Senator Ahmed Sani Yerima was today dragged to Gusau Court, by ICPC for misappropriating about N1 billion while he was Zamfara governor.
Former governor of Zamfara State and
current senator, Ahmed Sani Yerima was today charged to federal High
Court, sitting in Gusau by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other
Related Offences Commission (ICPC) for misappropriating about N1 billion
while he was governor.
Senator Yerima pleaded not guilty to the 19-count charge slammed against him by the ICPC.
Justice Bello Muhammad Shinkafi granted
him bail in the sum of N100 million and two sureties who must be
resident in Gusau and owned properties worth N150 million.
Below are the details of the charges:
Count 1
That you Ahmed Rufai Sani on or about
November, 2006 whilst being the Governor of Zamfara State at Gusau
within the jurisdiction of this court did commit an offence of spending
money allocated for one project on another to wit: out of N
1,000,000,000 (one billion naira) additional budgetary allocation
Zamfara State House of Assembly allocated for the repair of collapsed
Gusau dam and settlement of the victims of the said dam which was
obtained through bank loan you spent the sum of N20,000,000 (twenty
million naira) purportedly on assistance to INEC and thereby committed
an offence contrary to and punishable under section 22 (5) of the
Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act 2000.
Count 2
That you Ahmed Rufai Sani on or about
October 2006 whilst being the Governor of Zamfara State at Gusau within
the jurisdiction of this court did commit an offence of spending money
allocated for one project on another to wit: out of N1,000,000,000 (one
billion naira) additional budgetary allocation Zamfara State House of
Assembly allocated for the repair of collapsed Gusau dam and payment of
compensation to the victims of the said dam which was obtained through
bank loan you spent the sum of N10,000,000 (ten million naira)
purportedly on donation and thereby committed an offence contrary to and
punishable under section 22 (5) of the Corrupt Practices and Other
Related Offences Act 2000.
Count 3
That you Ahmed Rufai Sani on or about
October 2006 whilst being the Governor of Zamfara State at Gusau within
the jurisdiction of this court did commit an offence of spending money
allocated for one project on another to wit: out of N1,000,000,000 (one
billion naira) additional budgetary allocation Zamfara State House of
Assembly allocated for the repair of collapsed Gusau dam and payment of
compensation to the victims of the said dam which was obtained through
bank loan you spent the sum of N43,008,000 (forty three million and
eight thousand naira) purportedly on surveillance of guests and thereby
committed an offence contrary to and punishable under section 22 (5) of
the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act 2000.
Count 4
That you Ahmed Rufai Sani on or about
November 2006 whilst being the Governor of Zamfara State at Gusau within
the jurisdiction of this court did commit an offence of spending money
allocated for one project on another to wit: out of N 1,000,000,000 (one
billion naira) additional budgetary allocation Zamfara State House of
Assembly allocated for the repair of collapsed Gusau dam and payment of
compensation to the victims of the said dam which was obtained through
bank loan you spent the sum of N21,450,000 (twenty-one million four
hundred and fifty thousand naira) purportedly on settlement of
publication equipment and thereby committed an offence contrary to and
punishable under section 22 (5) of the Corrupt Practices and Other
Related Offences Act 2000.
Count 5
That you Ahmed Rufai Sani on or about
November 2006 whilst being the Governor of Zamfara State at Gusau within
the jurisdiction of this court did commit an offence of spending money
allocated for one project on another to wit: out of N 1,000,000,000 (one
billion naira) additional budgetary allocation Zamfara State House of
Assembly allocated for the repair of collapsed Gusau dam and payment of
compensation to the victims of the said dam which was obtained through
bank loan you spent the sum of N64,332,734 (sixty four million three
hundred and thirty two thousand seven hundred and thirty four naira)
purportedly on sponsorship of government officials to hajj and thereby
committed an offence contrary to and punishable under section 22 (5) of
the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act 2000.
Count 6
That you Ahmed Rufai Sani on or about
November 2006 whilst being the Governor of Zamfara State at Gusau within
the jurisdiction of this court did commit an offence of spending money
allocated for one project on another to wit: out of N 1,000,000,000 (one
billion naira) additional budgetary allocation Zamfara State House of
Assembly allocated for the repair of collapsed Gusau dam and payment of
compensation to the victims of the said dam which was obtained through
bank loan you spent the sum of N32,646,286 (thirty two million six
hundred and forty six thousand two hundred and eighty six naira)
purportedly on settlement of accommodation and thereby committed an
offence contrary to and punishable under section 22 (5) of the Corrupt
Practices and Other Related Offences Act 2000.
