New Telegraph

Probe: Reps, PRODA spar over alleged violation of procurement act

PHILIP NYAM reports on the twists and turns over recommendation by the House of Representatives for the presidency to sanction the Director General and other staff of the Project Development Institute (PRODA

 

For about two weeks in February this year, the House of Representatives Committee on Public Procurement headed by Hon. Nasir Ali Ahmed (APC, Kano) spent several hours every day to investigate allegations of “procurement deception, staff victimisation and violation of the Public Procurement Act, 2007 at the Project Development Institute (PRODA), Enugu. As it is usual with many public investigations, there were series of revelations from presentations made by key players and stakeholders.

The committee eventually turned in its report with recommendations, which were adopted by the House last Thursday.

However, the recommendations did not go down well with the management and board of PRODA, which consequently raised an alarm and made further allegations against the House through the chairman of its board, Comrade Daniel Onjeh.

 

While the House urged the anti- corruption agencies to further investigate the indicted officials, PRODA equally called for the investigation of some members of the House committee for alleged complicity in the contract and procurement violation at the agency.

 

At the committee of the whole of the House presided over by the Deputy Speaker, Hon. Ahmed Idris Wase, the lawmakers in adopting the recommendations by the Committee on Public Procurement, direced the Federal Government to suspend the acting Director General of PRODA, Engr. Fabian Okonkwo, for alleged violation of the Public Procurement Act, 2007.

 

Other recommendations approved by the House include “that all the contracts that were awarded by the acting Director-general of Project Development Institute (PRODA) Enugu, Engr. Fabian Okonkwo, remain nullified and all monies paid to companies that were awarded contracts illegally, should be recovered by relevant government anti-graft agencies immediately as well as freezing of accounts of those companies that were paid illegally.”

 

The House further recommended that “the Okonkwo should be suspended with immediate effect and handed over to the relevant anti-graft agencies for investigation in line with the provisions of sections 53 and 58 of the Public Procurement Act, 2007 and that all staff of PRODA involved in the illegal payment of contractors should be referred to the relevant anti-graft agencies for investigation and prosecution.

 

“That all contractors who have completed and verified their jobs under the 2020 Appropriation Act should be paid by PRODA immediately, and all payments should be completed before 31 March, 2021; that the Procurement Unit of PRODA should be headed by the most senior certified and converted procurement officer and the use of non-procurement officers in approving payments on procurement GIFMIS platform should be stopped with immediate effect.”

 

Other recommendations are “that the Secretary to the Government of the Federation/ Presidency should sanction the governing board of PRODA for interfering in the executive functions of PRODA’s management, an example is its directive to the acting Director General to re-activate an account with a bank in gross violation of the president’s order on Treasury Single Account (TSA) as well as its directive to the acting Director General to cancel and re-award contracts that have been completed by contractors; “That the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology and Secretary to the Government of the Federation should ensure that the affairs of the agency should be handed over to the most senior person that is not involved in these allegations, relying strictly on the instant circulars from the Secretary to the Government of the Federation with regards to handover of headship of agencies, until the determination of the investigative panel set up by Secretary to the Government of the Federation. This has to be done with immediate effect to avoid vacuum in the agency and smooth running of the agency.

 

“That the Head of Accounts, Mr. Patrick Nebuwa, who connived  with the acting Director General and PRODA board to make illegal payment and reactivate account with a bank in total disregard to the president’s directive on Treasury Single Account (TSA) and without approval from the Accountant General’s Office, should also be suspended with immediate effect and handed over to relevant government anti-graft agencies for immediate investigation and prosecution.

 

“That the withdrawal and reversal of malicious unwarranted disciplinary actions against staff of the Institute and all staff posting be reversed immediately in the interest of industrial harmony; that the allegation of extortion of money from contractors against Comrade Daniel Onjeh, the former chairman of the governing board of PRODA, was outside the scope of the committee’s mandate and therefore, advise the complainants to take relevant legal step if necessary, and that the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) should conduct a Post Procurement Audit of PRODA from 2015 to date and report back to the committee within four weeks.”

 

In a swift reaction, the governing board of PRODA also called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) to immediately investigate members of the House Committee on Public Procurement for alleged contract scam and receipt of payments on unexecuted phony contracts.

 

Chairman of the board, Comrade Onjeh, who made the call on behalf of the board and management of PRODA also accused the lawmakers of conniving with the suspended Director General of the agency, Engr. Agulanna to perpetrate the contract and public procurement violation.

 

According to him, “they colluded with the agency’s suspended Director General on several occasions and received full payments for contracts without proof to justify government spending of such huge sums. His words: “Sadly, they have been doing this for several years! Unfortunately for them, they hit the rock this time around, with the current governing board in place. We have discovered that most PRODA contractors are mere fronts for NASS members, used as conduit pipes for siphoning monies meant for zonal and constituency projects.

 

“That is simply why they are trying to blackmail PRODA’s current management and its governing board into paying for phony contracts unlawfully, illegally, and invalidly awarded by an unauthorised staff, who is a stooge of the agency’s suspended DG; a staff who was never in fact, and in the eyes of the law, appointed acting DG/CEO by the Commanderin- Chief, President Muhammadu Buhari.

 

“The contracts awarded by Mr. Nathan Abia-Bassey, were awarded in breach of the Public Procurement Act 2007, which stipulates that only the DG shall sign and award contracts.”

Onjeh further alleged that “Abia- Bassey just sat down and singlehandedly and unlawfully awarded contracts to NASS contractors, without a meeting/approval of the PRODA management tender’s board. That is what the honourable members of the House of Reps are fighting tooth and nail to defend.”

 

The board chairman also alleged that “the House speaker, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamilia, who claimed the contractors of House of Representatives members have completed their projects, as such should be paid, was also reported to have commissioned PRODA Wifi project in selected tertiary institutions in Lagos, without the bills of quantities, scope of work and other relevant procurement documents, when in actual sense, these contracts were invalidly issued.

 

“Most of the projects the National Assembly members claim their contractors have completed are in several instances without site locations, bills of quantities, scope of work, drawings etc.

 

“I, therefore, wish to make it clear that the acting DG of PRODA is innocent of all the gamut of falsehood concocted against him by the House committee on public procurement, and is undaunted by the House of Reps’ order for his immediate suspension and prosecution. “The current PRODA board and management is determined to do what is right in the agency, to act for the first time, purely in public interest and in line with the anticorruption stance of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration.

 

The mindless fleecing of our collective wealth by a few, with the active collusion of some National Assembly members, must stop forthwith”, he stated. As it stands, analysts are of the view that only an independent investigation outside these two bodies will actually unearth the truth about the various allegations being bandied by both the House and the governing board of PRODA.

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