Barely 12 hours after list containing names of Senators and House of Representatives members involved in the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, contracts surfaced, Senator James Manager representing Delta South Senatorial District has denied claims he benefitted from NDDC contracts as the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Niger Delta Affairs.
Recall that Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio, had earlier fingered NASS members in the NDDC projects with claims that they collected 60 per cent of the contracts in NDDC while NASS demanded that the Minister name the involved lawmakers within 48 hours.
In a letter written by the Niger Delta minister, Akpabio and forwarded to the Speaker, House of Representatives which was leaked to newsmen by youth group in Abuja on Sunday, July 26, Senator Manager was named as one of the lawmakers who got six contracts.
The Executive Director Projects of the agency, Dr. Cairo Ojougboh, had accused the Senator of getting contracts from the Commission.
Reacting to the development, Senator Manager through a statement released by his media aide denied the claim and threatened to take legal action.
The statement said: “I sincerely wish to react as follows: That my tenure as Chairman of Niger Delta Committee in the Senate effectively ended in 2015.
“That ever since then I have never visited NDDC headquarters in Port Harcourt or any of its branches.
“That NDDC never awarded any contract to any company owned by me. That I do not know of any company owned by me, that has ever gone into bidding for government jobs anywhere in the world. (This may come to many as a surprise but that is the gospel truth).
“Those who are alleging to defame me must be aware of the consequences.
“That in the interest of the gullible innocent public, the authors led by the said Dr. Cairo Ojougboh or any other person should provide among other things the following please;
“(A) detailed description of the said jobs. (B) names of companies (C) payments already made and to whom? (D) job performance (E) The Directors as they appear in the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).
“That I sincerely in the name of God request for proof of evidence. This is a very simple minimum demand.”