Count 7
That you Ahmed Rufai Sani on or about
November 2006 whilst being the Governor of Zamfara State at Gusau within
the jurisdiction of this court did commit an offence of spending money
allocated for one project on another to wit: out of N 1,000,000,000 (one
billion naira) additional budgetary allocation Zamfara State House of
Assembly allocated for the repair of collapsed Gusau dam and payment of
compensation to the victims of the said dam which was obtained through
bank loan you spent the sum of N15,800,000 (fifteen million eight
hundred thousand naira) purportedly on furniture allowance and thereby
committed an offence contrary to and punishable under section 22 (5) of
the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act 2000.
Count 8
That you Ahmed Rufai Sani on or about
November 2006 whilst being the Governor of Zamfara State at Gusau within
the jurisdiction of this court did commit an offence of spending money
allocated for one project on another to wit: out of N 1,000,000,000 (one
billion naira) additional budgetary allocation Zamfara State House of
Assembly allocated for the repair of collapsed Gusau dam and payment of
compensation to the victims of the said dam which was obtained through
bank loan you spent the sum of N29,200,000 (twenty nine million two
hundred thousand naira) purportedly on purchase of 2000 Nanfang motor
cycles and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under
section 22 (5) of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act
2000.
Count 9
That you Ahmed Rufai Sani on or about
October 2006 whilst being the Governor of Zamfara State at Gusau within
the jurisdiction of this court did commit an offence of spending money
allocated for one project on another to wit: out of N1,000,000,000 (one
billion naira) additional budgetary allocation Zamfara State House of
Assembly allocated for the repair of collapsed Gusau dam and payment of
compensation to the victims of the said dam which was obtained through
bank loan you spent the sum of N23,859,692 (twenty three million, eight
hundred and fifty nine thousand, six hundred and ninety two naira)
purportedly on payment to automobile company and thereby committed an
offence contrary to and punishable under section 22 (5) of the Corrupt
Practices and Other Related Offences Act 2000
Count 10
That you Ahmed Rufai Sani on or about
October 2006 whilst being the Governor of Zamfara State at Gusau within
the jurisdiction of this court did commit an offence of spending money
allocated for one project on another to wit: out of N1,000,000,000 (one
billion naira) additional budgetary allocation Zamfara State House of
Assembly allocated for the repair of collapsed Gusau dam and payment of
compensation to the victims of the said dam which was obtained through
bank loan you spent the sum of N14,000,000 (fourteen million naira)
purportedly on payment of auditing of account and thereby committed an
offence contrary to and punishable under section 22 (5) of the Corrupt
Practices and Other Related Offences Act 2000.
Count 11
That you Ahmed Rufai Sani on or about
October 2006 whilst being the Governor of Zamfara State at Gusau within
the jurisdiction of this court did commit an offence of spending money
allocated for one project on another to wit: out of N1,000,000,000 (one
billion naira) additional budgetary allocation Zamfara State House of
Assembly allocated for the repair of collapsed Gusau dam and payment of
compensation to the victims of the said dam which was obtained through
bank loan you spent the sum of N14,170,000 (fourteen million one hundred
and seventy thousand naira) purportedly on ramadan feeding and thereby
committed an offence contrary to and punishable under section 22 (5) of
the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act 2000.
Count 12
That you Ahmed Rufai Sani on or about
October 2006 whilst being the Governor of Zamfara State at Gusau within
the jurisdiction of this court did commit an offence of spending money
allocated for one project on another to wit: out of N1,000,000,000 (one
billion naira) additional budgetary allocation Zamfara State House of
Assembly allocated for the repair of collapsed Gusau dam and payment of
compensation to the victims of the said dam which was obtained through
bank loan you spent the sum of N14,530,000 (fourteen million five
hundred and thirty thousand naira) purportedly on purchase of four 406
Peugeot and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable
under section 22 (5) of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences
Act 2000.
Count 13
That you Ahmed Rufai Sani on or about
October 2006 whilst being the Governor of Zamfara State at Gusau within
the jurisdiction of this court did commit an offence of spending money
allocated for one project on another to wit: out of N1,000, 000,000 (one
billion naira) additional budgetary allocation Zamfara State House of
Assembly allocated for the repair of collapsed Gusau dam and payment of
compensation to the victims of the said dam which was obtained through
bank loan you spent the sum of N36,000,000 (thirty six million naira)
purportedly on settlement of leave grant for teachers and thereby
committed an offence contrary to and punishable under section 22 (5) of
the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act 2000.
