The Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) has indicted some federal lawmakers for using vague description of constituency projects to convert public property to private use in their constituencies.
The anti-graft commission, in its ‘Constituency and Executive Projects Tracking Exercise’ Phase 3 Report obtained by LEADERSHIP, said soft projects of empowerment and supplies of vehicles were often deliberately vaguely described in the annual national budget such that beneficiaries are not stated or the intended usage.
The third phase of the ICPC project tracking monitored various zonal intervention and executive projects valued at over N114.1bn between 2019 and 2020.
ICPC said its investigations have uncovered some lawmakers siting projects on their personal property which technically vests legal possession and ownership of such projects in them.
Under “Misappropriation and criminal conversation of public property” the commission provided examples of the infractions by the lawmakers.
It said, “The project for the procurement of Water Rigs to Taraba South Senatorial District. The rigs which were never distributed before the Commission’s intervention, were procured and supplied to the sponsor and were found in the custody of the sponsor, commercialised and the proceeds paid into the sponsor’s personal Bank account.”
Senator Emmanuel Bwacha was the sponsor of the intervention project as the member of the Senate representing Taraba South.
Also, “In National Tuberculosis and Leprosy Centre, Zaria, Kaduna state, the CEO has the habit of dishing out contracts to random contractors without any form of compliance with the procurement processes, pay them off and instruct them to cash and reroute the monies to him less 5% as their own reward.
“He would in turn hand over the monies to the sponsors either in Naira or converted to US Dollars. These projecis were apparently never intended to be executed ab initio. This was observed in more than 16 contrects worth N1.2 billion. While investigations are still ongoing, some recoveries have already been made and the CEO is being cited for necessary administrative and legal actions.
“Another case in this regard is project for the supply of vehicle to Nasarawa Federal Constituency of Kano state. The exact type of vehicle was not stated, nor the purpose for which it was being procured. Over a year after the supply, the vehicle was found in the custody and use of the sponsoring legislator.
“All these infractions were made easier because of the vague description and mischaracterization of the projects in the appropriations as well as the delivery channels of projects items being supplied directly to the legislators unmarked without any stock taking and documentation by the executing agencies.”
ICPC said its investigations also revealed that some members of the National Assembly applied “subtle influence” on executing agencies to award contracts for the execution of some constituency projects they nominated to companies owned by them or their families or associates.
“Incidents of abuse of office by some sponsors and officers of the executing agencies have been observed in many cases,” ICPC said in the second phase report of its tracking exercise which focused on a total of 722 funded constituency and executive projects selected from the 2015 to 2020.
It said contract for the construction and renovation of blocks of classrooms at the Federal University Staff School in Wukari, Taraba South Senatorial District was executed by Eloheem Educational Management and Schools Ltd, a firm “owned and operated directly” by sponsor of the project, Senator Bwacha.
In another instance, the report said contract for the supplies of water rigs to Taraba South Senatorial District was initially awarded to S.A. Kadiri Ltd.
“Curiously, just two days after the award, S.A. Kadiri wrote the executing agency, Lower Benue River Basin Development Authority informing it that its ‘sister company, Eloheem Ltd, a company owned by the sponsor, would now execute the project,” it said.
It also said contracts for the construction of hand-pump boreholes and supplies of water pumps, motorcycles and two Toyota Hilux trucks in Jigawa South-West Senatorial District were awarded to Schramm Global Services Ltd, a company owned and operated by two younger brothers of the sponsoring lawmaker.
LEADERSHIP reports that Senator Mohammed Sabo Nakudu represents Jigawa South-West in thr Senate.
The commission also said some federal legislators were conniving with government agencies and contractors to falsely certify constituency projects not executed to obtain money.
It added, “One of the egregious discoveries is the unholy collusion between contractors and some sponsoring legislators on the one hand, and agencies’ projects supervisors on the other, to either not execute the contracts at all or underperform the execution of the contracts while passing it off as having been satisfactorily completed.”