by the House after the failure of Senator Godwill Akpabio to publish names of alleged NDDC contract frauds, he said:
“This morning, I asked the Clerk of House of Representatives to engage the services of legal counsel, and instruct them to initiate a criminal complaint of perjury against the Minister. At the same time, we will instruct counsel to explore the possibility of a civil defamation suit
The House of Representatives is a public trust placed in our care for the duration of our term in office. We must prove ourselves worthy of this public trust or risk the censure of history.
Therefore, we will resist every attempt to undermine this institution, whether such attempts come from within or from outside.
House of Representatives will live up to the highest expectations of the Nigerian people. This is our commitment, and we will not fail,” he added.
Senator Akpabio had on national TV alleged that: ‘’The NDDC plays a vital role in ensuring the peace and security of the region and 90% or more of the resources of the country come from there.’’
If you close it down in totality all you will have is chaos. You will have a lot of, not just militancy, you will have a lot of insurrection.’’
“So it is important that people who have gone to court, people who genuinely did jobs should be paid for their jobs. For me, I am not against it because, of course, who are even the greatest beneficiaries? It is you people.” he had said.