Count 14
That you Ahmed Rufai Sani on or about
November 2006 whilst being the Governor of Zamfara State at Gusau within
the jurisdiction of this court did commit an offence of spending money
allocated for one project on another to wit: out of N 1,000,000,000 (one
billion naira) additional budgetary allocation Zamfara State House of
Assembly allocated for the repair of collapsed Gusau dam and payment of
compensation to the victims of the said dam which was obtained through
bank loan you spent the sum of N46, 591,692.24, (forty six million, five
hundred and ninety one thousand, six hundred and ninety two naira,
twenty four kobo) purportedly on school feeding and thereby committed an
offence contrary to and punishable under section 22 (5) of the Corrupt
Practices and Other Related Offences Act 2000.
Count 15
That you Ahmed Rufai Sani on or about
February 2007 at Gusau within the jurisdiction of this court whilst
being the Governor of Zamfara State did make a statement vide a letter
dated 6th February 2007 captioned “ OFFER FOR SALE OF EXCESS GRAINS” to
the President Federal Republic of Nigeria Chief Olusegun Obasanjo in the
course of the exercise of the duty of his office that Zamfara State
Government had stock of about 100,000 metric tones of assorted grains in
silos and stores out of which 50, 000 metric tons could be sold to the
Federal Government of Nigeria which was to your knowledge false and
thereby committed an offence contrary to section 22 (1) (a) and
punishable under section 68 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related
Offences Act, 2000
Count 16
That you Ahmed Rufai Sani on or about
May 2007 at Gusau within the jurisdiction of this court used your
position as the Governor of Zamfara State to confer corrupt advantage
upon your associate to wit: awarding consultancy services to Development
Management System Ltd for the supply of 50, 000 metric tons (200,000
bags) of grains by Zamfara State Government to the Federal Government
with the agreement to pay 10 % i.e. N161million of the total cost of
N1,610,000,000 (one billion, six hundred and ten million naira) to
Development Management Ltd as consultancy fee but for which only
9,181.89 metric tons (91, 818 bags) were supplied and for which you paid
Development Management Ltd N91,840,000 (ninety one million, eight
hundred and forty thousand naira) whereas Development Management Ltd was
entitled only to N29,565,685.80 (twenty nine million, five hundred and
sixty five thousand, six hundred and eighty five naira eighty kobo) thus
overpaid her the sum of N62, 274,315 (sixty two million, two hundred
and seventy four thousand, three hundred and fifteen naira) and thereby
committed an offence contrary to and punishable under section 19 of the
Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000
Count 17
That you Ahmed Rufai Sani, Alhaji Hashim
A. Dikko and Development Management Ltd on or about May 2007 at Gusau
within the jurisdiction of this court did conspire to commit an offence
of using office for gratification to wit: Ahmed Rufai Sani on or about
May 2007 used his position as the Governor of Zamfara State to award
consultancy services to Development Management System Ltd for the supply
of 50, 000 metric tons (200,000 bags) of grains by Zamfara State
Government to the Federal Government with the agreement to pay 10 % i.e.
