New Telegraph

Twists and turns as Reps probe PRODA procurement, contracts

The House of Representatives’ investigations into allegations of abuse of procurement process and allied corrupt practices at the Product Development Institute (PRODA) got underway last week. PHILIP NYAM reviews the proceedings

 

It is fast becoming a tradition that every investigation carried out by the House of Representatives or the National Assembly is always dogged by controversy or multiple allegations of corruption. Consequently, most of these investigations often end abruptly or in dispute. The House Committee on Public Procurement’s investigations into the alleged procurement deception, staff victimization and ongoing management problems at the Project Development Institute (PRODA), Enugu, under the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology seems to be following a similar road as it has been dogged by various controversies.

 

The probe:

The public procurement investigation into allegations of fraud at PRODA opened last Thursday with Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila declaring it opened. In his address, which was read by the Chief Whip, Hon. Mohammed Monguno, the Speaker said “it is hoped that the resolution reached at the end of this public hearing, will be a replica of the wishes of the stakeholders, but in consonance with the wishes of the public”.

 

In his welcome address, chairman of the committee, Hon. Nasir Ahmed(APC, Kano), disclosed that the committee’s task, is the “Investigation of the procurement deception, staff victimization and ongoing management problem in PRODA”

He expressed dismay that the management led by the acting Director-General, Mr. Fabian Okonkwo could not attend the hearing and did not deem it fit to reach out to him. According to him, “I am actually shocked, that they have refused to appear before us. With or without them, the investigation will continue and we will do a thorough job”.

 

The issues:

 

Appearing before the committee, the suspended Director-General, Engr. Charles Agulanna, defended his decision to ignore the directive of the federal government to hand over to the most senior director.

 

He said his decision to choose a deputy director, Nathan Abia-Bassey over the most senior director, Edwin Oriaku and other directors was based on disciplinary matters against them. The suspended DG said his action was based on a circular issued by the Secretary to the Government of Federation (SGF) on December 4, 2017, which he noted spells out succession guidelines for transfer of power at the end of the tenure of heads of extra-ministerial departments, directors-general, chief executive officers of parastatals, agencies, commissions and government-owned companies.

 

Conflicting presentations:

 

At the investigation, the committee queried the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Science and Technology, Mr. Sunday Edet Akpan, over the whereabouts of the acting director-general, Mr. Fabian Okonwko. Akpan admitted that the absentee Okonkwo was fully briefed but could not say why he decided not to attend. When asked whether it was right      for Comrade Daniel Onje, who had been directed to “step aside” to use the agency’s letterhead, the permanent secretary said it was wrong.

Following Akpan’s submission, chairman of the committee, Ahmed, ruled that Onje’s action amounted to forgery and impersonation, adding that, “The committee, after due receipt of presentations, resolved that PRODA should publish widely, denying Mr. Onje and making it public, his alleged falsification of the letterhead of the agency and impersonation of the chairman of its board”, Ahmed announced.

 

The immediate past acting DG of the Institute, Mr. Nathan Abia-Bassey, in his reaction to the suspicion of fraud in contracting at the agency, also indicted the former chairman and members of the board. He said all contracts awarded under his leadership followed due process because the agency obtained a letter of no objection from the BPP for selective tendering in the award of contracts.

 

He said the BPP had directed that the procurements to be executed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic would be emergency procurement method instead of the default open competitive bidding method.

 

He submitted that “The suspended governing board chairman (Onje) wrote to BPP not to grant the approval for the selective tendering method for reasons not known to us. “Some of the Institute’s proactive measures opting for selective tendering method, were due to the limited time for the implementation of the 2020 budget and the constraints associated with the COVID-19.

Board reaction:

But Onje, in reaction to the allegations leveled against him, cleared himself of “forgery and impersonation ” insisting that he was still the chairman of the board of PRODA but was only asked to step aside pending the completion of an investigation into the agency.

Onje, equally denied allegations of corruption and rather accused lawmakers of complicity in the corruption going on at PRODA. He said “One is the allegation of forg- ery and impersonation of the chairman of PRODA, an allegation that I consider infantile, petty and ludicrous, because it smacks of the height of their desperation to silence me in the face of the palpable rot at PRODA; for which some of the Reps members are undeniably accomplices in the retardation of the Institute. That’s why they conveniently fed the public with half-truths surrounding the circumstances.

 

“What they termed “forgery and impersonation,” was simply that I wrote to them on my letterhead, in response to an invitation they had earlier extended to me, which they duly addressed to me in my capacity as the chairman of the governing board of PRODA.

