NDDC declares illegal, payment of percentage contract sums to middlemen

The Managing Director of Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, at an interactive session with contractors at the Commission’s headquarters in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, declared illegal the payment of percentages on contract sums and all forms of financial inducements to middlemen who claim to be fronting for the Commission’s officials.
The managing director noted that the contractors are partners in the development of the Niger Delta, and therefore, should desist from falling prey to persons who claim to be agents of the Executive Directors and Directors of the Commission that facilitate payments based on monetary inducements.
The Managing Director declared that neither himself nor the two Executive Directors of the Commission authorised anybody to act on their behalf, adding that they are determined to make sacrifices to restore sanity in the Commission and reposition it for efficient service delivery.
The Managing Director, noting the many challenges of contractors arising from delay in the payments for the jobs they have done, regretted that it was impossible for the current NDDC Board to offset all the debts it has inherited within a short period.
Ogbuku stated: “You are our partners in the development process. It is a sad situation that we are facing. As partners in the development of the Niger Delta region, we need your cooperation.”
Dr Ogbuku also apologised to the contractors for the shortcomings of the NDDC and called for a minute silence for contractors who lost their lives while waiting to be paid.
He assured them that they would not be neglected going forward, pointing out that the Commission had initiated a Public, Private Partnership, PPP, arrangement to help it raise funds to execute NDDC projects.
“We have to find a way to address the funding challenges that has led to the debts to the contractors” he said.
The Managing Director assured that the meeting with the contractors would be periodic as one of the measures to address the debt burden on the NDDC.
He said that the Commission had set up a committee to streamline the payment of outstanding debts.
The NDDC Executive Director Projects, Charles Ogunmola, had earlier stated that the new leadership is ready to make a difference that would bring changes in the Niger Delta region.
According to him, “We are at a new dawn at the NDDC. We need to collaborate to do things the right way and we want to see you as partners in the development of the Niger Delta region.”

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