N161million of the total cost of N1,610,000,000 (one billion, six
hundred and ten million naira) to Development Management Ltd as
consultancy fee but for which only 9,181.89 metric tons (91, 818 bags)
were supplied and for which Development Management Ltd was paid
N91,840,000 (ninety one million, eight hundred and forty thousand naira
whereas Development Management Ltd was entitled only to N29,565,685.80
(twenty nine million, five hundred and sixty five thousand, six hundred
and eighty five naira eighty kobo) thus overpaid her the sum of N62,
274,315 (sixty two million, two hundred and seventy four thousand, three
hundred and fifteen naira) and thereby committed an offence contrary to
section 26 (c ) and punishable under section 19 of the Corrupt
Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000
Count 18
That you Ahmed Rufai Sani on or about
April 2007 at Gusau within the jurisdiction of this court used your
position as the Governor of Zamfara State to confer a corrupt advantage
upon your associate to wit: awarding contract for the transportation of
50, 000 metric tons of grains (200,000 bags) to HAD Nigeria Ltd to be
supplied by Zamfara State to the Federal Government at the total cost of
N1,610,000,000 (one billion, six hundred and ten million naira) with
the agreement to pay N444, 040,000 (four hundred and forty four million,
forty thousand naira) to HAD Nigeria Ltd as contract sum but for which
only 9, 181.89 metric tons (91,181 bags) were transported and for which
HAD Nigeria Ltd was paid N98 million (ninety eight million naira)
whereas she was entitled only to N81,042 525 (eighty one million forty
two thousand five hundred and twenty five naira) thus overpaid her the
sum of N16, 957,472 (sixteen million, nine hundred and fifty nine
thousand four hundred and seventy two naira) and thereby committed an
offence contrary to and punishable under section 19 of the Corrupt
Practices and Other Related Offences Act 2000
Count 19
That you Ahmed Rufai Sani and HAD
Nigeria Ltd on or about April 2007 at Gusau within the jurisdiction of
this court did conspire to commit an offence of using office for
gratification to wit: Ahmed Rufai Sani on or about April 2007 used his
position as the Governor of Zamfara State at Gusau, Zamfara State to
award a contract for the transportation of 50, 000 metric tons of grains
(200,000 bags) to HAD Nigeria Ltd to be supplied by Zamfara State to
the Federal Government at the total cost of N1,610,000,000 (one billion,
six hundred and ten million naira) with the agreement to pay N444,
040,000 (four hundred and forty four million, forty thousand naira) to
HAD Nigeria Ltd as contract sum but for which only 9, 181.89 metric tons
(91,181 bags) were transported and for which HAD Nigeria Ltd was paid
N98 million (ninety eight million naira) whereas she was entitled only
to N81,042 525 (eighty one million, forty two thousand five hundred and
twenty five naira) thus overpaid her the sum of N16, 957,472 (sixteen
million, nine hundred and fifty nine thousand, four hundred and seventy
two naira) and thereby committed an offence contrary to section 26 (c)
and punishable under section 19 of the Corrupt Practices and Other
Related Offences Act 2000
PROOF OF EVIDENCE
1.ENG LAWAL JIBRIL to state as follows:
He will give brief history of himself. He will say that he was the
Special Assistant ( SA) Commodity from 2003 August to 2005 July. As the
SA Commodity his schedule was to receive directives from the Governor on
commodity and advice appropriately. The commodity board received and
released grains whenever directed by an appointed committee. The board
also made payments to the suppliers when grains are sold and coordinated
the sale when grains are sold to others. He will say that on February
2007, the government of Zamfara State agreed to sell 50,000 metric tons
of assorted grains at the total cost of N1.6billion. The transaction was
sealed after the approval of the State and Federal Executive Council. A
consultant has to be appointed because of the need to supervise the
scattered grains at the various locations, the transportation of large
quantity up and down, the process of payment from the federal government
and quantification at the grain silos at different location. A company
was mandated by the state government to do the job at an approved rate
of 10% of total cost of the 50,000 metric tons. The locations as
approved by the Federal Government for the delivery are Akure 10,000
metric tons, Ogoja 10,000 metric tons, Jos 5,000metric tons and few
others. After payment the job was started by the consultant and the
transporter who was appointed by the consultant with the approval of the
state government at marked cost of truck. During his stay as the SA to
the Governor a total quantity of grains was transported in bags by the
consultant and transporter to the various locations thus: maize=13,680
bags, sorghum =72,980 bags, totaling =86,660 bags with 2751/2 loads of
trucks which started during his tenure 26/5/2007-10/7/2007. He handed
over to his successors Alhaj Ibrahim Mohd, the permanent secretary and
Alh Salisu Bawa the SA to the Governor on 9/7/2007. A payment for the
consultant and transporter was made as approved by the FG & PC. The
sum of N112, 700,000 part payment was paid to the consultant while N100,
000,000 was paid to the transporter. The total contract sum for the
consultant was N161million that of the transporter was N440, 000 of the
total quantity of the grains 50,000 metric tons. He will say that the
commodity board recommended the payment of the 50% of the total contract
sum but the FG & PC approved more than that for the consultant. He
will say further that 10 bags of 100kg bag is equal to one metric tones.
Therefore 50,000 metric tones is equal to 500,000 bags. In his hand
over note a total sum of 86,660 bags of assorted grains was transported
to the grain silos at different locations
He will say that one car, Honda was
attached to him and after the termination of appointment, the car was
asked to be taken to the EFCC headquarters in Abuja. He will further
evidence of what he knows about this case.
