House Committee queries NCDMB over suspected irregularities
The House of Representatives Committee on Nigerian Local Content Development And Monitoring has directed the Nigerian Content Development Monitoring Board (NCDMB)to provide relevant documents relating to its investments and transactions.
The Chairman of the Committee, Boma Goodhead, gave the order on Thursday at the resumed hearing into the management of resources accrued to the board over the years.
She said the Board had invested in some partners without due diligence and at the detriment of the country’s economy.
While querying the Board, the Committee Chairman warned that they were serious about unraveling the expenditures of taxpayer’s money utilized by the NCDMB.
The chairman added that the due diligence carried out by hired consultants clearly revealed gross abuse of office by the Board officials responsible for the processes marred by culpable negligence
The Committee learnt that the NCDMB made equity investments in seventeen companies to the tune of One hundred and eighty-one million, three hundred and seventy-eight thousand, forty-seven Dollars only and and Three billion, six hundred and two million, five hundred and eleven thousand, five hundred and twenty-three Naira fifty kobo.
The Committee expressed dissatisfaction with the submissions of the Board’s former Director for Finance, Isaac Yalah and its current Director of Project Certification and Authorization, Abayomi Bamidele…wondering how investments were all made in United States dollars whereas the companies operate in Nigeria
The committee chairman added that the transactions were fraudulent as the due diligence reports obtained from the Board on the transactions indicated that the companies invested in, lacked legal and financial compliance capacity to benefit from the investments.