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- Case pending before two courts, letter has not reached me – Nwaoboshi
The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has hit back at the Nigerian Senate, asking Chairman, Senate Committee on Niger-Delta, Senator Peter Nwaoboshi, to refund N2.5n for contracts his companies failed to deliver.
The commission failed to mention the names of the concerned firms in the letter written to the lawmaker.
The commission gave Nwaoboshi a two weeks ultimatum to refund the funds to its account.
NDDC in a letter signed by the Director, Legal Services, Peter Okoro, dated July 5 asked Nwaoboshi to return to its coffers fund earmarked for the supply of plastic chairs and desks for primary and secondary schools in the Niger Delta region in 2017.
The letter read, “Instead of supplying the chairs and desks to the Commission’s warehouse in Port Harcourt or to any of the NDDC offices in the nine Niger Delta states, the items were supplied to a warehouse described as Akuede Akwis’ located at Benin Expressway, Okpanam, before Wichetech Aluminum Company.”
As communicated in the letter, firms belonging to the lawmaker received payment to supply plastic chairs and desks to schools in his zone- Delta North Senatorial District, including desks and benches to chosen schools in the NDDC region.
The NDDC claimed, “Despite having fully paid for the 2017 contracts for the production of chairs and desks, the items have not been supplied to the commission.
“The resultant effect is that the commission and the Niger Delta region have been deprived of the use of the desks and chairs.”
The authenticity of the letter was confirmed by NDDC spokesperson, Charles Odili.
Case pending before two courts, letter has not reached me – Nwaoboshi
Responding to the allegations, Nwaoboshi spoke through a statement by his media aide, Awele Onokwai, on Friday, claiming the case was already pending in two different courts of competent jurisdiction and that he was yet to receive a copy of the letter reportedly delivered to him from the NDDC.
He said the letter was not genuine as it was neither officially addressed nor signed.
Nwaoboshi equally claimed the letter did not link him to any of the contracts.
The statement read in part, “Our attention has been drawn to the purported subject matter above, credited to one Peter Claver Okoro, Esq, posing as the Director, Legal Services of the Niger Delta Development Commission and we make bold to state the following:
“That the purported matter is sub judice as it is already before two law courts of competent jurisdiction in Nigeria, wherein, Distinguished Senator Peter Nwaoboshi sued the NDDC, Mr Charles Odili and relevant newspapers for defamation of character.
“The purported letter addressed to the Senator Peter Nwaoboshi was written on the 5th of July 2020 and as of today, 7th of August 2020, the said letter has not reached Senator Peter Nwaoboshi – either in person or office or by substitution.
“The purported letter, unlike any formal letter emanating from a recognized government Ministry, Agency or Department is not signed, therefore, can easily be denied.
“Nowhere in the contents of the purported letter was it stated that the contractor is directly linked to Distinguished Senator Peter Nwaoboshi.
“Nowhere in the purported letter was it stated that the warehouse, where the plastic chairs were domiciled, belongs to Distinguished Senator Peter Nwaoboshi.”
Godswill Akpabio, minister of Niger Delta Affairs had named Nwaoboshi and other lawmakers as beneficiaries of NDDC contracts. An allegation the lawmakers had strongly denied.
Source: Punch
This post was written by Obiajulu Joel Nwolu.
The views expressed here belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect our views and opinions.