President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari has ordered a probe into the activities of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), noting that there must be better coordination among security and investigating agencies with the National Assembly.
The NDDC has been in the news for the past few days over allegations and counter-allegations coming from its stakeholders and officials against one another.
President Buhari said the probe was to ensure that the administration’s effort to bring sanity, transparency and accountability to the management of the large number of resources dedicated to the development of the Niger Delta sub-region is not derailed.
In a statement released by Garba Shehu, Senior Special Assistant to the President (Media & Publicity), in Abuja, the President was said to have been reacting “to the unfolding drama, which includes attacks and counter-attacks between and around persons, institutions, and the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).”
It said President Buhari expressed his strong determination to get to the root of the problem undermining the development of the Niger Delta and its peoples in spite of enormous national resources voted year after year for this singular purpose.
According to the directive, auditing firms and investigative agencies working in collaboration with National Assembly Committees to resolve the challenges in the NDDC must initiate actions in a time-bound manner and duly inform the Presidency of the actions being taken.
The statement said the President also directed timely sharing of information and knowledge in a way to speedily assist the administration to diagnose what had gone wrong in the past and what needs to be done to make corrections in order to return the NDDC to its original mandate of making life better for people in Niger Delta.
President Buhari said the administration wants to bring about “rapid, even and sustainable development to the region.”
It said President Buhari gave a firm assurance that his administration would put in place a transparent and accountable governance framework, not only in the NDDC but in all other institutions of government.