The embattled former acting Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Ms. Joi Nuniel, on Friday described the forensic audit of the commission as a fluke.
She also said the audit was only packaged to deceive Nigerians, adding that the exercise was yet to take off because agencies mandated by the government to carry out the exercise has not been appointed.
President Muhammadu Buhari had in October last year ordered the forensic audit of the commission from its inception till last year.
Nuniel, who stated this when she appeared before the House of Representatives committee investigating the alleged misappropriation of funds at the commission via Zoom, insisted that no credible forensic auditor has been appointed despite huge resources committed to the exercise by the Interim Management Committee (IMC).
She also alleged that the Minister for Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio, wanted to hijack the exercise.
Nunieh insisted that her refusal to allow the minister to have his way was one of the reasons she was removed from office.
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When the Chairman of the committee, asked her about the forensic audit for which the IMC was constituted, the ex-managing director said: “When I was there, I was the one who prepared all the documents for the forensic audit and sent in the applications.
“The first thing was for us to go through the procurement of the lead consultant. Many people had clearly misunderstood the procurement of the lead consultant.
“But because I did not want any illegality and the forensic audit to be discredited, I, with the help of big consultants, came up with the terms of reference for these auditors. The lead consultant that everyone is talking about is not the forensic auditor.
“When all the forensic auditors have gotten all the data and reports from fields, they will put them together and give to the lead consultant who will put them together in a report. That is just his role. He is not the one to carry out any forensic audit.”
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