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NDDC opens up on €56.2m contract award to Italian coy

The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has debunked a contract award letter which notified an Italian company of an award of a contract for 56.2 million euros.

The NDDC described as fake the letter which was purportedly signed by the Managing Director of the commission, adding that th letter didn’t state the purpose of the contract or the consideration for the award.

This was contained in a statement issued by the NDDC Director, Corporate Affairs, Ibitoye Abosede, on Wednesday, June 28.

Abosede also described the purported contract as a scam, stressing that “it does not exist either in the records of the commission or is any of our officials aware of it”.

READ ALSO: NDDC chair: $15bn rail MoU with U.S. firm shady, illegal

She stated that contract awards in NDDC follow due process stipulated by the Procurement Act, adding that at the end of that process, the successful bidder is issued an award letter signed by the Director of Procurement.

The NDDC spokesperson said: “That award letter is on a security paper, with a serial number and a QR code. Contract award letters do not come from the desk of the managing director.

“The fake letter dated June 1, 2023, was purportedly signed by the managing director and the minister of Niger Delta Affairs. The managing director signed no such letter. In any case, the signature on the fake document is not that of our managing director.

“Also, Nigeria had no Minister of Niger Delta Affairs by June 1, 2023, as the Federal Executive Council was dissolved before the handover of power on May 29, 2023.

“The fake letter failed all the Commission’s branding standards.

“Our take is that the letter is a product of a cheap scam. It has no relationship whatsoever with the Commission. We hereby advise all stakeholders and interested parties to cross-check any purported letter of contract award with the Procurement Department of the Commission. We also warn the public to beware of fraudsters who will stop at nothing to dupe others

“We have reported this scam to the law enforcement agencies so that the culprits can be brought to book.”

The Star

Segun Ojo

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