N458m Bribe Scandal:Full report by IMHA special ad-hoc committee
1. BACKGROUND
Sequel to a report by the Hon Member, representing Orsu State Constituency and Chairman Joint State/Local Governments Projects in the plenary sitting of the House on Wednesday, 20th February 2013 on the progress or otherwise, made so far on the execution of road contracts awarded to some contractors in the state.
He reported on the slow pace of work by both Messrs JPROS International Nig Ltd and Timik construction Coy in Owerri and Orlu Municipalities respectively. In his view the underlisted roads can be deemed as being abandoned by the contractors after collecting over 100% payment.
(a) Ware-house Orlu Road junction
(b) Odunze Aba Road
(c) Amaigbo Street to old Nekede Road
(d) Dualization of Orlu Main Town
Consequent upon this, the Rt. Hon. Speaker constituted a six-man special Ad-hoc Committee comprising the following Hon. Members to investigate the matter and report back on Tuesday 24th February, 2013.
1. MEMBERSHIP
(1) Hon, Simeon Iwunze - Chairman
(2) Hon, Ikenna Emeh - Member
(3) Hon. Greg Okemili - Member
(4) Hon. Innocent Ekeh - Member
(5) Hon. Kingsley Dimaku - Member
(6) Hon. Samuel Anyanwu - Member
2. TERMS OF REFERENCE
To obtain the following
a. Award letters/approval
b. Certificate of work done
c. The total contract sum
d. The amount paid so far, and who made approvals for the payments.e. The extent of the physical job done with pictures/evaluations
f. The possibility of the contractor fulfilling his contractual agreement or otherwise.
3. IN COMMITTEE
The committee immediately got inaugurated and set modalities for the investigation, it invited the following persons/ representatives of companies in these road projects to appear before it on Friday 22nd February, 2013 with the necessary documents relation to the contracts.
The persons invited were:
(a) His Excellency, the deputy Governor of the State/Former Commissioner for works and Transport.
(b) The Principal secretary to the Governor
(c) The current Commissioner for Works
(d) The Commissioner for Finance
(e) The Permanent Secretary Ministry of Works and Transport and his Directors/line officers
(f) The Accountant-General of the State
(g) The representative of JPROS International Nig Ltd.
(h) The representative of Timik construction Coy. Ltd.
All those invited to appear before the Committee did so on several invitations and were interrogated except the representative of Timik Construction Coy. Ltd. Who claimed on phone that he was deadly sick and receiving treatment in an hospital in Lagos with a promise to meet the Committee once he recovered.
The permanent Secretary Ministry of Works and Transport, Mr. Alex Nlebedum in his evidence before the Committee turned mountain of document relating to the award and execution of the contracts under investigation but most relevant to this Committee are:
(a) A letter captioned award of contract for the construction of 3 No. Roads – Warehouse Orlu Road Junction –Odunze Street and Amaigbo Street Old Nekede Road. Ref: MOW/COMM/18/S.1/V1/57 dated 1st February, 2012 addressed to His Excellency. The Executive Governor of Imo State. Signed by Alex Nlebedum Permanent Secretary.
The letter reads the above road contracts being handled by JPROS International Nig. Ltd have been re-negotiated downwards from N1,312,106,874.00 (One Billion, Three Hundred and Twelve Million, One Hundred and Six Thousand, Eight Hundred and Seventy-Four Naira only to N1,150,000,000.00 (One Billion, One Hundred and Fifty, One Hundred and Six Thousand Eight Hundred Seventy four Naira) but the contract was re-negotiated downwards after Two Hundred Million Naira first advance payment had been made owing to the fact that some aspects of the job were removed, this brought the total sum of the contract to One Billion One Hundred and Fifty Million Naira (N1,150,000,000), the first advance payment of two hundred million inclusive of this total sum.
Your Excellency may wish to consider the above and direct further please.
(b) A copy of the contract agreement between Ministry of Works and Transport, for State Government on one hand and JPROS International Nig Ltd. On the other hand.
(c) A letter captioned, award of contract for the construction of 3 No. Road – Warehouse Orlu Road Junction – Odunze Street and Amaigbo street Old Nekede Road. Dated 3rd February, 2012 signed by Dr. Pascal C. Obi (Ksm) Principal Secretary to the Governor addressed to the Hon. Commissioner Ministry of Finance Imo State.
The letter reads:
I am directed to refer to your letter Ref: MOW/COMM/18/S.1/V1/57 dated 1st February, 2012 on the above mentioned subject matter (copy attached) and to convey His Excellency, the Governor’s approval for the release of the sum of N1,150,000,000.00 (One Billion, One Hundred and Fifty Million Naira) only to the Ministry of Works for the execution of the aforementioned projects.
2. Copies of this letter are being endorsed to His Excellency, the Deputy Governor/Hon. Commissioner, Ministry of Works and the Account-General, Imo State for their information and necessary action.
3. Take necessary steps to implement His Excellency, the Governor’s directive.
d. A cope of the evaluated works of JPROS International Nig Ltd so far amounting to N195,276,870, signed by the Director of Planning Research and Statistics Ministry of Works and Transport Mr. Ike Maduabuchi was presented to the Committee.
NB: The oral interviews arguments and interrogations, that ensured between the Committee and its invitees does not worth the acre of this report.
The Committee in the cause of its investigation found out that JPROS International Nig Ltd had earlier expressed interest for this job at the sum of N1,312,106,874,00 (One Billion three Hundred and twelve million ……….
The contractor accepted it in writing.
When the permanent Secretary Ministry of Works and Transport was asked whether the reply to his letter of Governor seeking approval for the contract to be executed at a total sum of One Billion One Hundred and fifty Million only, was what he got in a letter dated 3rd February addressed to the Commissioner Ministry of Finance?
He said no, that he expected an approval only and not release of fund.
Mr. Nick Oparadudu current Commissioner for Works in his own interview with the Committee said that he was yet to take over from the former Commissioner for Works, His Excellency the Deputy Governor therefore was not in a position to interview Committee on the subject matter.
