The Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio on Thursday lamented on the huge debt owed to the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) by oil companies, saying that the agency is on life support.
According to the minister the Commission can barely pay staff salaries.
He said the debt is about $5.6 billion and N649 billion.
Akpabio spoke to reporters after he received the Nigerian Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Tijani Muhammad-Bande in his office in Abuja.
He noted that the Federal Government has set up a committee headed by the Minister of Finance to recover the debt.
“The Federal Government has set up a committee headed by the Minister of Finance to recover monies that were owed to the NDDC.
“At the last count, about $5.6 billion and about N649 billion are monies owed to the NDDC by oil companies.
“So, the NDDC itself is on life support because what they get every month is just enough to pay their salaries and maintain their offices but people are not aware,” he said.
