The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Peter Nwaoboshi, has been asked to refund a sum of N2.5 billion.
Peter Claver Okoro, NDDC Director of Legal Services, made this known in a letter dated July 5 and addressed to Senator Nwaoboshi. Okoro said the money was for the Delta senator to supply plastic desks and chairs for primary and secondary schools in the region.
He noted that the lawmaker received funds for the contract but did not supply the items. Instead, Okoro said the desks and chairs were taken to a warehouse along Benin expressway.
The letter reads: “That sometime in 2017, the Commission awarded contracts to certain companies for the production of desks and chairs for primary and secondary schools in the Niger Delta region under the 201 6 budget of the Commission. The list of the companies is attached as Annexure ‘A’. The total value of the said contracts was ₦2.552.305,600.00.
“That the contracts were in furtherance of the commission’s education sector mandate as catalyst for the improvement of classroom and learning conditions in the Niger Delta region.
“That instead of supplying the chairs and desks to the Commission’s warehouse in Port Harcourt or to any of the NDDC offices in the nine Niger Delta states, the items were supplied to a warehouse described as Akuede Akwis located at Benin Expressway, Okpanam, before Wichetech Aluminum Company.
“That the 2019 budget of the commission also contains the following heads: a. Provisions and supply of Plastic Chairs and Desks for Primary and Secondary Schools in Delta North Senatorial District (Lots 1-15) for (Serial No. 21). b. Provisions and supply of Plastic Chairs and Desks for Primary and Secondary Schools in Delta North Senatorial District (Lots 1-20) for (Serial No. 33). c. Production and distribution of Desks and Benches in selected schools in the Niger Delta Region for (Serial No. 396).
“That despite having fully paid for the 2017 contracts for the production of chairs and desks, the items have not been supplied to the commission. The resultant effect is that the commission and the Niger Delta region have been deprived of the use of the desks and chairs.
“That, I have been further directed to demand that you refund the sum of ₦2,552,305,600.00 to the commission being the contract sums paid in respect of the said contracts within 14 days of this letter.”