Deacon Chike Okafor the Commissioner for Finance in his interview with the Committee was asked why he paid JPROS International Nig Ltd sum of One Billion One Hundred and Fifty Million only when the letter addressed to him dated 3rd February, 2012 signed by Dr. Pascal Obi (Ksm) expressly stated that the money be paid to Ministry of Works and Transport.
He replied that because of issues arising from the management of funds, close to One Billion Naira by the Ministry of Works and Transport for the resurfacing of Owerri Municipal roads on the advent of this administration, His Excellency, directed orally in an exco meeting that payment for road contracts be made direct to contractors by the Ministry of finance.
George Eche the Accountant-General; in his interview with the Committee was asked why he released the sum of One Billion One Hundred and Fifty Million Naira only directly to JPROS International Nig Ltd contrary to the directive on the letter endorsed to him, dated 3rd February, 2012 signed by Dr. Pascal Obi (Ksm) expressly stating that the money be released to Ministry of Works and Transport.
In his reply he said that the office of Accountant-General is one and also the only office authorized by law to make payments on behalf of the State Government and that the purpose of mentioning the Ministry in the letter was to charge the expenditure to the budgetary provision of the concerned Ministry.
He was equally asked by the Committee why he paid JPROS International Nig Ltd. Without certificate as they are conditions precedent for raising of payment vouchers by MDA’S before the apply for the approval of payment and release of money the contract from the Governor’s office. He submitted that the Accountant-General duty arises only after Governor’s approval. In the instant case he received Governor’s approval through the office of Principal Secretary to the Governor’s dated 3rd February, 2012. It is the duty of the concerned MDA’S vouchers for purposes applying for Governor’s approval and release of Money to the Contractor.
Dr. Pascal Obi (Ksm), the Principal Secretary to the Governor, in his interview with the Committee, was asked why he conveyed the authority for release of fund to Commissioner Ministry of Finance while the letter he was replying only asked for approval of the Governor for the Ministry of Works and Transport to contract the job at the new re-negotiated sum of One Billion One Hundred and Fifty Million only.
In his reply, he said that the Governor’s approval also means the release of the complete money earmarked for the project, to avoid abandonment of projects in line with the Rescue Mission Agenda.
Joseph Dina of JPROS International Nig Ltd, in his first interview with the Committee was asked to tell his story.
He informed the committed that he did not apply for the payment but he was nevertheless, not surprised because the Governor has always assured him to continue work that he will pay him 100%. When confronted as to why he will stated that compared to work he has was not overpaid. He promised to show the committee, at the committee’s readiness such works. As to why he abandoned the contract in question, he stated that he did not abandoned the job but agreed that work is slow due to the fact that he is sure of funds. The committee was embarrassed at this juncture considering the amount of money he admitted being paid by the state.
Mr. Joseph shocked the committee by telling the committee that after paying his suppliers he was owing before the payment and paying a total sum of N458.000.000.00 between February and June 2012 at the request and directive of Deputy Governor Sir Jude Agbaso he had no money left to continue the work at the expected pace.
As to the reason behind the payment to Sir Jude Agbaso, he replied that it was in consideration of Sir Jude Agbaso promise to award more contracts of 15 kilometer of Sir Jude Agbaso promise to award more contracts of 15 kilometer roads in two local Government Areas in Imo State. However, Sir Jude Agbaso was for reasons unknown to him unable to award him the promised 15kilometer roads in 2 Local Governments. This led his company into financial crises and inability to deliver the contract in question.
He asserted that he is willing and ready to deliver on the contract if he can get the N458.000.000.00 he gave to His Excellency, Sir Jude Agbaso since he could not award the 15 kilometers roads in the two Local Government which was the reason for giving him the money. But till now he has refused to return the N458.000.000.00.
Mr. Joseph Dina went on to provide the committee with his bank statement from Diamond Bank indicating the transfer of both the first and second money. The photocopies of the cheques he issued to Diamond Bank Plc in order to make the e-payment to the accounts sent to him through short message service (SMS) from His Excellency, Sir Jude Agbaso’s phone No. 0803xxxx421 and a copy of a hand written statement detailing how he used the money to the committee.
The committee further asked him how much he gave to any of these people
1. His Excellency the Governor
2. Her Excellency the wife of the Governor
3. The Speaker Imo House of Assembly
4. Deacon Chike Okafor
5. Mr. George Eche
6. Mr. Paschal C. Obi (KSM)
7. The Chairman House Committee on Works
He said he did not give any of them any money. The committee also asked him how much he gave to Permanent Secretary Mr. Alex Nlebedum, Mr. Joseph Dina murmured and finally said nothing was given to him.
His Excellency, Sir Jude Agbaso in his submission before the committeeinformed the committee that the contractor was appraised and appointed by the Ministry though did not emerge through tender. However that the contractor was selected because he showed capacity by mobilizing equipment to the state at short notice which were publicly displaced at the premises of old Imo Hotel and ready to commence work without mobilization which was in tandem with the style of the Rescue Mission Administration at inception.
On the payment in question relating to the road His Excellency averred that the payment was made by the Office of the Commissioner of Finance and Accountant –General who refused to send the money to the Ministry of Works as contained in the approval as conveyed by Dr. Paschal Obi Principal Secretary to the Governor for reasons known to the two officers.
He contended that, had the money been sent to the Ministry of Works and Transport, the over payment and unearned sum would have been noticed and avoided. Besides, there would have been need to observe compliance with due process by ensuring that payments are based on milestones achieved by the contractor.
On what steps he took when he got approval for release of money to his Ministry when looking at the ordinary meaning of the Permanent Secretary’s request, which was only requesting for Governor’s authorization to contact with Mr. JPROS at the re-negotiated rate of one billion one hundred and fifty million naira, His Excellency the Deputy Governor submitted that he only minuted to his Permanent Secretary “to deal accordingly” and he was not surprised, as the Permanent Secretary’s letter also meant request for release of money.
