NDDC contractors fled with mobilisation fees, says lawmaker

Three Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) contractors absconded after collecting mobilisation fees in 2012, House of Representatives Minority Leader Ndudi Elumelu said on Wednesday.

He urged the House to investigate Ninno Engineering Nigeria Limited, Petrogas Specialists Services Limited and Quintus Investment Company Nigeria Limited.

The lawmaker alleged that they abandoned the construction of Onicha-Uku/Idumuje and Onicha-Uku/Idumu-Ogo roads and Onicha-Uku civic centre after being mobilised.

The lawmaker said the NDDC awarded Ninno Engineering the construction of Onicha-Uku/Idumuye Unor link road.

The commission  gave Quintus Investment Company the Onicha-Uku/Idumu-Ogo link road project, and awarded Petrogas Specialist the Onicha-Uku civic centre construction in 2012.

The contracts, he said, were to be executed within three months.

Elumelu said none of the contracts has been executed, even as the land allocated for the civic centre has been overgrown with weeds.

According to him, the failure to complete the projects has hampered the region’s socio-economic activities and brought hardship on the indigenes.

He said efforts to bring the contractors back to work were unsuccessful, while fees paid to them have not been refunded.

Elumelu said the contractors’ excuse was that they were not given sufficient funds to execute the projects.

The House, therefore, directed its Committee on NDDC to summon the agency’s management and the contractors.

It is to find out the level of work done vis-a-vis the amount released so far.