Women leaders of ethnic nationalities in the Niger Delta have called on President Bola Tinubu to publish the report of the forensic audit of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).

Ann-Kio Briggs, leader of the delegation, made the call during an interactive meeting with the managing director of NDDC, Samuel Ogbuku, in Port Harcourt on Monday.

She said, “The women of the Niger Delta are not happy that the forensic audit report of the NDDC has not been published.

“We wish to remind President Bola Tinubu that the report of the forensic audit under the previous government is unacceptably unavailable to the public.”

The women leaders were drawn from various ethnic organisations, civil society groups, community and faith-based organisations, market women, and non-governmental organisations.

The forensic audit of NDDC was set up by President Muhammadu Buhari in 2021 to investigate the activities of NDDC from inception to August 2019.

But several months after the exercise concluded, the government maintained a sealed lid on when the forensic report would be made available to Nigerians.

Ms Briggs said the delayed publication of the forensic audit report was unacceptable, especially as billions were spent to carry out the audit.

Ms Briggs said the continued delay in releasing the money had limited the ability of the commission to function optimally.

She said women in the region have been painfully neglected despite standing with the men in the struggle for justice, equity, accountability, and the region’s development.

“We, therefore, expect you (Ogbuku) to make the concerns of the women one of your priorities by ensuring that this engagement with us will yield better results,” she added.

Speaking, Mr Ogbuku said the commission had concluded plans to initiate projects and programmes that would develop the capacity of women and youth in the region.

According to him, the commission is currently working on holding a Niger Delta stakeholders summit to address many of the challenges faced by the various groups, including women’s bodies.

Mr Ogbuku said the summit would allow women to discuss their expectations for the future and give other stakeholders the chance to contribute ideas for the region’s development.

“Similarly, stakeholders will use the opportunity to leverage the 2023 budget, which, once signed, we should be able to agree on the areas of priorities in our current realities,” he added.

(NAN)