The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) board chairperson, Lauretta Onochie, denies involvement in a $15 billion memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Atlanta Global Resources Inc.
Atlanta Global Resources Inc., which is a United States-based firm, was stated to have signed a $15 billion memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the management of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) board for the rail project construction across the Niger Delta from Lagos to Calabar.
On Friday, Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) Governing Board Chair, Lauretta Onochie, stated that the MoU with Atlanta Global Resources Inc. for a rail project from Lagos to Calabar was done without her knowledge or board authorization. “The MoU is illegal,” said Onochie, citing the NDDC Act, which grants the chairman the exclusive authority to sign MOUs with organizations.
She stated that according to the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) Act, Part II, Section 8, subsections (a) and (e), Atlanta Global Resources Inc. lacks the necessary expertise and experience for railway construction. The company lacks notable directors as a management and export consulting firm, making the $15 billion MoU signing with them suspicious and dubious, according to Onochie.
The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) board chairperson, Lauretta Onochie, made the following statement in full:
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. 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, subsections (a) and (e), among other provisions, specifically states inter alia: The Board shall have power to: (a) manage and supervise the 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.
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.
The “US company”, Atlanta Global Resources Inc., has neither 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 organization 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, 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 bedeviled and stultified identifiable progress in the past, were rested with the “forensic audit” and the inauguration of a new board, with the sanitization 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 on the old, dubious path.
The present board is set on transparency, equity, justice, and equality and is ready to midwife and embrace other policies and programs that would uplift and improve the lives of the good people of the Niger Delta. With diligence, perseverance, persistence, and commitment, this vision would come to pass.
We, therefore, call on all our partners and stakeholders in this quest—the CBN (TSA), the Ministry of Niger Delta, the National Assembly, our nine states’ governors (Advisory Board), our traditional rulers, the 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.”
