EFCC DRAGGED TO COURT OVER NDDC MONEY…
A group of Activists under the aegis of Alliance for Growth and Development have dragged Economic and Financial Crimes Commission EFCC to Rivers State High Court for unilaterally usurping the place of the Niger Delta Development Commission NDDC without an Order of Court to receive proceeds and funds due to the NDDC from the Oil producing and Gas Processing Companies Operating Onshore and Offshore in the Niger Delta pursuant to Section 14(2) of the NDDC Act.
Their Claim is that the EFCC is now taking custody of all allocations and proceeds meant for the Niger Delta Development Commission NDDC including the statutory 3% Contributions to the NDDC from Oil Companies.
They alleged that EFCC negotiates payment of Contractors of the NDDC by certain percentage ranging from 20% and above and they are doing same with some other parastatals. They claim that Contractors have been cowed and made to go through this and the EFCC is illegally running the finances of the NDDC thereby putting the Contractors into loan crisis and this is affecting the Development of the Niger Delta region.
The group stated that the EFCC allegedly take a lump of the allocation shared among themselves and some forces thereby compromising the NDDC and the Contractors.
The suit filled by some Activists Comrade Kegan Weli and Ameh Tobin for themselves and representing members of Alliance for growth and Development V. EFCC at the Rivers State High Court in Suit No PHC/2048/CS/2022 is seeking among others a Declaration of the Court that the NDDC is a statutory Body not under the EFCC and an order that EFCC cannot usurp the duties and rights of the NDDC under any guise quthout a Court Order to receive any statutory funds meant for the NDDC and to declare such acts illegal, null and void ab initio.
It further seeks an injunctive order restraining the EFCC from receiving the money meant for the NDDC pursuant to the NDDC Act accruing from the Oil Multinationals and a further Order compelling the EFCC to return, remit and account for all the monies collected or received on behalf of the NDDC from the Oil Multinationals operating in the Niger Delta in the past six months and return same forthwith to the NDDC Account.
Accordingly, information available allegedly is that Nigerian Petroleum Development Company Ltd NPDC just paid out 4 billion Naira for NDDC to EFCC today.
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