The Special Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on Social Investments, Maryam Uwais, has said that the probing of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) over the alleged misuse of funds as a strong indication that transparency is needed in governance.
The Interim Management Commission of the NDDC and the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs is being investigated by the National Assembly over allegations of illegal spending.
Uwais in a statement spoke at the unveiling of the 2020 Edelman Trust Barometer Survey Report, which shows that government remained the least trusted compared to business, media and non-governmental organizations.
According to Uwais, “The ongoing probe of the affairs of the Niger Delta Development Commission allows us to send a strong signal to curtail all of this, to make it a defining moment on how you address problems that are quite entrenched in the Nigerian political system.”
The report is reported to have shown that “while trust across the four mainstream institutions in the country increased compared to 2019, business still led with 91 per cent, followed by NGOs with 87 per cent. The media was the third with 84 per cent, while government only had 55 per cent.”
The report is being discussed by all-female panel, as well as its implications for their respective constituencies and Nigeria at large. The panel comprises Uwais; Director, Public Affairs, Lafarge Plc, Folashade Ambrose-Medebem; Director of News, Television Continental, Stella Din Jacob; and the Convener, Enough is Enough, Yemi Adamolekun.
