By Salim Yunusa
The Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio, says International Oil Companies (IOCs) operating in Nigeria are owing the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) more than $4 billion.
Akpabio said this Thursday at the weekly ministerial briefing organised by the Presidential Communication Team at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The briefing, anchored by Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, was also attended by the Minister of State for Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Omotayo Alasoadura.
The minister said none of the IOCs required to provide 3% of their annual budgets to the commission as their statutory contribution to its funding had paid so far.
“All the international oil companies are owing and efforts are ongoing to recoup the money,” Akpabio said but he did not immediately provide further details.
The minister, who said NDDC on its part is owing contractors about N3 trillion, however, added that not all contracts awarded with costs could be regarded as debt.
According to him, the over N600 billion of emergency contracts that had been awarded had not been implemented and cannot, therefore, be regarded as NDDC debt.
“NDDC is also being owed $4billion by the OICs unremitted funds. The federal government is owing a little bit of its own part that it should do to the NDDC. I believe that with the audit of the commission, we will begin to offset those things by working closely with the ministry of finance.
There are plans to pay those debts. I want to see a balance sheet of the NDDC that is bankable. The IOCs are expected to pay to toe the NDDC 3 per cent of their annual budgets. All of them have failed to do so at different times,” he added.
He said the NDDC diverted the sum of N10 billion from other projects to execute the East-West road in view of its critical importance to the people of the region.
The minister, who attributed the delays associated with the project to the paucity of funds and the 15km Eleme-Onne sections which were not originally captured in the project, said the entire stretch of the road which is over 338km has 41 bridges linking major sections.
Akpabio disclosed that he had written to President Muhammadu Buhari to include the project in Sukuk Fund so that it can be ready for commissioning during the lifespan of the present administration.
According to him, about N45 billion is needed to complete the road project.
He said the federal government was committed to completing sections 1-4 of the East-West Road by 2022.
Akpabio said a trust fund would be opened for the 3% allocated to host communities to avoid any crisis that might arise in the implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act.
He said the Ministry of Niger Delta would ensure that the funds are used on executing tangible projects for the host communities, rather than disbursing it among the elite class from such communities.
According to Akpabio, rather than engaging in arguments over how the 3% would be utilised, President Muhammadu Buhari should be commended for mustering the political will to sign the act into law after over five decades.
“I think the major problem is not about the disbursement but how it will impact the communities. These funds will be managed by the host communities themselves and the 3% will go into a trust fund for the various communities who are the original indigenes. We are excited about the Petroleum Industry Act, our job is to help facilitate the effective participation of the host communities. The trustees of the fund will come from the actual community.
“PIA when implemented is going to assuage the feelings of the host communities because they never had any real benefit in over 50years. The major thing now is to use it well for their own benefit”.
He added: “We will do a lot of sensitization from the ministry, visit the people. When we look at the Act and know the composition of those who should be in charge of the money, we will also make our inputs. And it should be mostly project-based. It shouldn’t be like a normal contract. It should almost be like direct labour. It is a major leap forward.
“Today, the majority of Niger Deltans are very happy that the government has decided to deal with the host communities directly. This one will touch their lives directly. I also know that some communities will fight but of course, it is expected. Most of those things would be settled.”
The minister urged the people of the region to give peace a chance so that the government will be encouraged to bring more developments to the region.
Regarding the award of contract to complete the NDDC headquarters in Rivers State, Akpabio said the building was being used as a conduit pipe to siphon money from the government as previous administrations were paying N300million as rent annually rather than complete the building and move in.
The minister, while speaking on the forensic audit of the NDDC, said the report which detailed discrepancies in contract awards in the past, including flagrant disregard for public procurement procedures among other infractions, was ready for presentation to the President.
He said the report would be submitted as soon as the ministry got a convenient date from the presidency.
Akpabio also gave advice on the amnesty programme, saying: “Amnesty programme must not be in perpetuity and there must be a timeline to end the amnesty programme. We must plan for post amnesty initiative”.
