IPF faults EFCC romance with NDDC, intensifies call to probe Ogbuku over maladministration 

By Monday Peters, Abuja

The media elites in Niger Delta under the auspices of the Ijaw Publishers’ Forum (IPF) has commended the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) for speaking against the corrupt activities of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) under the Managing Director, Dr. Samuel Ogbuku.

The media practitioners while intensifying the call for a thorough investigation into the leadership of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), urged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to borrow a leaf from the ICPC to expose suspected corrupt activities such as contract scams, unauthorized spending, ghost project-Hope, unrealistic youth intensive programs, failure to pay/third-party payment of contractors, execution of substandard contracts, abandoned contracts and other failed projects of the commission to recover looted funds.

The call was made in a statement signed by the Spokesperson of the Forum, Comrade Ezekiel Kagbala, copies of which were made available to newsmen in Warri Delta State on Monday.

While reacting to the warning by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences to NDDC’s staff against engaging in corrupt practices, the Forum said EFCC should focus on its mandate of being a watchdog to all institutions and organizations in the country, rather than being a friend with a cat.

Stating further, the Publishers’ said the recent statement of the EFCC applauding Dr Ogbuku’s led administration was unhealthy and suspicious, noting that Niger Delta region may lose confidence in EFCC ability and capacity to fight crime in the country if this political praise-singing of trade by barter continues.

The forum cautioned EFCC to refrain from dining with people who were responsible for the underdevelopment of the Niger Delta region, adding that EFCC should not make itself a depart of the NDDC, but should stand with impoverished people of Niger Delta to checkmate the commission’s corrupt activities.

“We express our deep concerns over the use of “reckless and fraudulent schemes” employed by the current NDDC leadership to siphon resources intended for the infrastructural development of the Niger Delta region.

The statement also urged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to expose corruption in NDDC just as ICPC during their quarterly anti-corruption sensitization workshop for NDDC staff warned that “anybody caught in corrupt act would face the full wrath of the law”.

“The partnership between the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and anti-graft agencies, particularly the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), raises serious questions about the integrity of efforts to combat corruption within the agency.

“The EFCC must prioritize its mandate, to prevent and prosecute corrupt Individuals, rather than engaging in partnerships that may inadvertently shield corrupt officials from scrutiny.

“The EFCC should re-evaluate its approach, and show commitment to its core mission of safeguarding public funds, ensuring that it does not become complicit in the very corruption it was established to combat -the Forum emphasised.