2. BELLO SANI JABAKA to state as
follows: He was the Deputy Accountant General from 2003-2007, Accountant
General Zamfara State from 2007 to 2009 and Permanent Secretary from
2009 and posted to Ministry of Lands and Survey Zamfara State. He will
give brief summary of his schedules. He will say that a loan of
N600million was sourced from Bank PHB Gusau to facilitate sales of
grains to Federal Government around April/May 2007. A payment order of
about 3-4 months was issued on UBA Plc to Bank PHB. The issuance of the
irrevocable order (ISPO) plus lodgments of proceeds from the sale of
grains into the Accountant General’s account with Bank PHB served as
guarantee for the loan. The offer of the loan was addressed to
Honourable Commissioner Ministry of Finance informing him of loan
approval and other terms attached to the loan. He will say that the
purpose of obtaining the loan was to facilitate the sales of grains to
the Federal Government. Disbursement was made to the commodity board for
the purchase of vehicles and other related activities and at the
ministry, payment was made to the consultant engaged in the sales. The
remaining amount was also utilized in other payments outside the
purpose. He will say that signatories to accountant general’s account
include Isiyaku Mohammed Zurmi, Permanent Secretary, Bello Sani Jabaka,
Accountant-General and Aminu Nabanga, Deputy Accountant-General and
Sanusi Garba Rikiji who signs schedules of payment. However in his
absence the PS signs on his behalf. He will say that the N600million
loan sourced from the Bank PHB was utilized as follows: 1. N250million
was paid to Italco Builders for the purpose of restoration of Gusau
Barrage that broke down in 2006. 2. N100million was paid to the
Permanent Secretary, Directorate of Commodity Board for the purpose of
grains transportation from the 14 local government areas in the State.
3. N30million was also paid to the Permanent Secretary Commodity Board
for the purpose of vehicles for the monitoring and transportation of
grains. 4. N91.84 million was paid to Messers Development Management –a
consultant engaged for the sale of the grains to the Federal Government.
5. N11.2million was deducted and paid as withholding tax to the Federal
Inland Revenue Service.6. N5.60million was deducted and paid as V.A.T .
N1.2 million was deducted and paid to Accountant-General’s account as
Education tax. 7. N1.2 million was deducted as 1% levy and paid to
Zamfara State agency for poverty alleviation (ZAPA) 9. N1.12m was paid
as 1% levy and paid to Zakat Board as alms 10. N110milliom was paid to
Permanent Secretary Ministry for Local Government and Chieftaincy
Affairs for onward extension as loans to the local government employees
to be administered by Nigerian Union of local government employees of
the state (NULGE). Repayment of this loan is normally realized from the
beneficiaries’ monthly salaries and remitted to the Ministry of Finance.
The witness will also give evidence on the N1billion the House approved
for the repair of the dam and how part of it was diverted. He will give
more evidence where necessary.
4. MOHAMMED MUJTABA ISAH to state as
follows: He will give brief background of himself. He will say that in
2005 he was the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Science and
Technology and Technical Education. In 2006 he was posted to Zamfara
State Liaison Office Abuja as Permanent Secretary. In February 2008
after the completion of his course at kuru, he was posted to the
Ministry of Finance as Permanent Secretary, the position he holds till
date. He will say that as the PS he is Chief Accounting Officer in
charge of payment due to the contractors, ministries and parastatals. He
is also in charge of personnel matters in the ministries with regards
to promotion, discipline etc.
He will say that the process of awarding
contract starts with the ministry that proposes the project based on
budgetary provision. Such proposal will go to the FG & PC for
consideration. The FG & PC then recommends the award of the contract
to any company or individual to the Governor for approval. If such
contract is approved, the FG &PC will issue a contract notification
to the company. The contractor will them go to the Ministry of Justice
for contract agreement which will be signed by the contractor and the
Commissioner in charge of the Ministry that proposed the contract.
Thereafter the document will be forwarded to the Ministry of Finance for
payment of mobilization fee. Subsequently payment will be based on
certification of work done by contractor which will be issued by the
client Ministry. Membership of FG & PC include the Deputy-Governor
who sits as the Chairman, members include Commissioners for Health,
Finance, Agriculture. The Secretary of the Committee who signs all
notifications of contract is the Permanent Secretary FG & PC. He
will say that the FG & PC has an advisory committee that usually vet
all submissions of bills of quantities of would be contractors. The
name of the Permanent Secretary of the FG & PC is Ahmad Abdulnasir.
