The Chairman of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Lauretta Onochie, has denied signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) worth $15 billion with a United States firm, Atlanta Global Resources Inc (AGRI).

The MoU was said to have been signed for the construction of a mega rail project across the Niger Delta, from Lagos to Calabar.

Reacting to the reports, Onochie, in a statement issued and made available to The Star on Saturday, April 29, said the signing was done without her knowledge and without the authorisation nor consent of the NDDC Board.

The NDDC boss stressed that “everything about this shady ‘MoU’ is illegal”.

She added: “The US company, Atlanta Global Resources Inc., has no 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 with such an organisation is not only suspect but dubious.

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“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, that 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 bedevilled and stultified identifiable progress in the past, was rested with the ‘Forensic Audit’ and the Inauguration of a New Board, with the Sanitisation 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 in the old dubious path.

“The Present Board is set on Transparency, Equity, Justice and Equality, and ready to midwife and embrace other policies and programmes that would uplift and improve the lives of the good people of Niger Delta. With dilligence, perseverance, persistence and commitment, this Vision would come to pass,” the NDDC Chairman stated.

Onochie noted that the NDDC has not and could not have signed an MoU worth $15 billion without the Board and FEC’s approval, adding that the rumoured MoU signing was null and void.

The Star