The committee disagreed with him and put it to him that in believing as he did that the letter dated 3rd February, 2012 meant approval and release of money for the contractor and knowing that the contractor have not earned the requisite certificates, did he not believe that he failed in his duty by not taking steps to stop the payment by advising the Accountant-General’s office as earlier payment including the N200.000.000 (Two Hundred Million Naira) only already paid to the contractor was paid directly by the Accountant-General to the contractor.
His Excellency informed the committee that from January to June he had no dealings with the contractor until June when he learnt that the contractor had been paid. He started calling him but the contractor refused to pick his calls.
His Excellency in answer to the Committee Chairman’s question as to whether he has not been in telephone communication from 1st February to 28th 2012, denied speaking with Mr. Joseph Dina in any form in the month of February 2012 and only remembered occasional former calls in the early days of the award and execution of the contract and visiting the contractors on site. He informed the committee that the contractor has not been to his house before.
However, on Sunday 3rd March 2013, the Rt. Hon. Speaker called the Committee Chairman, Hon Barr. Simeon Iwunze that the Governor wants to see the committee members in the Government House, the committee members were ushered into the governor’s dining area where we met with the elders/advisers of this administration and His Excellency the Deputy Governor with the Governor presiding.
The Governor, informed the audience that he was embarrassed by the Deputy Governor when the Deputy Governor informed him that the House will impeach him on Tuesday being 5th of March. And that the rumour making the rounds is that he collected N450.000.000.00 (Four Hundred and Fifty Million Naira) only from JPROS International Nig Ltd and His Excellency the Governor is travelling so that the Deputy Governor will be impeached in his absence. The governor said that this information jolted him that he had to cancel his proposed medical trip abroad and headed back to Owerri from Abuja. The governor informed the committee members and the elders/advisers that the essence of the gathering was for him to confirm what the problem was between the House of Assembly and the Deputy Governor.
His Excellency the Deputy Governor said that what the governor said was true as to his information to the governor and that he hereby restate that the House of Assembly wants to impeach him and that it was also rumoured that His Excellency the Governor was aware of the plot.
At this juncture, the Committee Chairman who spoke on behalf of the committee informed the audience that the committee is oblivious of any attempt to impeach the Deputy Governor and felt scandalized by the Deputy Governor’s allegation of payment to members by the Governor or any person to impeach the Deputy Governor but informed the audience that the committee is a special committee of the House set up to investigate the remote causes of abandonment of construction of some signature roads of the administration in Owerri, Orlu and Okigwe municipalities.
However, the chairman sought permission of the governor to cross examine the Deputy Governor on the issue of money he personally raised suo moto as the committee was about inviting him the next day being Monday 4th March to answer to some questions relating to exchange of money between the Deputy governor and Mr. Joseph Dina of JPROS international Nig ltd which Mr. Joseph Dina raised when he appeared before the committee. The Governor granted the chairman’s request and it was agreed that if the Deputy Governor elected to answer that the cross-examination, it shall be deemed as an evidence before the committee.
TRANSCRIPT
Chairman: Your Excellency now that you have raised the issue of money, Mr. Joseph Dine told the committee that you sent SMS to him containing two account numbers into which he paid.
1. N325,000,000.00 (Three hundred and twenty five million naira) only in February, shortly after he got the alert of payment.
2. Another N133,000,000.00 (One hundred and thirty three million naira) only in June.
3. So, Your Excellency, did you get the money as you directed Mr. Joseph Dina directly?
Deputy Governor: Meeee eeh? I did not give him any text message. I did not demand for any money from him or receive any money directly or indirectly from Joseph Chairman Your Excellency Sir, Mr. Joseph Dina equally told the committee that he was in your House at MCC road in February 2012
Deputy Governor: He has never been to my house at MCC road whether in February or any other day.
At this juncture the Governor interjected and asked the Deputy Governor “You are my son tell me the truth …. “Did you receive anything so that we can end this matter.
Deputy Governor: Your Excellency I did not receive anything any money from the contractor.
Governor Okorocha: Ok gentlemen…now that this contractor wants to put shit on the face of the executive the State is interested in the matter.
At this juncture His Excellency the Governor set up a committee of all Elders/Advisers of the administration led by Prof Dike SAN to assist the Executive and resolve any face off between the Deputy Governor and the House of assembly if any, but the committee should continue with their assignment and if any body is found guilty he should pay for it including me, the Governor.
The committee reminded the Deputy Governor of his appointment with the committee the following day being Monday at 10am and graciously agreed to oblige the committee.
On Monday 5th of March 2012 at about 10am, His Excellency the Deputy Governor appeared before the committee facing Mr. Joseph Dina of JPROS International Nig. Ltd in the interface with the committee and the following dialogue ensued:
Committee: Mr. Joseph Dina, do you know the person sitting opposite you?
Joseph Dina: Yes I know. He is the Deputy Governor. He is commissioner of works
Committee: What is his name?
Joseph Dina: Sir, Jude Agbaso
Committee: your Excellency, do you know the man sitting opposite you?
Deputy Governor: Yes I know him. He is JPROS
Committee: He said you gave him account numbers via your telephone number 0803xxxx421 directing him to pay a total sum of N458,000,000.00 (four hundred and fifty eight million naira) to those accounts? And that he actually paid in February, 2012 on the receipt of the N1.035,000,000.00 (one billion, thirty five million naira) only the sum of N325,000,000.00 (three and twenty five million naira) in favour of Three Brothers concept Ltd account no, 0045630151 with GT Bank Plc Lagos. Sort code 058266511 drawn on cheque no 30794812 of Diamond bank, account no, 0015810435 belonging to JPROS INT. NIG. LTD and another N133.000.000.00 (one hundred and thirty three million) paid in June to IHSAN BDC LTD account No, 10,5334698. Sort code 033153351 UBA PLC 27 wharf road Apapa Lagos drawn via Diamond Bank Plc cheque no; 42613519 account no 0015810435 belonging to JPROS INT NIG. LTD. Do you have any thing to say?
