Godswill Akpabio branded a liar after contacting media houses in his bid to set Nigeria on fire using false claims.
By Chidozie Awuzie :
The above caption should be the appropriate headline for the report which claimed Akpabio listed names of lawmakers involved in any form of sleaze at NDDC.
It is important therefore for Nigerians to note that ;
1: Akpabio listed about 7 or 8 names and couldn’t provide what contracts they were awarded or if they were completed or not. He also did not list how much those contracts were for. He also did not state if the contracts were given directly to these individuals as “zonal intervention projects” also known as “constituency projects”.
2: Since Akpabio listed the project sites of the ones linked to Peter Nwaoboshi , it means that it can be verified or not if they were completed or not. Right ? So was that done?
3: Dr Cairo Ojugboh claimed on Channels TV that a senator got 300 contracts but how come Akpabio is listing same man as having gotten only 6 contracts from the inception of NDDC ?
4: Like Punch Newspapers rightly observed, these names are not in any way up to 60% as claimed by Akpabio during the panel meeting of last week where he made his outlandish claim that NASS members were the highest beneficiaries of contracts in the NDDC.
5: Akpabio also said in his letter , that when they presented the 2019 NDDC budget for approval by the NASS , both chambers asked them to go back and include the payment of “old contracts done” worth N9bn and bring back to them for consideration”. Did Akpabio who claimed that they had been paying off old debts to contractors who hadn’t been paid since 2005 as Cairo Ojugboh claimed expect that those directly or indirectly affected will sit back and approve for more spending whereas they are others affected by the debts owed by the commission?
However, what did Akpabio and his new band of rogues do? they went for media trial to discredit the NASS and obfuscate details in the media.
Thankfully, not everyone is easily fooled by the antics of a crafty and uncommon defector like Godswill Obot Akpabio .
This is the beginning of his woes. He forgot that the covering for his atrocities has been removed and this new Muhammadu Buhari doesn’t want anything that will further dent his already dented image of corruption fighter as Magu’s case had burst in the open.
It's appealing that the NASS asks him to write and provide a list to them in 48 hours and instead of doing that, Akpabio wrote to the Attorney General of Federation (AGF) . Is the AGF going to flog the NASS or he will query them? For doing their jobs?
It's quite shameful how low Akpabio keeps sinking himself.
Below are excerpts of what Akpabio claimed in his letter to AGF Abubakar Malami .
“The Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio, has linked some members of the National Assembly to some contracts awarded by the Niger Delta Development Commission, The PUNCH reports.”
“Akpabio, however, did not state if the lawmakers were directly awarded the contracts or they nominated the projects under their Zonal Intervention Projects, also known as constituency projects.”
“The former Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on the NDDC, Mr Nicholas Mutu, who represents the Bomadi/Patani Federal Constituency of Delta State, is among those linked by the minister with contracts.”
“Akpabio also linked the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Peter Nwaoboshi (Delta-North), with 53 projects, which included emergency repairs of Asue Street, Owa Phase 2; ldumuogbe Road via Ojemaye; Otolokpo College Road, Otolokpo; and the Police lshu Ani Ukwu Road, Issele Uku.”
“Other lawmakers that Akpabio listed projects against are Senator Mathew Urhoghide (Edo-South), six; James Manager (Delta-South), six; Samuel Anyanwu (Imo-West, 8th Senate), 19; and others simply identified as Ondo and Edo Reps.”
The minister, however, did not provide the cost of the projects listed against the lawmakers’ names, while the value of contracts given to non-lawmakers had costs of various projects attached to them.
PUNCH also observed that contracts listed against the names of the lawmakers were not up to 60 per cent of the 266 on the list provided by Akpabio.
Akpabio should know that running around throwing tantrums will not help him. He should therefore be made to produce the full list of beneficiaries to the NASS as it demands. Anything short of what he (Akpabio) claimed he had, is no list and should be regarded as cheap lies and craftiness from a sinking man clutching at straws.
No comments:
Post a Comment