Contracts awarded to individuals in their own names are usually as a
result of decisions taken at the FG & PC. He is of the opinion that
this is done because most of the contractors have not registered any
company with CAC. He will say that it will become advantageous because
such contract will yield necessary withholding tax into State
government. He will say that it is wrong to award contract to
individuals names because beneficiary companies are usually well known
and could be traced out when the needs arises. That is why contract are
seldom awarded to individuals in their own names as against registered
company’s names. This has been long practice since the creation of the
State in 1996. He will say it is difficult to stop despite his verbal
advice as the PS Ministry of Finance.
5. AHMED ABDUL NASIR to state as
follows: In 2007 he was posted to the government house and in 2008 he
became the Secretary of the FG & PC. He will state schedules of his
duty. He will say that one of the guidelines for issuing contracts is
that if after the approval of the Governor, the amount is over
N50million, the recommendation has to reach the Executive Council. It is
after that the contract notification would be issued. The committee
awarded contracts to both the individuals and companies.
6. MOHAMMMED FATEEMAH to state as
follows: She is an investigator with the ICPC. She will state that
sometime in 2009 a group of youths from Zamfara State acting under an
NGO named “Concerned Citizens of Zamfara State” wrote a petition to the
Chairman ICPC against former Governor of Zamfara State, Ahmed Sani
Yarima and few other persons. Various acts of corruption and abuse of
office were leveled against the suspects in the said petition. These
included unlawful diversion of N1billion approved by the Zamfara State
House of Assembly to repair collapsed Gusau dam, award of phony contract
to repair the Gusau dam, illegal N600million loans obtained to sell
grains to the Federal Government and diversion of substantial part of
the loan to the cronies of the Governor under the guise of contracts,
and conversion by the company awarded the contract part of the contract
sum for the supply of furniture to 14 local government. The Chairman,
ICPC sent the petition to the Head, Financial Investigation Unit of the
Commission who in turn assigned the petition to her team for discreet
investigation. She is the leader of the team while Abdulkadir Abdulrasaq
and Ada Ojoma were members. She will state that the team would give
evidence with respect to two of the allegations for now. That is the
diversion of part of N1billion meant to repair dam to unrelated matters
and the N600million loan obtained to sell grains to Federal Government
part of which was diverted to the cronies of the Governor.
In the course of the investigation the
team visited Zamafara state and few other places. The team also invited
some officials of Zamafara State Government who made statements to the
team. Relevant documents and records were retrieved and these included:
- contract agreements and
correspondences between Zamfara State government and federal government
including Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources in respect
of the sale of grains
- contract agreement between Zamfara
State government and consultant, Messers Development Management Ltd and
the transporter HAD Nig. Ltd
- correspondences between Zamfara State government and Directorate of Commodity, Marketing and Distribution
- Bank statement of Zamfara State Commodity Account
- Payment vouchers and other relevant documents as regards loan disbursement
- sale of grains and silos distribution file
With respect to the N1billion loan for
the repair of Gusau collapsed dam alleged to have been diverted,
investigation revealed that on 3rd October 2006, the Secretary to the
State Government (SSG) wrote a memo to the Speaker of the House of
Assembly Zamfara State requesting for additional budgetary provisions
for the repairs of the damaged Gusau Barrage which collapsed on the 30th
September 2006 (The witness will tender a copy of the request)
The Zamfara State House of Assembly
during its 70th sitting held on 3rd October 2006 deliberated on the
request and unanimously approved the sum of N1billion to the Zamfara
State government for the purpose of effecting urgent repairs to the
damaged Gusau water barrage and payment of compensation to the affected
victims of the collapsed dam.
Subsequently on the 9th October 2006,
the Ministry of Finance, Zamfara State obtained a loan of N1billion from
UBA purportedly for flood disaster and the rehabilitation/ dredging of
the collapsed Gusau dam (the witness will tender correspondences on the
loan)
Investigation revealed that a reputable
water management company Messrs China Geo Engineering Company was
initially identified to do the job with an estimate of N800million.
Conversely, Messrs China Geo Engineering Company was never involved in
the repairs of the damaged dam, rather the Governor approved the award
of the contract to repair the dam to another company called ITALCO
BUILDERS. The witness will say that the team had inkling that the
company was a foreign company which must register in Nigeria before it
could be awarded a contract. Inquiry from the CAC showed that the
company did not register in Nigeria. The Governor claimed to have
repaired the damaged dam but the team has reason to doubt this claim.
