President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered a forensic audit of the operations of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) from 2001 to 2019.
The president gave the directive when he received in audience governors of the states in the Niger Delta area, led by Gov. Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa, on Thursday in Abuja.
The president said the directive had become imperative in view of the persistent criticisms of the operations of the commission.
According to him, what is presently on ground in the Niger Delta region does not justify the huge resources that have been made available to the commission.
He said: “I try to follow the Act setting up these institutions, especially the NDDC.
“With the amount of money that the Federal Government has religiously allocated to the NDDC, we will like to see the results on the ground; those that are responsible for that have to explain certain issues.
“The projects said to have been done must be verifiable. You just cannot say you spent so many billions and when the place is visited, one cannot see the structures that have been done.
“The consultants must also prove that they are competent,’’ he said.