by Hamisu Muhammad / 2006-03-27

It would be recalled that in 2002, one Mr. Olatunde Kahinde of the Independent Corrupts Practices and other related offences Commi-ssion (ICPC) filed a petition which alleged to the chief justice of the federation that Niger Delta Wetlands Centre (NDWC), a non-govern-mental organization, which the minister and his wife served as directors, was one of the eight organizations that shared N1.9bn released by governor Alamieyeseigha for the contract of Niger Delta University.

Mr. Olatunde also alleged that NDWC was a fictitious company.
The registered trustees of the NGO challenged the case in court and the petition was dismissed by the chief justice of the federation.
Two years later, a report on a national daily challenged the NDWC of not being amo-ng the five companies that filed a case against ICPC for accusing them falsely of being unregistered companies.

Speaking to newsmen in Abuja last week, Prof Isoun said NDWC was duly regis-tered and had been in existence for ten years.

He said even though the allegation against him and his wife preceded his becoming a minister, he felt strong enough to prove himself innocent.

He said the company was registered in 1995 as an environmental NGO and had been providing services in the areas of environmental conservation, capacity building and training for companies and individuals in the Niger Delta.

The minister accused the writer of the article of not disclosing his source, but rather distorted the letter written by his solicitors in a bid to further deceive the public to cause more embarrassment to him and the registered trustees of the NDWC.

He described the article as false, unfounded and libe-lous and designed to defame his character and integrity.

Prof Isoun said he and the trustees of the NDWC had already filed a case in court against the newspaper for defamation of character.