 

“Consequently, I led other board members to appear before the Independent Investigative Panel of the SGF on 13th February, 2021 in Abuja, and the panel directed me as the board chairman, to make the presentation on behalf of the board.

 

So how does that amount to impersonation? “To shed further light on the issue, I was invited by the House of Reps committee on public procurement on 16th February, 2021, and the letter was forwarded to me by the acting DG of PRODA, Engr. Dr. Fabian Okonkwo on 16h February, 2021. Upon enquiry if the board was the only body invited, the acting DG said that he was equally invited, and that the letter sent to him was addressed in the capacity of his office as acting DG.

 

He also informed me that the suspended DG of PRODA was invited, and addressed in his current capacity as “suspended DG”. “Now the question is; how does what I have done amount to impersonation or forgery?”

 

“One would wonder why the National Assembly wishes to silence me, or what they seek to achieve by maligning my character. But I know that their struggle is all about their schemes to divert the N11 billion capital budget of PRODA, as has been the case in previous years where contractors fronting for National Assembly members colluded with the suspended DG of the PRODA, Engr. Agulanna, to embezzle public funds meant for zonal and constituency development projects, initiatives intended to alleviate the plight of the teeming masses at the grassroots.

 

 

“The public needs to know that several billion have been claimed previously via such underground channels, without evidence of commensurate value provided for Government spending”.

 

Alleged pressure:

 

Onje further alleged that both chairmen of the Senate and House of Reps committees on science and technology “have pressurised the acting DG of PRODA to pay contractors who were illegally and unlawfully issued contract award letters by Mr. Nathan Abia-Bassey. “Some of these contractors were neither given bills of quantities, nor drawings, procurement documents and scope of work, but they claimed they had finished executing their contracts and were demanding for full payment.

 

“A very desperate one among them, Messrs Zepek Concepts Limited, claimed to have been awarded a contract to build one of PRODA Zonal Offices in the South West in December, 2020; but alleged that he finished executing the contract in the same December, 2020, however without any contractual documentation.

 

“We later discovered that what the contractor did was to take a snapshot of an old building with rusty zinc roof somewhere in Osun State, had it repainted, and positioned men attired as technicians inscribing PRODA’s logo on the building.

 

That same building had earlier been commissioned by His Excellency Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, who ceased to be the Governor of Osun state over 10 years ago! “Next, the company’s MD uploaded the photograph to his Facebook Page, claiming that he had finished executing the contract and is expecting to be paid the full contract sum of N104, 898,728.75 only, with hard-earned taxpayers’ money.

 

“The Hon. Speaker, Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, who had earlier directed the Acting DG to go and pay some contractors alleged handling some spurious contracts, had at a particular time, called me to ask why I am stopping the acting DG from paying the “Contractors of honourable members”.

 

Vested Interests:

 

According to the PRODA chairman, “The speaker’s vested interest became pronounced when he commissioned the Institute’s wifi project in selected tertiary institutions in Lagos state for over N100 each, when in actual sense, the contractor handling the project had no bills of quantities and scope of work; and with the illegal award letter signed by Mr. Nathan Abia-Bassey.

 

He said “The same contractor violated the relevant provisions of the Public Procurement Act 2007, and the conditions stipulated by the Bureau of Public Procurements (BPP) in its approval granted to PRODA for selective tendering.

 

He alleged that “From the due diligence PRODA carried out at the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), it was observed that the same contractor that is allegedly handling the Lagos Schools Wifi Project, JRB Construction Company Limited, is the director of seven companies handling jobs in the PRODA 2020 procurement exercise alone, to the tune of a whooping N1,405,175,850.00.”

He said the motion calling for his investigation by Henry Nwawuba, “was deceptive and incurably bad, because it was laced with bias”.

 

“I can authoritatively state that Rt. Hon. Henry Nwawuba, representing Mbaitoli/Ikeduru federal constituency of Imo state, who is also the deputy chairman of the House committee on Niger Delta Affairs, has a vested interest in a PRODA contractor, as evident in his letter titled, “Letter of Job Completion,” which he wrote to the Director General of PRODA on 18th September, 2020 and copied the agency’s head of procurement, requesting the DG to pay a contractor, and citing that the contractor had finished his job, at a time when no form of contract award letter, whether controversial or legitimate, had been issued by PRODA. “In similar vein, Mr. Speaker of the House, Rt. Hon. Gbajabiamila, had also directed, even though verbally and via telephone, that PRODA management should go and pay for nebulous contracts.

 

Hence, Mr. speaker has no moral justification to preside over that motion, because like I’ve earlier said, it is laced with vested interests and not in the best interest of the generality of Nigerians”.

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