President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, has said that the probe into the finances of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) by the Senate is to complement the forensic audit ordered by the Federal Government.
Lawan said this yesterday while inaugurating a seven-man ad hoc committee on alleged financial recklessness in the NDDC.“We are in total support of the president’s directive for the forensic audit of the finances of the NDDC, and this is, in some way, complementary to that directive,” he said.

The investigation, he said, would avail the management of the commission an opportunity to defend the allegations against it. His words, “We have no predetermined position on the outcome of this investigation as an institution. Issues raised are allegations; therefore, the NDDC has the opportunity to come forward and defend its position.

“But we have a mindset and our mindset in the Senate is that we must have NDDC that is efficient in service delivery to the people of Niger Delta. This is the essence of setting up that commission.

“So, we want to see a situation where the very limited resources appropriated for NDDC are prudently and transparently deployed for the development of the Niger Delta region. This is our mindset and we will not shy away from our responsibility at anytime we feel that is not happening.”

The Senate president said the NDDC, as a pioneer intervention agency in the country, should take the lead on effectiveness and meet the yearnings of the people.

He expressed hope that at the end of the investigation, the NDDC and the Senate would continue to work together to ensure effective service delivery to the people.

Chairman of the committee, Senator Olubunmi Adetumbi, described the allegations that necessitated the setting up of the committee as “numerous and weighty as it involved misapplication and misappropriation of N40 billion” among others. He assured the Senate leadership of the committee’s resolve to be open-minded.

“It is not an exercise aimed at witch-hunting of any individual, group or institution, but to get to the root of the matter for the overall good of the nation,” Adetumbi said. Other members of the committee are Hassan Hadejia, Dauda Jika, Umar Al-Makura, Barinada Mpigi, Abdulfatai Buhari and Chukwuka Utazi.