Exclusive: Again, NDDC In Contract Scandal As MD Buys Wall Lamps For N47.15 Billion
The Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, is embroiled in another round of contract scandal, Newsnow reports.
According to the letter of contract award sighted by our correspondent, the Managing Director of the NDDC, Mr Samuel Ogbuku and Umana Umana on June 1, 2023 hurriedly awarded a contract of €56,250, 000,00 for a wall lamp to an Italian contractor, Caradona Group, SRL, Italy.
Despite the huge sum involved, the contract neither had the procurement process, nor FEC approval.
A Goggle search of Lingotto LED indicates that a unit cost is put at €239 and if you multiply it by the 125,000 wall lamps, the NDDC is buying from the Italian company, the total cost will be €29,875,000 and not €56,250,000 00.
The €56,250,000,00 is equivalent to a whopping 47, 115,000,000,00 at 837.60 per Euro.
According to a source familiar to the scams in the interventionist commission;”NDDC is a familiar territory for scandal: The Management is now busy awarding innocuous, often meaningless contracts, taking quick advantage of the dissolution of the boards of parastatals by the Tinubu administration.
“Contracts that should have been approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC), are being swiftly awarded by management, while tweaking dates, etc; in addition to ignoring valid sections of the Public Procurement Act, 2007.
“Shouldn’t the Tinubu’s administration have sent management packing, alongside the boards? A heist is ongoing in the agencies, with NDDC, famed for being a cesspool of corruption, leading the pack. And by the way, what’s the above humongous contract meant for? Why can it not go through Due Process/BPP and then wait for FEC approval? Your guess is as good as mine. Nigeria we hail thee! Who’ll help us?”
It will be recalled that NDDC has become home of scandals in recent times with all manners of contracts without direct impact to the people of the Niger Delta.
