Edo South Senator, Matthew Urhoghide, has denied receiving contracts from the Niger Delta Development Commission.
The Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio, had named Urhoghide among the beneficiaries of contracts in the NDDC after he was ordered to list names of lawmakers who got contracts from the agency.
According to Akpabio, the former Chairman Senate Committee on Appropriation Senator Urhoghide was awarded six contracts by the NDDC, a claim the Senator tagged a ‘wicked lie’.
Speaking on Channels TV’s programme, Sunrise Daily, the Senator said, “For Akpabio to say I have been a beneficiary is unfortunate and is a wicked lie and I just believe whatever mischief he wanted to perpetuate, I think Nigerians, through my own explanation, should be able to read between the lines”
The lawmaker claimed that “Akpabio’s records are not even correct. The contracts (NDDC) I have attracted to my constituency are in excess of eleven, adding that “he (Akpabio) does not know what is going on.”
Out of the six contracts that Akpabio mentioned, four are street lights projects which are ongoing with the contractors (gotten through competitive bidding) not paid a dime as mobilization, Senator Urhoghide said.
The lawmaker also clarified that the projects are NDDC projects in his constituency.
Akpabio had alleged that 60% of NDDC contracts are awarded to lawmakers during an investigative hearing probing allegations of corruption in the NDDC.
