North East Development Commission: Group Tackles CSOs Over Plot To Distract NEDC Leadership
- Some people have been paid to blackmail the leadership of the North East Development Commission (NEDC) according to CTN
- According to CTN, the aim is to create chaos in the Commission and ultimately distract the NEDC leadership from fulfilling its mandate
- The executive director, Cecilia Ikechukwu consequently urged Nigerians to ignore the two groups and their baseless petitions
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The Coalition for Transparency in Nigeria (CTN) has raised an alarm over a plot by paid agents to blackmail the leadership of the North East Development Commission (NEDC) through the use of fictitious petitions.
In a statement made available to Legit.ng, the group said the aim is to create chaos in the Commission and ultimately distract the NEDC leadership from fulfilling its mandate.
The Coalition made this known at a press conference in Abuja to draw the attention of Nigerians to the nefarious activities of these agents under the guise of the People Advocacy for Transparency and Accountability (PATAI) as well as Al-Mushaid Initiative for Transparency and Accountability (AITA).
Source: UGC
In his address, the executive director, Cecilia Ikechukwu, however, urged Nigerians to ignore the two groups and their baseless petitions.
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Ikechukwu said the NEDC has exceeded expectations, evident in its recognition by the Senate and other credible bodies in the country and beyond.
The Coaltion, therefore, urged the leadership of NEDC to "disregard the criminal ultimatum handed in by PATAI and AITA in order to focus on their mandate of returning the northeast to the commercial powerhouse it was before terrorism disrupted lives there."
It also called on the Commission to report the two organisations to law enforcement agencies to investigate their possible link to terrorism.
Part of the statement read:
"You would have become aware of the activities of two groups, the People Advocacy for Transparency and Accountability (PATAI) and Al-Mushaid Initiative for Transparency and Accountability (AITA). For those who are yet to become accustomed to them, PATAI and AITA last week accused the leadership of the North East Development Commission (NEDC) of being corrupt. They then threatened to report the leadership of NEDC to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) if it does not respond to its frivolous allegations of mismanaging N146.19 billion. The amount in question is, comically, the entire budget of the Commission. The NEDC leadership supposedly has up till Wednesday, March 15, 2023 to respond else it would be reported to EFCC.
"Ordinarily, the natural response is to praise PATAI and AITA as shining examples of the emerging resolve of Nigerians to hold the government and its institutions at all levels accountable. But the Coalition for Transparency in Nigeria, CTN, decided on conducting routine due diligence before commending the two organizations. Unfortunately, the things we found out about the entire matter are saddening as it is now clear that hustlers are hijacking the noble resolve of citizens to hold the government accountable."
Court orders INEC to upload results from polling units to IReV
Meanwhile, the Federal High Court in Lagos has ordered INEC to electronically upload the results of the March 11 governorship and State House of Assembly elections in Lagos state from the polling units to the IReV.
Justice Peter Lifu granted the order while delivering judgment in a suit filed by the Labour Party, its governorship candidate, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, and 40 others.
The plaintiffs had sought an order of Mandamus to compel INEC to obey the Electoral Act and its guidelines for conducting the elections.
Source: Legit.ng