Deputy Governor: I say before this committee that I did not text JPROS to transfer any money to any A/C and this is the truth. JPROS is telling lies against me. Never did I at any point in time requested JPROS either oral or written to do do. He went on to say,…. “the God that guides Imo State the land of Owerri will punish you and those using you”. The creator of human being knows that you are not saying the truth”.
Committee: Mr. Joseph Dina can you tell the committee the phone number of the Deputy Governor which he used in sending to you the account numbers
Mr. Joseph Dina: Yes I have the number in my phone. (He searches his phone). The number is 0803xxxx421.
Committee: Your Excellency is this your number?
Deputy Governor: Yes it is my number
Committee: Mr. Joseph are these documents the same documents you gave the committee? (Bank documents including his bank statements shown to Mr. Joseph Dina)
Joseph Dina: Yes, Sir, they are.
Committee: Your Excellency Sir, you can you please go through these documents.
Deputy Governor: (after glancing through the documents) well I have no need for these documents. They are his and have nothing to do with me.
Committee: Did His Excellency confirm these monies you said you paid into those accounts you said he tested to you?
Mr. Joseph Dina: Yes , he confirmed them.
Committee: How?
Mr. Joseph: During phone conversations
Committee: Have you been to His Excellency’s house before?
Mr. Joseph: Yes, I have been to his MCC road private House
Deputy Governor: (Interjects) No He has not been to my house
Committee: Mr. Joseph can you describe the type of House where you met him at his MCC road House?
Joseph Dina: Is bungalow. He told me is a factory for garments before.
Deputy Governor: Noo o! Not true
Mr. Joseph: You don’t remember? You told your security to wait for me outside and give me direction because I did not know the place before.
Deputy Governor: Okaaay.. Yes I now recollect
Committee: Your Excellency Sir, are you now retracting your earlier statement that Mr. Joseph Dina have never been to your House at MCC Road?
Deputy Governor: I said I recollect now. So I withdraw my earlier statement.
Committee: Mr. Joseph What side of the house did you sit with His Excellency, the parlour, the bedroom?
Mr. Joseph: His parlour
Committee: can you tell us the sitting arrangement
Joseph Dina: I can’t remember is long time.
Committee: What happened when you got to His Excellency’s House at MCC road did he offer you anything?
Mr. Joseph Dina: No, he did not offer me anything, rather I gave him a bottle of Blue Label (Porsche design) from Mr. Joseph Dina?
Deputy Governor: Yes, I can remember receiving a bottle of Blue Label (Porsche design). You know he came back from abroad and brought me a drink.
Committee: when did this happen, Your Excellency?
Deputy Governor: it was in February 2012.
Committee: that was the same February that the said one billion one hundred and fifty million naira were wired into JPROS International Nig. Ltd account?
Deputy Governor: Y e e e s s!!
Committee: Your Excellency Sir, are you saying in the natural course of events a contractor who was awarded a contract and was suddenly paid without application by him by the state will come back from abroad and did not show ordinary courtesy of informing you. The commissioner that gave him the job in our Nigerian planet, that he has been paid and say thank you?
Deputy Governor: He never told me he had been paid
Joseph Dina: (Interjects) I told you. You said you give me text message
Deputy Governor: You are evil. You are evil. Is this the kind of creature you are?
Committee: Your Excellency Sir, if you are right this contractor must be the worst specie of ingrates
Committee: Mr. Joseph Dina do you have any other thing to tell this committee?
Joseph Dina: Yes, I equally met him once at his elder brother’s country home in his village. He was in company of the manager of Diamond bank plc Douglas Road branch Owerri – a woman.
Deputy Governor: This man is something else. You have never met me in my village.
Joseph Dina: You don’t remember. We walked outside towards the golf course area. Oh Your Excellency you don’t remember. You know Engr. Tim?
Deputy Governor: Yes I know Engr. Tim. Is my Chief of staff.
Joseph Dina: you remember you sent him to me to negotiate 10%for the job at the beginning of the job.
Deputy Governor: Is not true
Joseph Dina: You don’t remember? In your office. You showed me big files Ohakim files. You tell me help bring expert go through Ohakim files. You give jobs when I tell you that I gave Ohakim money he did not give contract. You said now is my turn to punish him back. I bring expert to help you look Ohakim files and you give me jobs and I give you 10% you remember?
Deputy Governor: Well I have told you this man is evil. He is from Hell.
Joseph Dina: Ok, you say I lie tell MTN give you call log. No no give you date data to show text message. I apply my own we compare.
Findings:
1. A total sum of N1,235,000,000 (one billion two hundred and fifty billion naira paid to JPROS International Nig. Ltd
2. Not withstanding that the permanent secretary ministry of works and transport only applied for His Excellency’s approval to enter into a contract for the construction of 3 non of roads namely warehouse –Orlu road junction Odunze street –Aba road Amaigbo street to old Nekede road a re-negotiated price of N1.150,000,000.00 (one billion, one hundred and fifty million naira) the principal secretary to the Governor conveyed approval and release of funds at the same time to the ministry of Finance and endorsed same to His Excellency the deputy governor/commissioner for works and transport and Accountant-General for their information and necessary action for the contract which is the pattern of this administration to ensure consistent flow of funds earmarked for the execution of the project as a guarantee against abandonment of projects.
3. The Accountant-General made the payment directly to the contractor JPROS International Nig. Ltd without first sending the money to the ministry of works and Transport in line with approval of His Excellency because as that time, consistent with exco memo to that effect, payment of contracts were being affected directly from the office of the accountant-General on behalf of the concerned MDA’S that have projects covered under State of Emergency declared in area of Infrastructure especially roads, at the inception of the administration.
