Onochie, NDDC at loggerheads over $15bn mega rail project

Lauretta Onochie, chairperson of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) board, has disowned a $15 billion memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the management of the commission and Atlanta Global Resources Inc., a US-based firm.

The deal, which was signed on Tuesday, is for the construction of a mega rail line that would connect the nine states of the Niger Delta region.

In a statement on Friday, Onochie said the MOU was signed without the authorisation nor consent of the NDDC board.

Describing the deal as “shady”, Onochie said the management team had no power to sign an MOU on behalf of the NDDC without the approval of the board.

“My attention and the entire Board’s have been drawn to a publication in some National dailies of the purported signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between a US firm, “Atlanta Global Resources Inc.” and the NDDC, whose Board I chair, for the “construction of a mega rail project across the Niger Delta, from Lagos to Calabar”. This was done without my knowledge and without the authorisation nor consent of the Board,” the statement reads.

“Everything about this shady “MOU” is illegal due to the following reasons:
(a) By the act establishing the NDDC (Act No 6, of 2000), it is the Chairman of the board that is solely vested with the power to sign MOUs with any organisation.

“Part II of the NDDC Act, Section 8, sub sections (a) and (e), among other provisions, specifically state inter Alia; The Board shall have power to:
(a)manage and supervise affairs of the Commission,…
(e)enter into such contracts as may be necessary or expedient for the discharge of its functions and ensure the efficient performance of the functions of the Commission.

“And the Supplementary provision of the Act as relating to the Board (Section 4, sub-section 1) clearly retains the Seal of the Commission in the Office of the Chairman.

“(b) The “US company”, Atlanta Global Resources Inc., has no expertise nor experience in any form of construction, let alone, Railway construction. This company is a Management and Export Consulting Firm is without known notable Directors.

“Thus, the signing of an MOU to the tune of $15 billion(USD) with such an organisation is not only suspect but dubious.

“(c) The Federal Executive Council (FEC), having recognised the importance of infrastructure in the Niger Delta region had awarded the Contract for the same project in 2021 at the sum of $11.7 billion for the construction of a Mega railway from Lagos to Sagamu, Sagamu to Ijebu-Ode, Ijebu-Ode to Ore, Ore to Benin City, Benin-City to Sapele, Sapele to Warri, Warri to Yenogoa, Yenegoa to Port Harcourt, Port Harcourt to Aba, Aba to Uyo, Uyo to Calabar, Calabar to Akamkpa and to Ikom, Obudu Ranch with branch lines from Benin-City to Agbor, Ogwashi-Uku, Asaba, Onitsha and Onitsha Bridge and then Port Harcourt to Onne Deep Sea Port.

“It is shocking that after the FEC, the highest ruling body in the country, had done this, that anyone would be signing an MOU on behalf of the NDDC and the Federal Government of Nigeria for the same project in 2023 without due process nor approval by the FEC in the twilight of the Muhammadu Buhari administration.

“The same clumsy, shady and hazy transactions of the past in NDDC, that had bedevilled and stultified identifiable progress in the past, was rested with the “Forensic Audit” and the Inauguration of a New Board, with the Sanitisation of the Commission as its mantra. However, old habits die hard. And some individuals (within and without the Commission) still retain the retrogressive mindset that has held the Commission down for the past 22 years. We cannot remain in the old dubious path.

“The Present Board is set on Transparency, Equity, Justice and Equality, and ready to midwife and embrace other policies and programmes that would uplift and improve the lives of the good people of Niger Delta. With dilligence, perseverance, persistence and commitment, this Vision would come to pass.

“We, therefore, call on all our partners and stakeholders in this quest – CBN (TSA), The Ministry of Niger Delta, The National Assembly, Our nine States’ Governors (Advisory Board), Our Traditional rulers, Youth Population, etc., to take note.

“NDDC has not and could not have signed an MOU, worth $15 billion (USD) without the Board and FEC’s approval.

“The so-called MOU signed with Atlanta Global Resources Inc. “AGRI”, is hereby disowned by the Board and declared null and void.”

NDDC: WE ONLY SIGNED MOU FOR PRELIMINARY PROCESSES 

In its response to Onochie, the NDDC said the MoU was only for the preliminary processes of the proposed rail project.

NDDC, in a statement signed by Ibitoye Abosede, its director of corporate affairs, said some persons may have misconstrued the foundational process to mean that the commission has signed the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract.

The commission also said the MoU did not include “any agreement on the details”.

“What we signed on April 25 is simply the opening phase that will determine how far we will go, but it definitely showcases how interested the international partners are in tapping into the Niger Delta region,” NDDC said.

”They are swarming in droves. This indicates that we are looking at a bright and prosperous Niger Delta from the prism of the PPP.”

The commission said it is aware that the approval of the national assembly must be obtained before undertaking such a project.

GROUP ASKS BUHARI TO RESTRAIN ONOCHIE FROM ‘OVERSTEPPING’

Reacting to the issue, Vibrant Progressives of Niger Delta, a pressure group, said the Onochie-led NDDC board cannot feign ignorance about the MOU signing event.

The group, in a statement signed by Ajibo Taribo, its president, urged President Muhammadu Buhari to intervene in the controversy.

“She stated in her press release that the FEC was not informed about the event, and we ask that who better inform the FG & FEC than the Honorable Minister of Information Ubong Umana Okon Umana, who was visibly present at the epoch-making event, he supervised the signing of the MOU,” the statement reads in part.

“Except she is saying that as chairman, her office superseded that of the Minister of NDA whose oversight function is to oversee the NDDC which she chairs.

“It’s very impossible to say the Board was not informed, as it’s unheard of that a program of such magnitude without organisers being aware.

“We humbly call on President Buhari to call Mrs Lauretta to order as her attitude is doing more harm than good to the commission and the country at large.”