Nsima Ekere, the managing director of the Niger Delta Development Corporation, NDDC, is currently enmeshed in a financial mess that borders on lack of accountability and character, failure to honour and redeem a debt owed, and financial recklessness that calls to question his capacity to play a role in executing President Muhammadu Buhari’s much vaunted war on corruption.
According to a court document exclusively obtained by The Trent (see gallery below), the NDDC boss, who is a former deputy governor of Akwa Ibom State, had defaulted on a credit facility in the amount of N27 million that the defunct Oceanic Bank, now Ecobank Plc, had granted him.
All efforts by the bank to recover the debt yielded no results, as Mr. Ekere had refused to honour his obligations to the financial institution. Ecobank recently posted a huge loss which its auditors attributed to bad loans.
Unable to recover the debt, Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria, AMCON, the receiver company had no other recourse but to take Mr. Ekere to court to recover the money.
The details of this case, as detailed in the court papers, paint the picture of a corrupt man who is deficient in transparency, morality, and probity, which has been the governing mantra of the Buhari-led government. This revelation about one of the president’s top appointees seriously puts to test his on-going war on corruption.
Since Ekere became the top boss at the Niger Delta Development Commission, he has sought to cast himself as a corruption fighter who was appointed to “clean out” the agency.
The NDDC is currently under the searchlight of the Buhari presidency after the Itse Sagay-led President Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC) raised some allegations bothering on inflation of contracts against the corporation.
This development, which exposes Ekere has being in a financial mess, may have defeated the very essence of him to “reorganise” the federal agency. Investigations reveal this information coming to light has tainted the NDDC boss fueling concerns that he might not be the right person to fight corruption in the agency because he is under “enormous pressure to clear personal bad debt“.
In a ruling by Justice Ijeoma L. Ojukwu of the Federal High Court of Nigeria (Uyo Judicial Division) with a case number: FHC/UY/CS/36/2017, which was delivered on Thursday, March 20, 2017, the judge ruled that an “order of the Court granting interim possession of Plot 1. 52 Lagos Street (Ewet Housing Estate, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State belonging to the Defendant to the Plaintiff/Applicant; an Order of the Honourable Court directing the State Commissioner of Police to provide Mobile Police Security where the property is situate to assist in the enforcement of the order of the Honourable Court”.
The ruling went on to state “that an order is granted freezing all monies and/ or whatsoever assets due to the Defendant from all bank accounts maintained by the Defendant with all commercial banks in Nigeria to wit: ACCESS BANK NIGERIA PLC, CITI BANK PLC, DIAMOND BANK PLC, ECO BANK PLC, FIDELITY BANK PLC, FIRST CITY MONUMENTAL BANK, FIRST BANK OF NIGERIA, GUARANTY TRUST BANK PLC, HERITAGE BANK PLC, JAIZ BANK, KEYSTONE BANK PLC, SKYE BANK PLC, STANBIC IBTC BANK PLC, STERLING BANK PLC, STANDARD CHARTERED BANK PLC, UNION BANK PLC, UNITY BANK OF NIGERIA, UNITED BANK OF NIGERIA, WEMA BANK PLC, ZENITH BANK PLC, situate up to the Plaintiff/Applicant’s claim of the sum of N27,022,720.93 (Twenty Seven Million, Twenty-Two thousand, Seven hundred and Twenty Naira, Ninety Three Kobo) only being a debt owed by the Defendant as at 20th February 2017in respect to the credit facility granted to the Defendant/Respondent by the defunct Oceanic Bank International Plc. (now Eco Bank Plc.).
“The Defendant his agents, privies or any other person natural or artificial however so called under the control of the defendant is restrained from transferring or otherwise dealing with any monies standing to the credit of the Defendant with any of the aforementioned banks wherever situate up to the amount of the Plaintiff/Applicant’s claim of the sum of N27,022,720,93 (Twenty Seven Million, Twenty two thousand, Seven hundred and Twenty Naira, Ninety three Kobo) only being debt owed by the Defendant as at 20th February, 2017 in respect of the credit facility granted the Defendant by the defunct Oceanic Bank International Plc. (now Eco Bank Plc)”.
The financial mess that Nsima Ekere is enmeshed in has raised the question as to how fit he is to hold public office and leaves one to wonder how Nsima was able to pass the rigorous security check that public officials are known to be put through by the security agencies. Did he hide this critical material fact from the screening agencies?
Nsima Ekere’s financial mess has put a huge dent on the fight against corruption which Nigerians have collectively applauded President Buhari for restoring a sense of probity among office holders. How is he able to function in his current position when this mess hangs over his mental space? That is the question Nigerians are now asking and demand answers.
Ekere’s tenure as deputy governor of Akwa Ibom under immediate past Governor Godswill Akpabio ended abruptly in a cloud of disgrace when he hurriedly resigned in October 2012 to escape facing impeachment by the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly.
Click on any image below to enlarge.
