President Bola Tinubu has been urged by female Niger Delta leaders of ethnic nationalities to release the findings of the forensic audit of the Niger Delta Development Commission.
The delegation’s leader, Ms. Ann-Kio Briggs, made the request during a Monday interactive discussion in Port Harcourt with Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, the managing director of NDDC.
The women leaders were reportedly chosen from a variety of ethnic associations, civil society groups, community and faith-based organisations, market women, and non-governmental organisations, according to the News Agency of Nigeria.
President Muhammadu Buhari established the forensic audit of the NDDC in 2021 to look at the operation of the interventionist organisation from its founding until August 2019.
But even after the procedure was finished, the administration has been mum about when Nigerians will be able to access the forensic report.
Briggs said that it was unacceptable that the findings of a forensic audit of NDDC’s financial operations had taken so long to be released.
She stated, “The forensic audit report of the NDDC has not been published, and the women of the Niger Delta are not happy about this.
“We would want to remind President Bola Tinubu that the public’s inability to see the forensic audit report from the previous administration is intolerable.
Additionally, she added, “we can no longer ignore the fact that NDDC is owed enormous sums of money amounting to billions and trillions of naira.”
According to Briggs, the commission’s capacity to operate at its best has been constrained by the ongoing delay in the money’s disbursement.
Despite standing with the men in the fight for justice, equality, accountability, and the development of the community, she claimed that women in the area had been severely ignored.
“Suffice it to say that the Niger Delta women have not been given equal access to political and economic recognition, appointments, development, and development in all spheres of government and regional construction.
“To commiserate with the sacrifices we have made over the years, the ladies have been overlooked in the region’s growth.
“We, therefore, expect you (Ogbuku) to make the concerns of the women one of your priorities by ensuring that this engagement with us will yield better results,” she continued.
The managing director was praised by the human rights activist for attempting to work in conjunction with international oil companies, partners in development, and other governmental organisations to solve issues facing the region.
Speaking, Ogbuku stated that the panel had reached an agreement on how to launch programmes and programmes that would help the region’s young and women build their capacities.
He stated that the commission was now preparing to host a Niger Delta Stakeholders Summit in order to address many of the difficulties that different organisations, especially women’s bodies, faced.
“We want to provide a forum and a chance for all of our leaders—political, traditional, young, female, and other leaders—to explore what our future should be.
“Our development projects are focused on women in particular. After meeting and conversing with the teenagers, it is now our mothers’ time.
“Women are critical stakeholders as part of the commission’s programme to engage with all stakeholders in the formulation of NDDC’s overall strategies for the region’s development,” he stated.
According to Ogbuku, the summit will allow women the chance to talk about their hopes for the future and provide other stakeholders the chance to share ideas for the development of the region.
Similar to this, he said, “stakeholders will take advantage of the chance to exert influence on the 2023 budget, which, once signed, should allow us to agree on the areas of priority on our existing circumstances.
