The senate approved 16
recommendations after it concluded its probe into the alleged mismanagement of
funds by the interim management committee (IMC) of the Niger Delta Development
Commission (NDDC).
The probe began in May after
George Sekibo, senator representing Rivers east, sponsored a motion on the
alleged mismanagement of N40 billion by the commission.
Olubunmi Adetunmbi, senator
representing Ekiti north, headed the panel of the upper legislative chamber.
At the hearing, Kemebradikumo
Pondei, acting managing director of the commission, said since he assumed
office in February, the interim committee has been ofpaying contractors owed
for years.
Pondei also defended the N3.14
billion his management committee disbursed to its 4,000 workers and police
commands in nine states as COVID-19 relief.
But the senate indicted the
interim management and asked it to refund N4.9 billion “extra-budgetary”
expenses after it considered the report of the probe panel on Thursday.
Here are the recommendations by
the upper legislative chamber reproduced in full;
Reconsideration of executive oversight
For the purpose of consistency
and equality of policy, there is a need to review the inconsistencies and
differences in the apex control of these development commissions. In
retrospect, the original arrangement of putting these commissions in the
Presidency should be carefully reconsidered to allow for direct Presidential
oversight in view of the huge public resources allocated to them. Section 7 (3)
of the NDDC Act already provides for this president supervision.
Appointment of the board of directors
The absence of a Board of
Directors at NDDC created a major lacuna of oversight. The Ministry of Niger
Delta is culpable of negligent supervision and could not function as
effectively as a board would have done. Therefore, the committee strongly
recommends that the President should activate the statutory provisions in the
Act and the Board of Directors validly nominated and call for fresh nomination
for confirmation by the Senate.
Inauguration of other accountability mechanisms
The monitoring committee and the
advisory Councils should also be inaugurated along with the Board of Directors
as provided in Sections 20 and 21 of the NDDC Act. This is necessary to ensure
that there are sufficient checks and balances in the internal affairs of the
NDDC.
Improvement of governance/processes
The new Board should be made to
undertake a review of the existing governance framework, with attention to
upgrading the way and manner the board executes its mandates, with a view to
re-establishing a new culture in the organization. The review must bring order
to the workings of the management and their control of the organization.
This is necessary for the
improvement of the structures and processes of the NDDC especially having
witnessed two interim managements with seemingly loss of control on project and
staff expenditure.
Restoration of a budget-led system
That NDDC Management must
henceforth promote the use of its approved annual budget as the principal
instrument and authorization for all its expenditures. The testimonies from
Public Hearing gave sufficient insight into NDDC’s disregard for its budget, as
several expenditure items were done without reference to budget provisions. As
at the time of writing this report, the Adhoc Committee’s request for a report
of budget performance from the NDDC has not been provided.
Submission of quarterly and annual performance report
That NDDC be reminded of its
responsibility to submit its Quarterly and Annual Performance Reports as and
when due as stipulated in Sections 19 and 20 of the NDDC Act. Such submission
must also be duly passed to both houses of the National Assembly as stipulated
in the law.
Initiation and supervision of forensic audit
In order to ensure that the
forensic audit achieves the purpose for which it is set up and inspire
confidence in the operational and financial processes of NDDC, oversight of the
audit should be transferred to the Office of the Auditor General of the
Federation. This will guarantee independence, credibility, transparency and
professionalism in the output of the exercise. Furthermore, the Committee
recommends that the President with advice from the Auditor General should
appoint a renowned, internationally recognized Forensic Auditor to carry out
the exercise.
Strengthening of procurement process
That the NDDC must strengthen its
procurement department through appropriate staff engagement (e.g. by appointing
staff with procurement chartered status), staff training and formulation of
appropriate industry rated internal control measure specifics to procurement
function to forestall sharp practice in its bids and tender process.
There are assertions of blackmail
by NDDC against members of the National Assembly on the subject of the
procurement process, this must be investigated by the Senate Committee on
Ethics and Privileges.
Refund of extra-budgetary expenditure
That the sum of N4.923 billion
payment made to staff and contractors in breach of procurement process and
approvals should be refunded to the Federation Account with immediate effect as
highlighted below; Overseas Travel to the United Kingdom N85.7 million,
Scholarships Grants N105.5 million, union members trip to Italy N164.2 million,
Lassa fever kit N1.96 billion, public communication N1.12 billion, COVID-19
relief N1.49 billion
All expenditures on historical
contracts and obligation e.g Hotels, court judgement etc should be refunded as
payments are not provided for in the budget.
Business Process Re-engineering (BPR)
That NDDC should be made to
undertake a thorough and substantial Business Process Re-engineering (BPR)
without prejudice to the much- awaited Forensic Audit, covering its areas of
operation thus:
Review of operation and processes
Standard Operating Procedure
(SOPs) in the Commission must be reviewed, upgraded, reinstituted with full
documentation and formal training conducted, then translated into readable
materials and manuals for guidance of current and future of the Commission.
That NDDC must engage a new governance system around projects and contracts
from advert to award and then to delivery. This involves the pre and
post-implementation step to be taken for an effective delivery of projects.
Review of financial/accounting processes
That NDDC must review its
financial system to ensure its adequacy in terms of controls and flexibilities
with a view to ensuring that a robust financial report is produced out of the
system at all times. This reform will also ensure that all compliances measures
that fosters governance and accountability traits are captured in the system in
form of coding of transactions, hierarchy and secured access/control.
Review of human resources policy
That the management must agree a
policy to refocus the staff, and management of the NDDC based on its core
mandate. This will be a blend of human resource reform and training. This
reform must lead to a robust organogram based on staff need, it must also cover
the engagement of staff, staff orientation mandate, appraisal systems and eventually
severance of work relationships.
Instituting performance based organisation
For NDDC to deliver on its
mandate, it must immediately imbibe some of the processes associated with high
performing organizations. These include target setting for employees,
performance appraisal linked to a reward system and the evolution of a new
corporate culture. Present attitudes that tend to view the NDDC as a source of
easy money must be discouraged. This attitude is also closely tied to the
narrative that has characterised succeeding management.
It is akin to a self-fulfilling
prophecy that has in itself led to a vicious circle that seems to suggest ‘we
are financially imprudent because we operate in an environment of siege where
we must continuously appease our stakeholders’. But doing this as they deprive
the region of the needed development which also reinforces restiveness and
creates the siege environment. This circle must be broken through a new culture
and awareness by which the Board and Management of NDDC understands its
responsibility to engender a new thinking and strong focus on infrastructural
development of the region. A new approach to human resource management is
desired.
Enhancement of internal and external audit capacities
That management must review the
service level agreement they currently hold with their external auditor with a
view to making a change of auditor. There are a lot of merits in our opinion,
to change the external auditor, given the level of systematic failures already
listed in this report some of which should have been resolved by an effective
audit regime.
Review of Corporate Social Responsibility policy (CSR)
That the management embark on a
CSR review to restructure and reshape NDDC’s social responsibility to its
staff, community and the public at large in order to properly ensure an
equitable and responsible delivery of these responsibilities without losing focus
of its corporate mandate. The scope of this review should include condolences,
community relations and stakeholders engagement.
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