The Niger Delta Justice Forum (NDJF) has accused the Interim Management Committee (IMC) of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) of scheming to avoid a probe.
The National Assembly (NASS) is probing the alleged misappropriation of billions of Naira rocking the intervention agency.
NDJF in a statement on Tuesday by its convener, Ime Idongesit, said the sudden discovery that some NDDC staff had contracted coronavirus was suspicious.
Idongesit claimed that the Director of Projects office does not have the numbers of staff being claimed.
He said during the lockdown, less than six persons in level 14 were going to work as directed by the federal government.
“The ED Projects and the late Executive Director of Finance and Administration (EDFA), Ibanga Bassey, who purportedly died of COVID-19 worked, ate, and stayed together most times throughout the lockdown.”
The statement wondered why none of the staff who worked closely with them had tested positive for coronavirus.
The group accused the IMC of distracting the public from scrutinizing its records.
“The late EDFA was the person slated as the prime witness in the probe of NDDC by the National Assembly. That was to be expected because he was in charge of all payments. He suddenly died as the probe was about to commence since the dead didn’t speak.
“Without any valid medical evidence, without the certainty of a test result and any pronouncement by the NCDC, the IMC hurriedly issued a press release stating that he died of complications from COVID-19.”
The NDJF advised the government not to fall for the tactics being used to avoid attending ongoing investigative hearings.
The statement added that some staff of the commission were being induced to accept that they have tested positive for COVID-19 to create reasons for IMC members’ inability to answer questions at the National Assembly.
