The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has told the Auditor General (AG) of the Federation, Mr. Samuel Ikura, that the audit report of the commission was skewed and unprofessional.
The audit report which was released by the AG recently, accused the management of NDDC of mismanagement and untidy handling of the funds of the commission.
However, the Executive Director, Finance and Administration of NDDC, Dr. Henry Ogiri, reacted yesterday, insisting that the entire 307-page document was a compendium of lies, misinformation and poor display of professionalism.
Faulting the report, Ogiri said that although the document indicted the present management that took over in December 2013, its time of reference dated back five years ago. He also wondered why the office delayed the audit that should be conducted annually.
“The obligation of auditing a public organization is an annual event, so why did the AG wait for five years before acting?” he queried.
Ogiri added that while the law on auditing of the accounts of NDDC provided for the use of external auditors, the auditor general conducted the exercise himself.
He dismissed the conclusion that about N70 billion was embezzled through contract awards as untrue. Most of the contracts in the list, he insisted, had been executed completely. He also pointed out that the present management at inception cancelled every mobilisation for contracts as a way of checking fraud and underhand deals. Ogiri challenged the AG to prove to the public that contracts for equipping schools he cited had not been completed by liaising with the beneficiary communities.
On the AG’s report about $20 billion offshore payment, Ogiri said audit reports were not based on speculated figures. He pledged that NDDC would come up with a more detailed response to the report.
He, however, said it was out of place for the AG to expect the commission to respond to an audit he handled in seven months within one month.