Federal Government suspends employment in NDDC

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There will be no fresh recruitment by the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) for now, according to Niger Delta Affairs Minister, Godswill Akpabio.

Akpabio in a statement through his Chief Press Secretary, Anietie Ekong, yesterday stopped handing over of appointment letters, documentation and all other processes connected to employment into the NDDC.

“The commission’s payroll should not accommodate any new employees and should revert to the status quo as at August 31, 2019, while he should be furnished within three days with a detailed report of any employment exercise being undertaken by the Commission,” he said.

The minister said  the suspension would  subsist until a due process evaluation of the purported exercise is “carried out by the ministry in consultation with the two NDDC Committees of the National Assembly and sought prompt action of the Acting Managing Director on the matter.”

The commission is said to be owing its suppliers and contractors about N2trillion in debt.

Akpabio, soon after his assumption of office, complained about what he called the poor performance of the NDDC.

“I believe that the NDDC has not performed well, I don’t want to say that you have failed the South-South region; but I’m saying that you have not performed well. There are a lot of complaints all over, even from the youths of Niger Delta,” he had said.

He added: “We talk about the NDDC as if it is a cash cow. But I think that in terms of debt and what you pile up, you are owing over N2 trillion. The problem we are having is that you won’t even know the ones that are real and the ones that are political.

“We will do forensic analysis and audits; we will try to go backwards, even from year 2000 until now to know what came in, what went out and why we have not seen much on ground. We will stop you from doing politically motivated roads, where you go to black soils, pour asphalt and then commission it. When the first rain comes, it washes away.

“We will stop you from paying N200 million to N300 million a year as rent on the headquarters you are staying. You should be ashamed of paying the state government over N200 million to N300 million a year when you could have completed where you are and move in. How come we don’t have legacy projects to show in the Niger Delta? With strong collaboration between the Ministry and Niger Delta, I see a brighter future.”