4. The committee found laxity and lack of sense of duty in the hierarchy of the ministry of works and transport in taking appropriate steps as directed by the Governor to achieve objectives of the Rescue mission administration with regard to the contract in question. The committee frowned at the fact that it took ministry of works four months in their own words (February –June when approval was endorsed to them and when the overpayment was discovered) preparing contract papers.
5. The committee holds the view that the evidence before it consistent with facts that Mr. Joseph Dina of JPROS International Nig. Ltd transfer the total sum of N458,000,000.00 (four hundred and fifty eight million naira only) in two installments to accounts nominated by the Deputy Governor, His Excellency Sir Jude Agbaso.
6. The committee holds the view that the payment N458,000,000.00 (four hundred and fifty eight million by JPROS INTER NIG LTD out of the N1,035,000.000.00 (One Billion. Thirty Five Million Naira) only received by the contractor was the sole cause of abandonment of work on the project in question.
7. The Committee holds that the defenses put forward by the Deputy Governor, His Excellency Sir Jude Agbaos were totally inconsistent with the facts and documentary evidence brought before the committee. He lied over matters within his personal knowledge and thereby put his credibility in doubt in the eye of the committee.
8. The Committee was of the view that the Deputy Governor His Excellency, Sir Jude Agbaso for personal/proprietary interests (vide admitted receipt of Blue Label Porsche Design) decided to turn a blind eye to loss of public funds by the state and tried to hide under the cover of not making the payment directly whereas corruptly enriching himself there from and thereby abused his office as Deputy Governor and Commissioner for Works and Transport.
9. It is the opinion of the committee that his denial that he only knew that JPROS was paid N1,035,000.000.00 (One Billion Thirty Five Million Naira) only 4 months after the payment, was pre-mediated, and was intended to cover any behind the scene transaction with the contractor arising out of the payment to the contractor.
10. The committee also observed that the contractor was willing to continue with the job.
Recommendation:
The committee having weighed the evidence before it hereby recommends:
1. That a vote of no confidence be passed on the Deputy Governor, His Excellency Sir Jude Agbaso for acts unbecoming of his person and office.
2. The Head of Service should immediately commence disciplinary action in accordance with Civil Service rules against the Permanent Secretary Mr. Alex Nlebedum, Director of Planning, Research and Statistics and Resident Engineer attached to the contract for criminal negligence in the performance of their duties and report to the House of Assembly within fourteen days.
3. The State and Local Governments of Imo should blacklist Messrs JPROS International Nig Ltd from doing business with them in future after completion of the existing contracts.
4. That the Attorney-General/ Commissioner for Justice should take measures to ensure immediate recovery of the sum of N200,000.000.00 (Two Hundred Million Naira) being over payment to Messrs JPROS International Nig Ltd on the said contract.
5. The Attorney-General/Commissioner for Justice and Commissioner for Works do take immediate steps to ensure completion of the contract or recover the amount presently unearned as per certified work done by the contractor under the contract. In event of inability of the contractor to complete the contract under terms of Contract Agreement.
Conclusion
The Committee is grateful to the Rt. Hon Speaker and the House for the opportunity to be of service
Hon. Barr Simeon Iwunze - Chairman
Hon. Innocent Ekeh - Member
Hon. Barr Greg Okemili - Member
Hon Kingsley Dimaku - Member
Hon. Samuel Anyanwu - Member
Hon. Barr. Ikenna Emeh
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Gunmen believed to be kidnappers attacked a commercial vehicle belonging to Benue Links, the state-owned transport company.
About 17 candidates travelling to Otukpo for their examination centres in the ongoing Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) are feared to have been abducted, although the exact number of victims remains unclear.
Information available to our correspondent says that the incident took place between 7–8 p.m. on Wednesday, April 15, along the Benue Burnt Bricks in Otukpo, Otukpo Local Government Area (LGA) of Benue State.
According to sources, the assailants waylaid the bus and robbed the occupants of their belongings before whisking them away into the bush.
An eyewitness, who spoke to journalists on the condition of anonymity, said the Benue Links bus, which was conveying about 18 passengers, ran into the kidnappers at about 8:00 p.m. on Wednesday night.
“The passengers were mainly young persons heading to Otukpo to sit for the JAMB examination scheduled for Thursday.
“Two people, the driver and one passenger, managed to escape. Incidentally, the passengers were mainly young men and women who travelled to sit for the JAMB examination scheduled for today (Thursday),” he said.
When contacted, the General Manager of Benue Links, Mr Alexander Fanafa, confirmed the incident, noting that the driver of the bus is presently undergoing interrogation at the police station in Otukpo for violating the company’s safety policy not to travel beyond 6:00 p.m.
He said, “As I speak with you, the driver has been arrested and is under investigation for traveling against company directive. I have warned all drivers to stop night journeys, as they would be held as first suspects if anything unfortunate happens.”
The General Manager further stated that the driver took his vehicle and loaded the passengers who were heading to Otukpo after official hours when the park manager, Mr Amedu, had closed, and ran into trouble, so he has been arrested.
The Executive Chairman of Otukpo Local Government Council, Prince Maxwell Ogiri, confirmed the incident, saying that it occurred between 7 and 8 p.m. on Wednesday.
He added that security agents have been mobilized to rescue the victims, stating that the victims are all young people coming to Otukpo to write JAMB examinations.
“It is true, I’m just coming out from a security meeting, and security operatives have been moved into the forest to help rescue the kidnapped victims.
“The victims are mainly young boys and girls coming to Otukpo to write JAMB,” Ogiri said.
However, when contacted, the Benue State Commissioner of Police, Ifeanyi Emenari, confirmed the situation, but said 14 passengers were kidnapped, while one passenger escaped.
The commissioner disclosed that he had already arrived in Otukpo and is conducting the rescue operation.
“I am in Otukpo now with all my team and DPOs who are here in the bush, and I am heading the operation.
