Senator Samuel Anyanwu has reacted to allegations that he received 19 contracts from the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC.
Anyanwu alongside others were fingered in massive plundering of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, by Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio on Monday.
Newspaper reports in Owerri quoted the Senator to have vowed to drag Minister Akpabio, to court if he fails to apologize to him.
He said the allegations levelled against him by Akpabio were lies from the pit of hell, wondering why the Minister will go to the extent of scandalizing his name over what he knew nothing about.
He claimed that while in the Senate he left a clean record, stating that as a Senator, it was his obligation to attract projects to his constituents and Imo being an NDDC state, was also entitled to benefits from the Commission.
He said it was not out of place for the NDDC to situate projects in the zone he represented as it does not amount to any contract scam.
He said he is shocked the Minister mentioned his name, urging the NDDC to complete projects it started in his constituency.
Senator Anyanwu had represented Imo East Senatorial zone in the eighth Senate. He had vied for governorship ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Imo State in 2019.
He lost the contest to Hon.Emeka Ihedioha, a former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, who later won the governorship primary, and the guber election in 2019.
Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio, had revealed Monday, that Hon.Anyanwu and other lawmakers got contracts from the NDDC. He alleged that the Imo State born Senator received 19 contracts from the Commission.
The Minister also mentioned other Senators involved in collecting contracts from the Commission. According to him, they include, Chairman of the Senate committee on Niger Delta, Peter Nwabaoshi, whose name was listed against 53 projects.
The former Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on the NDDC, Nicholas Mutu, was also named by the Minister as receiving 74 contracts – the highest among the listed lawmakers.
Mr Akpabio also said Senator Matthew Urhoghide got six projects, while Senator James Manager got six contracts.
Some of the contracts awarded to the Senators include emergency repairs of Asue Street, Owa Phase 2; ldumuogbe Road via Ojemaye; Otolokpo College Road, Otolokpo; and the Police lshu Ani Ukwu Road, Issele Uku, in Delta State.
Although the cost of the projects were not stated, the Minister in a document containing names of the Senators who received NDDC contracts, showed that most of the projects were awarded in 2018, a year before the ninth assembly was inaugurated. It is also not clear whether or not they are constituency projects.
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