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From Adanna Nnamani, Abuja
146 billion Naira fraud charges made against the North East Development Commission (NEDC) leadership by various Civil Society Organizations (CSO) have been refuted by the Coalition for Transparency in Nigeria (CTN).
The claims of corruption, according to CTN, were intended to create confusion, blackmail the Commission, and ultimately divert the NEDC leadership from carrying out its duties.
The Coalition made this known at a press conference in Abuja at the weekend.
It said the conference was to draw the attention of Nigerians to what it alleged “nefarious activities of these agents under various guises of the People Advocacy for Transparency and Accountability (PATAI) as well as Al-Mushaid Initiative for Transparency and Accountability (AITA).”
Cecilia Ikechukwu, the executive director of the groups, urged Nigerians to disregard the two organizations and their unfounded petitions in her address.
Ikechukwu asserted that the NEDC has outperformed expectations, as evidenced by the Senate’s and other respected organizations’ acknowledgment of it.
The Coaltion, therefore, urged the leadership of NEDC to “disregard the criminal ultimatum handed in by PATAI and AITA in order to focus on their mandate of returning the northeast to the commercial powerhouse it was before terrorism disrupted lives there.”
It also called on the Commission to report the two organisations to law enforcement agencies to investigate their possible link to terrorism.
“PATAI and AITA last week accused the leadership of the North East Development Commission (NEDC) of being corrupt. They then threatened to report the leadership of NEDC to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) if it does not respond to its frivolous allegations of mismanaging N146.19 billion. The amount in question is, comically, the entire budget of the Commission.
“Ordinarily, the natural response is to praise PATAI and AITA as shining examples of the emerging resolve of Nigerians to hold the government and its institutions at all levels accountable. But the Coalition for Transparency in Nigeria, CTN, decided on conducting routine due diligence before commending the two organizations. Unfortunately, the things we found out about the entire matter are saddening as it is now clear that hustlers are hijacking the noble resolve of citizens to hold the government accountable.
The group expressed concerns that PATAI and AITA were acting out an insidious script with worrisome consequences.
“We urge the leadership of NEDC to disregard the criminal ultimatum handed in by PATAI and AITA in order to focus on their mandate of returning the northeast to the commercial powerhouse it was before terrorism disrupted lives there.” It noted.
The coalition advised the public to disregard the two organizations and called them to retrace their steps and stop their resort to blackmail.