“What happened was that one Benue Links bus carrying passengers coming to Otukpo was stopped and attacked by hoodlums, and 14 passengers were kidnapped, but one was able to escape,” he said.
According to him, the command had commenced an investigation into the incident, particularly the circumstances surrounding the journey.
He maintained that Benue Links management has a policy against night travel, but the driver allegedly picked up passengers after official hours.
“We know that Benue Links has a policy and don’t usually drive at night. So from what I got, they have already closed, but the driver, for reasons best known to him which we are still trying to find out, picked passengers along the road, and when he came here, the story you have is what we are having.
“But as we are investigating, we are on the ground to make sure that the victims are rescued,” Emenari said.
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There are governments that save for the rainy day, governments that prepare for the storm, and governments that, when the heavens open and money falls like tropical rain, rush outside with buckets full of holes. Nigeria, under President Bola Tinubu, has perfected a fourth category: the government that borrows during a windfall. It is a feat of fiscal acrobatics so astonishing that even the most cynical observers of Abuja’s budgetary theatre must pause in admiration. For decades, Nigeria has squandered oil booms with the reliability of a metronome. But this administration has achieved something more ambitious: it has managed to squander a boom before it even finishes arriving.
The US–Iran war has sent oil prices soaring to $115 per barA Government Addicted to Debtrel, nearly double the government’s benchmark of $64.85. Nigeria is earning an extra $92 million every single day; a torrent of unbudgeted cash that would make even the most jaded petro state accountant blush. In barely a month, Abuja has pocketed almost $3 billion in windfall revenue. If the conflict drags on, the country could rake in $30–$36 billion this year alone. And what has the Tinubu administration done with this unexpected bounty? Why, it has gone on a borrowing binge, of course.
In the past week alone, the National Assembly approved: a $5 billion loan from First Abu Dhabi Bank; a $1 billion UKEF backed loan for Lagos ports; a $6 billion external borrowing package, rubber stamped in under four hours, and a N68.323 trillion budget; the largest in Nigeria’s history. This is not fiscal policy. This is a national credit card with no spending limit. Nigeria’s public debt now hovers around $115 billion, and debt servicing will gulp N20.5 trillion in 2026; more than the budgets of health, education, and infrastructure combined. Yet the government borrows as though it were a teenager discovering online shopping for the first time. One might have expected that a historic oil windfall would inspire restraint. Instead, Abuja behaves like a gambler who wins the lottery and immediately takes out a loan to buy more lottery tickets.
The Senate: From Upper Chamber to Upper Cashier
The Senate’s role in this farce deserves special mention. Once conceived as a check on executive excess, it now functions as a conveyor belt for presidential loan requests. The $6 billion borrowing package was approved with the speed of a fast food order; no debate, no scrutiny, no hesitation. Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, hardly a stranger to Nigeria’s fiscal melodramas, described the approval as “reckless urgency.” He is being polite. The Senate has not merely abdicated oversight; it has embraced its new role as a ceremonial stamp of approval, a kind of legislative rubber chicken waved over every loan document. One wonders whether senators even bother to read the fine print anymore, or whether they simply check the exchange rate, sigh, and sign.
The Oil Windfall That Will Not Be Saved
Other countries treat oil windfalls as blessings. Norway built a sovereign wealth fund so large it could buy entire countries. Saudi Arabia uses its surpluses to diversify its economy. Even Angola; long mocked for its corruption, has learned to stash away a portion of its oil riches. Nigeria, by contrast, treats windfalls as invitations to spend more, borrow more, and plan less. The Excess Crude Account, once envisioned as a rainy day fund, is now emptier than a politician’s promise after election day. The Sovereign Wealth Fund is a polite fiction. And fiscal discipline is a rumor whispered in the corridors of the Ministry of Finance. The tragedy is not that Nigeria is poor. The tragedy is that Nigeria is mismanaged.
The revised N68.323 trillion budget is a monument to fiscal optimism. It allocates N15.8 trillion to debt servicing; N15.4 trillion to recurrent expenditure, and N32.2 trillion to capital projects, many of them rolled over from previous years because the government failed to implement them. This is not a budget. It is a wish list. The government insists that the spending spree will “stimulate growth,” “unlock infrastructure,” and “stabilize the economy.” These are the same phrases Nigerian governments have used since the 1970s, usually moments before the economy collapses under the weight of its own contradictions.
Borrowing to Service Borrowing
The most farcical element of the Tinubu administration’s fiscal strategy is its reliance on borrowing to service existing borrowing. Nigeria now borrows to pay interest on previous loans, borrows to refinance old debts, borrows to fund recurrent expenditure, and borrows to cover budget gaps. This is not fiscal management. It is a Ponzi scheme with national colors. The administration insists that the debt is “sustainable.” So did Greece in 2008. So did Argentina in 2001. So did Nigeria in the 1980s; right before the IMF arrived with structural adjustment programs (SAP) that Nigerians still curse today.
Nigeria’s economy is a house built on sand: the naira remains fragile, inflation is suffocating households, foreign investors are fleeing, debt service consumes most of national revenue, oil production is unstable and non oil revenue is anemic. And yet, in the middle of this storm, the government has chosen to borrow more; at a moment when it should be saving aggressively. The oil windfall is a gift. But gifts require stewardship. And stewardship requires discipline. Neither is in abundant supply in Abuja.
Conclusion: A Nation at the Edge of a Fiscal Cliff
The expanded budget includes lavish allocations to the judiciary ahead of the 2027 elections, feasibility studies for politically convenient infrastructure, and capital projects that conveniently align with electoral maps. This is not economic planning. It is election year choreography. Nigeria is not being prepared for the future. It is being prepared for the polls.
The Tinubu administration inherited a difficult economy. But it has chosen to make it worse. Instead of using the oil windfall to rebuild reserves, strengthen the currency, reduce borrowing, and stabilize the economy, it has embarked on a reckless spending spree financed by loans that future generations will be forced to repay. Nigeria is earning billions, and saving nothing. And it is borrowing everything. History will not be kind to this moment. Nor will the bond markets. In the end, Nigeria’s tragedy is not that it lacks resources. It is that it lacks restraint. And in Abuja today, restraint is as scarce as electricity.
