NDDC: I was under pressure to approve N10B Christmas bonus – Joy Nunieh

Former Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Joy Nunieh, has revealed how she was asked to approve N10billion as Christmas bonus.

She said this during her testimnony before the House of Representatives committee on NDDC probe, adding that it was part of the reasons why she was sacked.
“I did not give out Christmas palliatives. I was under pressure to bring N10billion – N1billion per state – but I refused. NDDC worked throughout December. There was no break except on public holidays,” she said.

She alleged that Niger Delta Minister, Godswill Akpabio, hijacked NDDC forensic audit ordered by President Muhammadu Buhari, claiming that Akpabio told her to write a letter to him.

He gave her a draft; “that I should put it on my letterhead. In that letter, I was supposed to write about most of the companies…(that) Senator Nwaoboshi owned the 98 companies”.

She denied stating that Nwaboshi was the lawmaker collecting N1billion from the NDDC.

“I said how can an individual be collecting N1 billion every month?’ The case of senator Nwaoboshi is the case of the 98 files which I was supposed to write about. What I met was not exactly what was going on.”

“I reminded him and showed him the letter that the president had written, that there is no way we could spend the money that was in our budget. I want to tell the world that I never did any employment. I never gave out a single contract from NDDC”.

On contracts, Nunieh said she never got any money from contractors

“I am not corrupt. I can say before the world that I’m the most unpopular MD ever that came to NDDC. The money of the people of Niger Delta is blood money, I refused to touch it”, the former MD added