COVID-19 Palliative Fund: NDDC In Fresh Trouble
Senate Committee on Public Petitions has disclosed that senators from Niger Delta are not aware of the N6.2b palliatives fund provided in the 2020 budget of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
Chairman of the Committee, Patrick Akinyelure, who made this known while addressing journalists after its meeting in Abuja, gave the NDDC till February 22, 2021, to appear before the panel to explain what happened to the money.
The committee had summoned NDDC three times following the petition written by Chairman of the COVID-19 Palliative Distribution Committee, Chief Sobomavo Jackrich in which he alleged that the commission’s Interim Management of Committee (IMC) mismanaged the N6.2b the Federal Government earmarked for the Niger Delta people.
Speaking on the fund, Akinyelure said as a Senator from the Niger Delta region, he was unaware of N6.2b palliative for the people of the region, adding that he has investigated the matter among his colleagues and they were also not aware of the distribution of COVID-19 palliatives.
“I never knew how it was distributed and other senators from the region are aware of the distribution in the Niger Delta.
“We give the NDDC till February 22 to explain to Nigerians how the money was spent and we want to let them know that the committee is inviting them for the last time,” he said.
Jackrich had said as the Chairman of the Palliatives Committee, he was sidelined in the process of distributing the palliatives, adding that the IMC hijacked the process because of their secret plot.