The witness will say that the Commission is investigating this matter
and as soon as the investigation is concluded the Commission will
determine the next line of action.
Investigation revealed that only the sum
of about N574, 508,263.25 was purportedly utilized for flood disaster
related matters, while the balance of N425, 491,736.75 was diverted to
unrelated activities such as settlement of leave grant to the teachers,
feeding during ramadhan, payment of auditing of final accounts
1999-2005, surveillance to guest, assistance to INEC etc without the
approval of Zamfara State House of Assembly. (the witness will tender
relevant documents and a table of analysis showing the funds paid the
company and how the balance was diverted to these unrelated matters)
Regarding the N600million loan obtained
to sell grains to the federal government which was alleged was spent to
confer corrupt advantage on the cronies of the former Governor,
investigation revealed that in February 2007, Ahmed Sani Yerima as the
governor of Zamfara State wrote a memo vide a letter dated 6th February
2007 No GHG/Z/S/256/VOL.1 captioned “ OFFER FOR SALE OF EXCESS GRAINS”
to the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria Chief Olusegun
Obasanjo that Zamfara State government had stock of about 100,000 metric
tons of assorted grains in its silos and stores. The Governor appealed
to the president to direct the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Water
Resources to buy 50,000 metric tones out of the said 100,000 metric
tons. Investigation revealed at the end of the day the statement made by
Sani Yerima as contained in his letter to the President was false. Even
when the Federal Government reduced the supply from 50,000 metric tons
to 20,000 metric tons the State government could not supply 20,000
metric tons. It could only supply 9, 181.89 metric tons. The witness
will say that the outcome of the false statement was that Ahmed Sani put
his State in unnecessary debt and made her to engage in a needless
transaction that did not benefit the State but only enriched his cronies
Investigation revealed that these grains
were to be supplied and deposited at 7 reserve silos across the
contrary. These included: i Akure 10,000 metric tons ii Irrua 10,000
metric tons iii Jahun 1,000 metric tons iv. Markudi 10,000 metric tons
v. Ogoja 10,000 metric tons vi. Jos 5,000 metric tons vii Minna 4,000
metric tons.
Subsequently Sani Yerima approved
consultancy contract to a company called Development Management System
even though the State has commodity board that could have done the job.
The consultancy contract was awarded at a sum of N161million which
represents 10 % of the total contract sum. A transporter HAD Nig Ltd was
also appointed to transport the grains to their respective silos across
the country at a cost of N444, 040,000. (The witness will tender
notification of contracts issued to the two companies).
The witness will say that investigation
revealed that in May 2007 the State government obtained a loan of
N600million from bank PHB PLC because of the sale of grains the State
government wanted to sell to the federal government. (The witness will
tender relevant correspondences on this loan). Investigation revealed
that the Governor did not seek the approval of the State House of
Assembly before obtaining the loan from the bank. The findings from the
investigation revealed as follows:
The contract was later reviewed downward
from 50,000 metric tons to 20,000 metric tons by the Federal Ministry
of Agriculture and Water Resources due to limited funds available to
them in that the contract was awarded in anticipation of funds from the
Finance Ministry. (the witness will tender the letter reviewing the
contract)
The consultant Development Management
System (DMS) was appointed as a consultant vides a letter dated 14th May
2007. The contract agreement stated that Zamfara State government would
pay the consultant 10% of the total contract sum as service fees and
70% advance would be paid to DMS Ltd on signing of documents. Thus based
on the new contract to supply 20,000 metric tons which put the total
contract sum to N644million (six hundred and forty four million naira),
the service charge which represents 10% of the contract sum amounts to
N64, 400,000 (sixty four million, four hundred thousand naira) while the
70% advance payment is N32,200,000 (thirty two million two hundred
thousand naira)
It is worthy to note that after the
downward review of the grains supply to 20,000 metric tons, the sum of
N161million which represents the 10% of the initial contractual
agreement as service fees was never reviewed downward to reflect the new
rate.
By November 2007, only a total of
9,181.89 metric tons of assorted grains were sold by the State
government and hence transported to their respective destinations. This
represents about 46% of work done. Meanwhile a total sum of N91,
840,000.00 was paid to the consultant as service fees.
A thorough mathematical analysis showed that the consultant was being overpaid by the sum of N62, 274,315.
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