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In The Spotlight
On Friday, Nigeria’s Defence Headquarters confirmed the death of the Commander of the 29 Task Force Brigade in Benisheikh, Borno State, Brigadier General Oseni Braimah, and three other soldiers, following a ruthless attack on the military formation. Though this confirmation calmed initial reports that more than 17 soldiers were killed in the April 9, 2026 attack, it, however, ignited a deeper cause for concern among Nigerians, considering the fact that just about five months earlier, another brigadier general, Musa Uba, was murdered in cruel but avoidable circumstances near Wajiroko, in the same Borno State.
The attack on the military formation was not the only terrorist strike that week. That same Thursday, the devastating news of the soldiers who paid the supreme price had not been fully digested when another report filtered in, at night, that no fewer than eight persons had been killed by gunmen, in Mbwelle village, Bokkos Local Government Area of Plateau State. This was besides the bloodshed recorded in Shanga Local Government Area of Kebbi State on Easter Sunday, where 24 people were killed, according to the Kontagora Catholic Diocese, and in Kebbi and Kwara states, where 49 villagers were reportedly killed on Friday.
Despite the confusion, mourning and grief that followed the killing of these helpless civilians in various communities, described by authorities as some of the deadliest incidents recorded in recent months, the report of the military formation invasion and the killing of soldiers specifically caused panic attacks among citizens and gave a “hopeless situation” slant to the worsening security crisis. And this has become a trend since the beginning of the Boko Haram insurgency in 2009.
It is true that Nigeria’s security forces under the current administration have been dismantling bandit networks and killing scores of terrorists. But the relentless attacks on innocent citizens, which have led to the death of over 10,000 people in two years, and the kidnapping of more than 1,100 people in northern Nigeria, in just four months, appear to have enveloped security agencies’ efforts and boxed the current All Progressives Congress administration into a more precarious corner than previous opposition governments.
A few analysts have tried to compare the security situation under the late former President Muhammadu Buhari with the situation now. While some scored the President Bola Tinubu administration above his predecessor’s, others like Olu Fasan, in his article: “Recurring bloodbath: Nigeria is too fragile, too fractured to be safe”, said, “It has taken Tinubu less than three years in office to achieve a worse security situation than Buhari did in (his) eight years in power.”
I may not directly agree with this notion, but I know that the prevailing economic hardship or widespread poverty in the country, despite significant, growth-targeted policy reforms like exchange rate unification, subsidy removal, and fiscal coordination, can be justifiably linked to rising insecurity.
The Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic Research, in a 2024 study brief, titled: “Insecurity takes the lead as the key driver of poverty in Nigeria”, said, “Once a country experiences conflict and insecurity, it faces a reversal of economic development, which in turn increases the likelihood of further conflict, resulting in a cycle economists refer to as doom-loop. By undermining household livelihood activities on massive scales in Nigeria, increasing insecurity in the last five years has not only intensified poverty in the country, but has also opened up new frontiers of multidimensional poverty across Nigeria.”
Insecurity, according to NISER, drives poverty by disrupting and destroying livelihood activities and by reducing access to basic needs, thereby stifling meaningful improvement in the quality of life in Nigeria. This argument can be better appreciated if one considers how many Nigerians have abandoned leisure or commercial farming, especially in rural areas, owing to rising insecurity.
It would be unfair to pin the blame for this lingering crisis on the current administration; past governments were not also able to do much to stem the tide. But the fact that political IOUs seemed to have trumped competence during the initial formation of President Tinubu’s cabinet inadvertently gave room for unpalatable political treatment of delicate security matters across the states.
The Ministry of Defence, according to analysts, was the worst hit until recently, as analysts found it difficult to decode the consideration behind the choice of the two ministers who were initially saddled with such a priority responsibility. Perhaps, if the issue of security had been given the kind of attention it is being given now, from the beginning of the current administration, the terrorists might not have been this emboldened amid international focus.
The result is that, unlike when Nigeria was ranked the Number One Destination for Investment in Africa for two consecutive years (2012 and 2013), other African countries have, since then, continued to displace the nation, owing to a combination of factors, including accessibility and innovation, economic stability and investment climate, among others.
Of the 31 countries that were tracked in the 2024 edition of the “Where to Invest in Africa” report, published by Rand Merchant Bank and the Gordon Institute of Business Science, Nigeria was ranked as the ninth most viable destination for investment in Africa, behind South Africa, in fourth position; and Ghana, sixth. The 2025 report sadly reflected a further decline for Nigeria, by nine places, to the 18th position.
It doesn’t take an economist to understand that banditry, kidnapping, killings, among other forms of security crisis being witnessed on a large scale in Nigeria, can seriously damage the investment climate and trigger capital flight. Any government that picks the socio-economic well-being of its citizens as Number One on its priority chart must, therefore, go all out to first ensure the security of lives and property, against all odds.
That the Federal Government has published a list of 48 individuals linked to terrorism financing is a step in the right direction. That it has also secured 386 convictions, out of 508 cases in a mass terrorists’ trial, is another feat that can deter others and stem the tide, but politicians must, in the interest of the masses and the well-being of the nation, stop playing politics with this sensitive issue of insecurity.
Rather than mock or blame the APC administration for the current predicament, opposition figures and Nigerians as a whole must converge on the need to be united against this monster. However, the Tinubu administration must also avoid actions or statements that could trigger a revolt at this period. With the economic challenges from almost every angle, Nigerians seem to be constantly on edge.
In March 2014, the APC, then the main opposition party, lambasted the former President Goodluck Jonathan administration for trying to cover up its “incompetence and cluelessness” in tackling the Boko Haram insurgency.
