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A director in the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Solomon Okpa Ita, has been accused of using Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) as fronts to embezzle government money, by the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC). The development was made public by the ICPC spokesperson, Rasheedat Okoduwa, in a statement released on Tuesday, September 3. Okoduwa alleged that the money had been used to acquire property under contention.
        According to the ICPC spokesperson, Okpa Ita couldn’t provide evidence that the property were obtained with his legitimate earnings. She added that upon investigation, it was discovered that in one instance, the accused facilitated the payment of N20 million into the account of one of the NGOs, which was then transferred to a bank account of a third party. She said while acting upon instructions from the director, the third party then transferred the same amount to one Ita Williams Okpa, for forwarding to the director. Okoduwa also disclosed that Okpa Ita made another illegal transaction to the tune of N45 million through the same channel, for his personal use. She said the ICPC had asked an Abuja Federal High Court to order the interim forfeiture of certain properties belonging to the director, including a petrol station and warehouse.