NDDC Paid N1.5bn as COVID-19 Relief Allowance to Staff, Says Senate Committee

* Says one staff got N10m

By Deji Elumoye

The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) paid a total of N1.5 billion as COVID-19 pandemic relief allowance to its 1,269 workers between February and May this year.

Chairman of the Senate Ad-hoc committee on investigation of the alleged financial recklessness in the NDDC, Senator Olubunmi Adetunmbi, who made the disclosure at a public hearing on the investigation stated that one of the staff got N10 million as relief allowance.

Adetumbi, who read out the figures, explained that the figures were sourced from the current Interim Management Committee (IMC) of the NDDC.

He said the payments included two workers who got seven million naira each while 148 other staff got three million naira each.

Other beneficiaries according to the NDDC document were 157 workers who got N1.5 million each, 497 other workers received one million naira each while the remaining 464 staff were paid N500,000 each as COVID-19 relief allowance.

The committee chairman added that the document showed that NDDC also gave the Nigeria Police N475 million to buy face masks and hand sanitisers during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown.

Details later…