By Milcah Tanimu

The forensic report detailing the ₦81.5 billion expenditure by the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) from January to July 2020 has gone missing, according to Niger Delta Minister Abubakar Momoh.

In an interview on Channels Television, observed by Naija News, Momoh disclosed that the report is unaccounted for. “When I took over office, I expected the report to be at the Ministry. However, the Permanent Secretary and others informed me that they could not locate it,” he said.

Momoh assured the public that efforts are underway to retrieve the report and that it will be made available to Nigerians soon. He emphasized that any individuals implicated by the report will face appropriate consequences.

“We are determined to find the report and present it to the government for implementation. Those found culpable will be punished. It is not possible to take government funds and go scot-free. We will do our best to locate the report and prosecute those responsible,” he stated.

Momoh assured that the report would be obtained shortly and its contents shared with the public.

In 2020, the National Assembly witnessed dramatic events when then-Minister of Niger Delta, now Senate President Godswill Akpabio, appeared before the House of Representatives Committee on Niger Delta to explain the ₦81.5 billion spent by the NDDC in the first half of that year. Since the report’s presentation to former President Muhammadu Buhari in September 2021, there has been little information regarding its implementation or details.