How Akpabio, NDDC’s IMC Deceived Buhari, Nigerians Over Non-payment Of Stranded Foreign Scholarship Students

How Akpabio, NDDC’s IMC Deceived Buhari, Nigerians Over Non-payment Of Stranded Foreign Scholarship Students —Group

Minister of Niger Delta, Godswill Akpabio

A civil society group, Act for Positive Transformation, has faulted the reason given by the Niger Delta Development Commission on why it could not make payments to students on scholaship abroad.

President Muhammadu Buhari had last week following public outcry ordered the NDDC to immediately pay the fees and stipends of the students, who have been facing hardship abroad.

The commission was reported to have said that the students had not been paid because the agency could not make payments from its domiciliary account without an Executive Director Finance and Administration.

Minister of Niger Delta, Godswill Akpabio.

The group in a letter addressed to President Buhari and signed by its Head, Directorate of Research and Programme, Kolawole Johnson, said that it had taken time and resources to investigate happenings at the commission, uncovering several corrupt practices ranging from contracts scams, outright embezzlement and and extra-budgetary spending.

It said that while such discoveries have since been turned over to relevant government agencies with the public expecting actions from the President, recent public statement by the IMC claiming that it couldn’t pay scholarship sums to foreign scholars due to the death of the late executive director finance and account was not nothing but outright falsehood.

The group decribed the reason adduced as a lie to perpetuate illegal, fraudulent and corrupt Interim Management Committee of the commission.

It said, “While Nigerians await your action on the damning revelations against the management of the commission and Godswill Akpabio, the supervising minister, the commission released a statement yesterday on your directives for the prompt payment of scholars in foreign countries in the wake of protests in foreign embassies. The statement claimed the reason given to Your Excellency for the delay in payment of the scholars was the death of the late Executive Director, Finance and Administration (EDFA) and as such could not make payments. Your Excellency, this is an outright falsehood and the height of deception.

“The late EDFA died on May 28th, 2020, by July 28th 2020, exactly two months after, the management has squandered a total of N24.26bn. The commission has continued to make all manner of fraudulent payments without prioritizing the demand of the foreign scholars or recourse to due process. Under the guise of emergency payments, the management paid out over N3.5bn within this period. The fraudulent emergency payments include; AHR LTD (622,849,805.33 – June 10), REZIKANA NIG LTD (527,099,556.20 – June 19, 2020), Escobar Steel LTD (580,864,726.71 – June 19, 2020), Vintage Consolidated Ltd (441,709,717.62 – June 19, 2020), REZIKANA NIG LTD (396,747,278.69 – June 24, 2020), Julidata Enterprises (165,580,069.45 – July 03, 2020).

“After the death of the late EDFA, additional fraudulent payments have been made to companies that were actively involved in cases of contract scams investigated. For example, Julius Dinga, the engineering company that got the fraudulent media consultancy contract for covid-19 awareness, has received over N400m within same period the management refused to pay the scholars (216,388,449.44 – June 19 and 185,475,813.81 – July 09). Ditto to Osmoserve and AHR Global, they have received over 1.3 Billion in fraudulent payments despite the allegation of contract scam substantiated against them. RODNAP, the company that allegedly has links, with Sen Akpabio, also got payment (612,500,000.00) within the period in focus. Note sir, same person own RODNAP & AHR Global, the two companies have enjoyed unusual patronage from the present management.”

The group further stressed that the present NDDC IMC is not only aversed to the development of the region and its people, it, in addition, disobeyed and deceived the President at will by flouting his instructions, “embarrass the nation, disregard laws and due process and above all, very corrupt”.

It added, “Your Excellency, the excuse given for embarrassing the nation before the international communities for non-payment of fees of the foreign scholars amounts to grand deception. From the details above, it is obvious the management has never stopped paying for what satisfies their greed, even without an EDFA and a budget. The scholars were not paid because it will be impossible to benefit directly from the payment since their earlier malfeasance in this regard was exposed to the public.”

AddThis

Original Author

SaharaReporters, New York

Disable advertisements

from 24HRSNEWS
via 24HRSNEWS

from EDUPEDIA247https://ift.tt/31F9Gpo
via EDUPEDIA

Dust haze weather to prevail on Thursday, December 27

- The Nigerian Meteorological agency (NiMet) predicts thick dust haze weather conditions over most parts of the country - NiMet predicts northern states would experience dust haze - The agency also predicts early morning mist/fog is expected over the coastal cities The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) has predicted thick dust haze weather conditions with reduced visibility over most parts of the country on Thursday, December 27. NiMet’s Weather Outlook on Wednesday, December 26, in Abuja, revealed that the central region of the country would record dust haze condition with visibility range of two to five kilometres throughout the day. It added that day and night temperatures of 27 degrees Celsius to 34 degrees Celsius and 10 degrees Celsius to 20 degrees Celsius, respectively, would prevail over the region. READ ALSO: Police reportedly arrest Badeh’s alleged killers The agency predicted that the northern states would experience dust haze with visibility range of two to fi...

N2.5bn Fraud: You Have Case To Answer, Appeal Court Tells Suspended NBC Boss, Kawu

The Director General of the National Broadcasting Commission, NBC, Ishaq Kawu. The Court of Appeal, sitting in Abuja, has dismissed an appeal filed by the suspended Director-General of the National Broadcasting Commission, Dr Moddibbo Kawu, challenging the decision of the Federal High Court, to dismiss the no-case submission he filed at the lower court. The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission had charged Kawu, Lucky Omoluwa (late Chairman of Pinnacle Communications Ltd) and Dipo Onifade, Chief Operating Officer of the same company, before Justice Folashade Ogunbanjo-Giwa, on a 12-count charge of money laundering. Is'haq Modibbo Kaw THISDAYLIVE The suspended NBC boss and his co-accused then approached the appellate court to reverse the judgment of the Federal High Court. The appellate dismissed the no-case submission filed by Kawu and his co-accused and held that they had an explanation to give when he elected to facilitate the payment of ...

Buhari’s Legacy Of Recessions By Fredrick Nwabufo

Fredrick Nwabufo ‘Why always Buhari?’ As it was in 1984 under General Buhari, so it is in 2016 and 2020 under President Buhari? Is it by the unfortunate hands of kismet that recession hits Nigeria every time Buhari takes charge of the country’s affairs? If the recession of the 80s under Buhari was a conspiracy by economic and political factors, to what do we attribute that of his first coming as a civilian President — and now in his second coming? Why does pestilence scourge the land, hunger ravage the population and lives lost malevolently when Buhari presides over the country? Why always Buhari? Buhari’s undoing is his wonted predilection for hierarchising ethnicity, religion and loyalty above competence. Since 1999, no President has obtrusively shown a more nepotistic aspect than Buhari. It is unarguable that the President arrays the most competence-challenged cabinet ever in the chronicle of governance in Nigeria. Yes, a recession cabinet. Fredrick Nwabufo Here is a cabin...

EDUPEDIA247

Search This Blog