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NDDC: ICPC grills Directors, other officials over alleged N5.474bn fraud

*Purported diversion of N5.474billion meant for purchase of PPEs for health workers managing COVID-19 pandemic

Isola Moses | ConsumerConnect

For purportedly committing various acts of corruption including diversion of funds, procurement fraud and misappropriation of the Commission’s COVID-19 funds, Nigeria’s Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has interrogated top management staff of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).

The anti-corruption agency in a statement by Azuka Ogugua, Spokesperson, some Directors of NDDC were quizzed at the Commission’s Headquarters recently, following months of intelligence gathering, having receipt of petitions from Nigerians on the alleged illegalities and contract frauds by some officials of the agency.

The ICPC said that the top officials of the agency are being investigated for their complicity in a purported diversion of N5.474 billion meant for the purchase of Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) for health workers handling the COVID-19 pandemic in the nine states of NDDC in the Niger Delta region of the country.

“The Commission is also investigating the payments of millions of naira to staff of the agency for foreign trainings during the Covid-19 full lockdown which were never attended, as well as the non-payment of entitlements to students on foreign scholarships.

“Other allegations being investigated by ICPC include the selling of back-dated contract award letters for projects and awards of contracts that were not captured in the budget of the NDDC,” Ogugua said.

The statement added that “ICPC had already retrieved relevant documents with which to continue investigations towards the recovery of diverted funds and prosecution of breaches of the law.”

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