Nigerian Army Procurement Scandal: President Buhari Approves Further Investigation
President
Muhammadu Buhari has approved the recommendation of the Committee charged with
investigating the Defence Equipment Procurement from 2007 to 2015, for further
investigation of those involved, after the committee found a number of
irregularities in the contract awards.
The approval
followed the Third Interim Report of the Presidential Committee on the Audit of
Defence Equipment, which was released on Thursday.
Among those to
be investigated are 18 serving and retired military personnel, 12 serving and
retired public officials and 24 Chief Executive Officers of Companies involved
in the procurement. All were either accounting officers or played key roles in
the Nigerian Army procurement activities during the period under review.
Those listed for
further investigation include two former Chief of Army Staff, Lt-Gen O.A.
Ihejirika (Rtd) and Lt-Gen K.T.J. Minimah (Rtd); former Minister of State for
Foreign Affairs II, Dr Nurudeen Mohammed and three former Permanent Secretaries
in the Ministry of Defence – Mr Bukar Goni Aji, Mr Haruna Sanusi and
Me. E.O, Oyemomi.
Also, the CEOs
to be investigated include Col. Olu Bamgbose (Rtd) of Bamverde Ltd;
Mr Amity Sade of Doiyatec Comms Ltd and DYI Global Services and
Mr Edward Churchill of Westgate Global Trust Ltd.
According to the
Committee, the total amount spent for procurement and operations within the period
were N185,843,052,564.30 and $685,349,692.49.
It found that
the Nigerian Army Contracts awarded by the Ministry of Defence for the period
under review were often awarded without ”significant input from end-user
(Nigerian Army) and to vendors who lacked the necessary technical competence”.
”As an example,
3 contracts with a total value of N5,940,000,000.00 were awarded to DYI Global
Services Ltd and Doiyatec Comms Nig. Ltd (owned by the same individuals) for
the procurement of military hardware including 20 units of KM-38 Twin Hull
Boats and 6 Units of 4X4 Ambulances fitted with radios. The committee found
that the 2 companies collected N5,103,500,000.00, representing 86% of the total
value of the 3 contracts worth N5,940,000,000.00, but only performed to the
tune of N2,992,183,705.31,” the report said.
The committee
also found that a contract worth N169,916,849.77 for the procurement of 53
Armoured Vehicles Spare Parts, with 90 days completion time, is yet to be
completed 5 years after.
With respect to
contracts awarded directly by the Nigerian Army, the Committee found that many
of the contracts were characterised by”lack of due process, in breach of extant
procurement regulations and tainted by corrupt practices.
”In this regard,
a review of the procurement carried out by Chok Ventures Ltd and Integrated
Equipment Services Ltd established that between March 2011 and December 2013,
the 2 companies exclusively procured various types of Toyota and Mitsubishi
vehicles worth over N3,000,000,000.0 for the Nigerian Army without any
competitive bidding.
”Though the
committee found no credible evidence of delivery of the vehicles, the vendors
were fully paid based on job completion certificate authenticated by the then
Chief of Logistics. Also, analysis of the various bank accounts of the 2
companies showed transfers to individuals related to then Chief of Army Staff,”
the report said.
OJPals, what
do you think? Let us know!
@OJ’s Blog EXCLUSIVE
Email: olumidejohnson.blogs@gmail.com
Comments
Post a Comment