NDDC Discovers $34m Power Station Equipment Abandoned In NPA Yard In Rivers

Power Station Components worth $34milion dollars imported by successive management of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) have been discovered abandoned at the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

The NDDC cargo which berth at the NPA yard since 2017 was reportedly abandoned to rot away for reasons yet to be established.

The equipment are met for NDDC Sub-station, Ekparagwa and Ikot Epkene in Akwa Ibom state.

The Interim Management Committee (IMC) of the NDDC set up by President Muhammadu Buhari to oversee the forensic audit of the commission discovered the equipments in Thursday following an in-house investigation on some documents of the commission.

Acting Executive Director of Projects of the commission, Dr. Cairo Ojougboh and Executive Director of Finance and Administration, Chief Bassey Etang led journalist to unveil the items.

Addressing newsmen during the inspection, Dr. Cairo Ojougboh while thanking President Muhammadu Buhari for bringing the interim management committee, said the new board would have continued on the same pattern of maladministration by previous boards.

He said; “First, I thank Mr. President for bringing in the Interim management Committee. I know that the new board that would have come in, could have continued in this same pattern.

“But this time around, there is call for change; and the Change is positive. More credits to Mr. President. It is very unfortunate that since these equipments were imported in 2017, no commission official, no MD of the NDDC have ever come to look at it.

“A project we know is about $35 million US Dollars, this is were it ended up. But the IMC will resurrect it and complete it.”

Continuing, he said; “You can see that there has been a deviation from the master plan of the NDDC to the extent that every management that comes will want to start a new course and abandon the projects of the previous administrations; but this time around, we have come to realize that the government is a continuum.

“So we are concentrating on the legacy projects of the NDDC so that the people of the Niger Delta Region will know that indeed there is an NDDC:, Ojougboh said.

Also, head of Marketing Department Ports and Terminal Operations, Adaku Ugochukwu, said the items were components of power station brought in to the ports since 2017, adding that no NDDC officials has come to even see the equipments.

“We wouldn’t know why the owners have not come to clear them because as a Terminal we are even bordered because space. Every Terminal wants space to do their business but this equipment has been abandoned here.

“Since 2017 we have been looking for how to make the people that brought it to come for them. No NDDC official has come for the equipment, this is the first time NDDC officials led by the Interim management Committee are coming officially to see the Commission’s CARGO since 2017.”

Earlier, the Executive Director of Finance and Administration (EDFA), Chief Bassey Etang wondered why NDDC items that arrived to the Port since 2017 are still lying down here in the port, saying, “There is serious need to question why these items are still here.

“We are here to see things for ourselves and make sure we evacuate these items as soon a possible because these items we understand are met for our sub-station for Ekparagwa and Ikot Epkene.

“So we will see what we can do about this equipment. From the Batch Numbers, you can see NDDC to confirm that they are NDDC equipment. Mr. President brought us to bring sanity to the NDDC and that is why we are here to stop corruption and ensure that the proper thing is done”, he added.