Akpabio Names Orji Kalu, Uduaghan, James Ibori, Others As Beneficiaries Of NDDC Contracts

Minister of Niger Delta Affairs and former Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Senator Godswill Akpabio, has linked former governors of Delta State, James Ibori and Emmanuel Uduaghan to the contracts awarded by the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).

Also making the list of beneficiaries released by Akpabio, were the Chief Whip of the Senate, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, and Senator Ifeanyi Ararume, amongst others. 

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The list was forwarded to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, on July 23. 

Recall, it was reported on Monday, July 20, that while facing the investigative committee, probing the NDDC, the minister divulged that about 60 percent of all the contracts in the commission were awarded to members of the the National Assembly. 

Subsequently, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, ordered Akpabio to make a list of all the NASS members who are awarded these contracts. 

Akpabio’s letter, which was also copied to the office of the Attorney General of the Federation/Minister of Justice, was addressed to the Clerk to the House, Mr Patrick Giwa, with Reference Number MNDA/HM/04/IV/158. 

The letter was titled, ‘Some Niger Delta Development Commission Contracts Allegedly Given to Some Members of the National Assembly (Senate and House of Representatives).’ 

According to the document forwarded to the Speaker by Akpabio, one of the projects linked to them was awarded in 2018 at a cost which ranges from N400m and N560m each. 

Meanwhile, one of the projects linked to James Ibori by the former Governor of Akwa Ibom state was the emergency repairs of Onoghove community road from Ajanesan to Western Delta University at a cost of N485.7m. 

Uduaghan on the other hand, was linked to the emergency repairs of Close B, Alhaji Estate & Environs, Rumuodomaya, Port Harcourt at a cost of N429m. 

Like Uduaghan, five projects were linked to Orji Kalu, who was simply identified in the document as OUK-Kalu (the project source). 

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The emergency repairs on roads projects linked to Kalu are in Abia State and the costs ranged from N517m to N560m. The details are Emergency repairs of Ezere-Acha-Ndiokoukwu Road (N517.9m) and repairs of Amaubiri-Eluama-Uru Ring Road, Lokpaukwu, Umuchieze (N560m).

 

Others linked to Senator Kalu are Ndi Oji Abam-Atan Road (N523.7m), Okafia-Ozuitem-Bende road (508m), and the Ozu-Amuru-Abam Road at the cost of N523.4m. 

On the other hand, the cost of the 12 projects linked to Senator Ifeanyi Ararume, located in Imo and Rivers states, were not indicated in the documents.