Minister Akpabio says most NDDC Contracts are awarded to Nigerian Lawmakers

Icmsinc Reports
July 20, 2020

The House of Representative of the Nigerian National Assembly has been holding hearings designed to probe the activities of NDDC. Conference room 231 at the New Building of the House of Representative has become a venue of heated dialogue and intense dramatic moments watched my millions of Nigerians on television. The hearing was supposed to be a fact finding hearing regarding allegations and counter allegations of corruption and misappropriation of budgeted NDDC funds. However the whole process of the investigation which was supposed to last for two days was extended to four days and has assumed an adversarial atmosphere.

During the Committee Hearings and Minister Akpabio’s presentation to the committee, he attempted to absolve himself of the numerous allegations of corruption leveled against him by strategically implicating members of the legislature. In making his presentation, it became clearly obvious that the Chairman of the hearing committee and other legislators’ were deliberately interjecting into his presentation in order to stop him from talking. Nevertheless, Akpabio insisted on being heard and stated in the hearing that NNDC records shows that most of the contracts of NNDC were given out to National Assembly members.

Earlier Akpabio had challenged the approach in the hearing as unfair, noting that some people were given one and a half hours to talk while he (Minister Akpabio) was told he had only ten minutes.

Earlier also during the hearing and the interview of Professor Kemebradikumo Pondei, the conditions of overcrowding and heat in the room became unbearable and caused him to suddenly slump and for a moment he was unresponsive and commotion ensued in the hearing room. Professor Pondei was later removed and taken to the hospital after the fainting episode.

. See the full Akpabio Committee Interview: Heated Dialogue As Akpabio Alleges Lawmakers Benefit From NDDC Projects



See Professor Pondei suddenly slump and become unresponsive for a moment as he was being interviewed.