Chief James Ibori has denied allegations which linked him to projects executed by the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
Godswill Akpabio, Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, had named Ibori as one of the beneficiaries of contracts awarded by the NDDC.
But in a statement by his media aide, Tony Eluemunor, the former governor described the allegations as ridiculous, stating that he never “solicited for, or was awarded, or indeed executed, any contract with NDDC or any government agency, at any time”.
“He (Ibori) did not want to join in the ‘dance in the market square’ going on in the NDDC right now,” Ibori said in the statement.
“He has decided to make this clarification for the records because friends and associates inundated him with phone calls this morning.
“So, he (Ibori) is stating categorically that he never solicited for, or was awarded, or indeed executed, any contract with NDDC or any government agency, at any time, for that matter.”
The former governor noted that the NDDC was a product of his personal sacrifice as well as those of his Niger Delta colleagues between 1999 and 2007.
He went further to state that he and his colleagues owe it a duty to the Niger Delta people to make NDDC work to ameliorate the sufferings of the people of the region.
“If not for the exemplary courage some of us exhibited, there would have not been an NDDC to bicker about today,” Ibori added.
“Watching the level the NDDC has degenerated to, is a tragedy. We owe it a duty to the people of the Niger Delta to make NDDC work to ameliorate the sufferings of the people of the region and to realise the dream for which we fought for it to be set up.
“So, let everybody involved in the NDDC do their duties to the good people of the region.”
