The Chairman of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) Governing Board, Lauretta Onochie, has denied reports claiming that the Commission signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Atlanta Global Resources Inc., a US firm, for the construction of a mega rail project across the Niger Delta from Lagos to Calabar. Onochie declared that the contract was signed without her knowledge and that the Board disowns the MoU, stating it is null and void.
The NDDC Chairman emphasized that the act establishing the NDDC vests the power to sign MoUs with any organization solely in the Chairman of the board. She went on to state that the US firm, Atlanta Global Resources Inc., lacks expertise or experience in any form of construction, including railway construction. Therefore, signing an MoU worth $15 billion (USD) with such an organization is dubious and suspect.
Onochie noted that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) had previously awarded a contract for the same project in 2021 at the sum of $11.7 billion. It is shocking that anyone would sign an MoU on behalf of the NDDC and the Federal Government of Nigeria for the same project in 2023 without due process or approval by the FEC in the twilight of the Muhammadu Buhari administration.
She called on all the Commission’s partners in this quest, including the CBN (TSA), the National Assembly, nine states’ governors (advisory board), and others, to take note. The NDDC remains committed to transparency, equity, justice, and equality, and the present board is set to embrace other policies and programs that would uplift and improve the lives of the people of Niger Delta. The Commission cannot remain in the old dubious path
