Niger Delta Minister summoned over plot to siphon N480Bn NDDC Fund
The Senate has sumoned the Minister of Niger-Delta, Umana Okon Umana over alleged plot to siphon N480 billion which belongs to the Niger Delta Development Commission(NDDC) and domiciled as Special Intervention fund with the Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN) without necessary appropriation by the National Assembly.
The senate through its Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions which is chaired by Senator, Patrick Ayo Akinyelure(PDP), Ondo Central said its decision to invite the Minister was based on series of public petitions it had received against the him.
In one of the petitions, Umana Umana is alleged to have perfected a plot to secure approval from President Muhammadu Buhari to access the facility with the CBN under the guise of using the slush fund on some special legacy projects.
Akinyelure kicked strongly against the move, saying that the President cannot take the power of appropriation from the National Assembly and arrogate same to himself, adding that Umana Umana has a lot of explanations to do.
The minister was also summoned to give explanation why his ministry’s budgets in the last two years has not been sent to the National Assembly for necessary scrutiny and approval in line with provisions of the constitution.
The petition before the Senate also accused the minister of plotting to remove the current NDDC Sole Administrator, Effiong Akwa who was appointed by Buhari and that Umana Umana planned to have him(Akwa) replaced with one of his cronies.
The minister was also accused of deliberately delaying to inaugurate the Board of NDDC and sack over 100 staff of the intervention agency almost as soon as he took over in August.
Based on all the allegations, Senator Akinyelure-led panel consequently invited the minister to appear unfailingly before it on the 10th of November, 2022, to provide answers to all the allegations against him.
In the same vein, the ombudsman of the Senate said it has reopened the allegation of assault leveled against the Chairman, Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT), Danladi Umar, adding that no matter his antics he will not be able to run away from the Senate .
Senate reopened the case after Danladi failed in his bid at the Federal High Court to stop the Akinyelure and his Committee from investigating the petition brought against him.
The man at the helm of Nigeria’s
Code of Conduct Tribunal was seen in a video that went viral in March 2021 engaging a security guard on duty, Clement Shargwak
in violent altercation at the parking lot of a plaza in Abuja.
Akinyelure said the CCT boss ran to the Court of Appeal soon after his Committee invited him to reappear before it on Wednesday.
He said Umar is only trying to be clever and that he cannot fool the senate with his antics to run away from justice.
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