Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio, has named other prominent politicians who benefitted in the scandalous award of contracts by the Niger Delta Development Commission.
Specifically, Akpabio linked former governors of Delta State, James Ibori, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan and former Abia State governor and Chief Whip of the Senate, Orji Uzo Kalu, to some of the contracts awarded by the NDDC.
Others on the list released by Akpabio and forwarded to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, on July 23, include Senator Ifeanyi Ararume.
The Niger Delta Affairs minister’s letter, which was also copied the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, was addressed to the Clerk to the House, Mr Patrick Giwa, with Reference Number MNDA/HM/04/IV/158.
The letter was titled, ‘Some Niger Delta Development Commission Contracts Allegedly Given to Some Members of the National Assembly (Senate and House of Representatives).’
Akpabio alleged in his letter to Speaker Gbajabiamila that one of the projects linked to one of the listed beneficiaries was awarded in 2018 at a cost ranging between N400m and N560m each.
One of the projects linked to James Ibori by Akpabio was the emergency repairs of Onoghove community road from Ajanesan to Western Delta University awarded at a cost of N485.7m.
The minister also linked Uduaghan to the emergency repairs of Close B, Alhaji Estate & Environs, Rumuodomaya, Port Harcourt at a cost of N429m.
Akpabio linked five projects to each of Uduaghan and Kalu, who was simply identified in the document as OUK-Kalu (the project source).
Road projects linked to Kalu, according to Akpabio, are in Abia State and the costs ranged from N517m to N560m.
The details, he said, are Emergency repairs of Ezere-Acha-Ndiokoukwu Road (N517.9m) and repairs of Amaubiri-Eluama-Uru Ring Road, Lokpaukwu, Umuchieze (N560m).
Others projects inked to Senator Kalu are Ndi Oji Abam-Atan Road (N523.7m), Okafia-Ozuitem-Bende road (508m), and the Ozu-Amuru-Abam Road at the cost of N523.4m.
But the minister did not indicate in his letter to the Speaker the cost of the 12 projects linked to Senator Ifeanyi Ararume, and located in Imo and Rivers states.