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NDDC Saga: Akpabio Denies Offering Malami $5m Bribe
An online publication in its social media handle last week, claimed the Minister offered the AGF $5 million bribe to facilitate the appointment of Effiong Akwa as the Sole Administrator for the NDDC.
The Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio, has threatened to sue an online publication over a report that he gave the sum of $5 million in bribes to Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN.
An online publication in its social media handle last week, claimed the Minister offered the AGF $5 million bribe to facilitate the appointment of Effiong Akwa as the Sole Administrator for the NDDC.
The AGF Malami had also denied receiving any bribe to facilitate the appointment.
Reacting through his Special Adviser on Media, Anietie Ekong on Sunday, Akpabio said the allegation is a “figment of the imagination of mischief makers which was published without proof.”
Akpabio said President Muhammadu Buhari approved the appointment of Akwa after a Federal High Court in Abuja in suit number ABJ/CS/617/2020 filed by a CSO: Forum for Accountability and Good Governance restrained the Interim Management Committee of the NDDC from performing the functions of the board and accessing the Commission’s offices and files.
“The authors of the fake news should be ready to back up their claim or face the full wrath of the law.
“The story is a desperate attempt by some unscrupulous bloggers to impugn the integrity of the Honourable Minister of Niger Delta Affairs and the Honourable Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami as the claim is not only spurious but utterly ridiculous.”
Akpabio said the publication was done to discourage the ongoing forensic audit of the NDDC as ordered by the President in order to bring development to the Niger Delta region.