The APC, in a statement signed by Lai Mohammed, its interim National Publicity Secretary at the time, said, “A country that has no discernible counter-terrorism strategy that will clearly identify the multiple means for preventing, responding and defeating terrorist groups, including the alignment of political, military, social and economic instruments and objectives, cannot expect to successfully battle any insurgency.”
Now that the APC is the ruling party, and Nigeria is still not out of the woods, should citizens still agree with the party’s assertion? How the authorities handle the situation will determine the answer. What goes around comes around!
In The Spotlight
Nearly 40 years ago in London, I was invited to dinner by a Nigerian woman I knew in Lagos.
She had described the place in general terms, but I arrived at an upscale home with some serious luxury. She was kind enough to show me around, and following a stylish dinner, she described how she had acquired the place, mentioning headline Nigerian names.
I had no reason to doubt her: some of them called during the evening. I declined her offer to share her conversations with them.
It was my personal introduction to the scale of Nigerian property in the English capital, as she described who owned what or lived where.
While my visits to England at the time were work-related and I had little time to socialise, I did meet several teenage Nigerian students whose parents were glad to send them abroad for education.
They patrolled the streets of London in exotic cars, and I thought it was ironic that, in isolation away from Nigeria, the young ladies were often being manipulated by their fathers’ friends.
In the decades that followed, I read stories of politically exposed Nigerians, particularly state governors, for whom the UK was the first address in money laundering.
On a few occasions, I have alluded to that phenomenon in this column. They acquired expensive homes, cars and even gold phones. One, Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, fled London disguised as a woman. Another, James Ibori, was tried and jailed.
Keep in mind that there have been about 185 governors since May 1999, and that London is nearly always their first port of call.
It is humbling to reflect on what percentage of this number has, in the past 26 years, sunk Nigerian wealth into the soil of England, with considerable swathes lost to middlemen and smooth women.
Remember: in 2006, the then-Minister of State for Finance, Nenadi Usman, criticised governors, saying that they disappeared abroad just days after receiving state allocations and after visiting Bureau De Change operators.
In 2007, a famous Human Rights Watch report, “Chop Fine,” described the case of Rivers State in grim detail.
The problem is that it is not always governors, as demonstrated by the story, “Abuja on Thames,” which appeared in the British monthly, Private Eye, in March 2019. That month, I commented on that story, which involved the astonishing wealth in that country of Paul Ogwuma, a former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria.
The full Nigerian picture of capital flight, elite consumption, and political patronage was on display when the Panama Papers in 2016 and the Pandora Papers in 2021, two massive international media investigations in which our Premium Times participated, uncovered how the world’s rich and powerful deploy offshore mechanisms to hide their possessions.
As always happens, no Nigerian lost a kobo, let alone a heartbeat, as a result of those investigations, because in Nigeria, crime and hypocrisy quite literally pay.
And then in 2024, a list appeared of 58 deceased Nigerians with unclaimed assets in the UK, as part of a daily-updated “Bona Vacantia” (BV) list, meaning that having remained unclaimed, they are now considered the property of the Crown.
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The Nigerian government does not inform Nigerians about the BV list or the claims process, so those properties are probably lost forever.
Remember also, the case of Nigerian “government” property on the verge of forfeiture in the UK a few years ago. In New York and Maryland, in the US, Nigerian governors and diplomats have left behind a long trail of property issues. In 2012, Alamieyeseigha forfeited $401,931 in traceable assets to the US government when President Jonathan’s government failed to claim them.
And so, the rich continue to flourish, and in January 2026, Tax Policy Associates of the UK published the extensive investigation, ‘Who secretly owns Britain? The hidden offshore owners of £460bn of UK property.’
A report in The Londoner, based on that investigation, peeled back the layers to link the late Herbert Wigwe, the former chief executive of Access Holdings, to about 106 properties. That placed him at No. 7 on a list of “The overseas power players in London’s property market,” with each property registered under shell companies outside the country, leaving none of them directly traceable to him.
While some of these practices are legal, especially on the part of private businessmen, the problem is that Nigeria has, for decades, been burdened by an army of much smaller ants eating away at her. Most of them are pillars of society, either claiming sainthood or praying for it, while the people from whom they amassed their wealth starve to death.
But there is another side: in Nigeria, the Tax Policy Associates investigation, like the arrests of Dariye and Alamieyeseigha and the trial of Ibori, would have been impossible.
“Abuja on Thames” would never have been investigated or published. Not the Pandora Papers. Not the Panama Papers.
Because we are traders. We are either buying or selling. When the aroma of money or power is present, some would sell their very souls. It is why we are where we are.
The system, of course, is in many ways pre-rigged. On real estate matters, we operate a fragmented administrative system with multiple overlapping authorities, incomplete digitisation, and overwhelming opacity. The FCT and state capitals are stories of greed.
This is because the Land Use Act vests all land in each state in the governor (and the President for the FCT). This means that, technically, no one “owns” land outright; one only holds a Certificate of Occupancy. That creates enormous scope for discretionary allocation and corruption, since governors and the FCT minister can grant or revoke rights, and often do.
This is why an FCT minister is a king. He can allocate land to whomever he pleases:
Relatives of the First Lady were thrice removed.
His wife.
Fourth cousins.
Underage children.
Governors, again.
EFCC officials.
ICPC officials.
Code of Conduct Bureau officials.
Girlfriends and their friends.
Supreme Court judges.
Court of Appeal judges.
INEC officials.
Senators.
Top police officers.
Among others, remember the FCT land scam of 2004; the Ministerial allegations involving the current FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike; and the 57 multi-billion-naira properties linked to former Attorney-General Abubakar Malami.
Just imagine what a Tax Policy Associates-style investigation of real estate ownership in Nigeria’s big cities would reveal.
Because in Nigeria, power is deployed into service only when we pray in the mosque or the church. Outside that, power is for the self.
And if you can export that power abroad in funds that belong to the commonwealth, to deprive other Nigerians of it and make you live like a king forever, so much the better!
Sonala Olumhense