The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to make public the report of the forensic audit on the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), which was initiated in 2021 to scrutinize the commission’s financial activities from 2001 to August 2019.
Wike made this demand during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Friday. He alleged that the audit report was deliberately withheld to shield individuals who may have been implicated in fraudulent activities.
According to Wike, “Let President Bola Ahmed Tinubu do us a favour and release the report of the forensic audit of the NDDC. Mr President should help Nigerians.”
The audit was launched to investigate mismanagement, misappropriation of funds, and irregularities in project execution within the NDDC.
In the interview, Wike also accused Judith Amaechi, wife of former Minister of Transport and ex-Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi, of profiting from government contracts during her husband’s tenure—although he offered no evidence to back this claim.
This came a day after Amaechi had praised his wife’s business pursuits in a separate interview, describing her as “almost an industrialist.”
Wike rejected that characterization, claiming instead, “Amaechi’s wife was a beneficiary of a monthly contract to train women of the Niger Delta.”
Reiterating his personal integrity, Wike stated: “I won’t say I was too rich like the Dangotes, but I didn’t have a small background. His (Amaechi’s) anger is that he saw me using a Rolls-Royce – and so what? It was not given to me by a contractor; a contractor gave him, and that is a bribe. He took from a contractor, but I will not do that. He (Amaechi) is one of the most corrupt people.”
Wike pledged to resign as FCT Minister if the forensic audit fails to validate his claims: “Let them release the document, if what I am saying is not in the document, I will resign as the minister of FCT. I don’t worship the office.”
He also took a swipe at Amaechi’s academic credentials: “Amaechi went to Rivers State University, but he couldn’t pass.”
Accusations of NDDC-related corruption are not new. In 2020, during a probe by the House of Representatives Committee on the NDDC, the then Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio, claimed that members of the National Assembly were the “greatest beneficiaries” of NDDC contracts.
Pressed for clarification, Akpabio responded, “I just told you that we have records to show that most of the contracts in the NDDC are given out to members of the National Assembly.”
That same hearing witnessed drama when then Acting NDDC Managing Director, Daniel Pondei, collapsed during questioning after over an hour of intense grilling.
The controversy also featured a public exchange between Akpabio and a former NDDC Managing Director, Joi Nunieh, who testified remotely via Zoom, accusing officials of deep-rooted corruption within the commission.
Mentions: Nyesom Wike, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, NDDC, Channels Television, Rotimi Amaechi, Judith Amaechi, Dangote, Godswill Akpabio, House of Representatives, Daniel Pondei, Joi Nunieh, Rivers State University.
