President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered agencies, auditors and the National Assembly to undertake full and speedy investigations into the running of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
The President’s directive was contained in a statement from his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu on Thursday.
He explained that the President gave the directive for better coordination among security and investigating agencies with the National Assembly.
Shehu said the President believes this will ensure that the effort of the present administration to bring sanity, transparency, and accountability to the management of the large amount of resources dedicated to the development of the Niger Delta sub-region is not derailed.
The Presidential Assistant said that Buhari has noted the unfolding drama, including attacks and counterattacks between and around persons, institutions, and the NDDC.
“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,” the statement said.
It added, “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.”
Buhari also directed the timely sharing of information and knowledge in a way that would speedily assist the administration to identify what had gone wrong in the past and what should be done to make corrections in order to return the NDDC to its original mandate of making life better for people in Niger Delta.
He said the administration would bring about “rapid, even, and sustainable development to the region” assuring 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.