… allege fund expended on non-existent contracts in one year
. House probes commission, to get committee’s report in 8 weeks
. We didn’t get up to N100bn – NEDC . MD We’re not aware of allegation – Ministry
. MD We’re not aware of allegation – Ministry
House of Representatives has said it will probe the North-East Development Commission over alleged mismanagement of N100 billion.
The House resolution followed a motion by the Minority Leader, Ndudi Elumelu, on Thursday.
But Managing Director of NEDC, Mohammed Goni Alkali, said they did not misappropriate N100 bn and there was no fraud at the commission.
NEDC was established in 2017 to reconstruct states affected by insurgency in the North-East.
While moving his motion, Elumelu said the N100 billion allocated to the commission by the Federal Government had “vanished” with nothing to show for it.
He accused NEDC Managing Director, Mohammed Goni Alkali, of awarding non-existent contracts.
Elumelu alleged, “The N100 billion so far disbursed to the commission by the Federal Government is said to have vanished under a year without any visible impact on the refugees nor any infrastructural development credited to the name of the commission in the whole of the North-East.
“The corrupt practices include high-handedness by the Managing Director, Mohammed Goni Alkali, over inflation of contracts, awards of non-existent contracts, massive contract splitting and flagrant disregard for the procurement laws in the award of contracts.
“There are allegations of how the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management, Sadiya Farouk, was said to have entered into an unholy deal with the managing director of the commission to illegally withdraw money for the purchase of military vehicles without any recourse to the board.
“The act, which completely disregards the country’s procurement laws, must be seriously frowned at.”
The motion was adopted after it was put to a voice vote by Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila.
It was then referred to the House committees on finance, procurement and NEDC.
The report on the probe is expected to be turned in after eight weeks.
NEDC MD, Alkali said the commission did not receive up to N100 billion as alleged.
“Nobody gave us up to N100 billion; I really don’t know how they got that figure,” Alkali said.
On the allegation that they spent N5 billion in the procurement of vehicles for the military without approval by the NEDC board, Alkali said the records of what transpired are there.
“We didn’t spend N5 billion on vehicles for the military and most importantly, I want to assure you that we followed due process in the procurement; the Board of NEDC was fully aware. We are mindful of our mandate and we are doing our best to support the people,” he said.
Alkali said he would be willing to present himself at the National Assembly to defend activities of the NEDC whenever he receives invitation from the legislators.
Also speaking, the spokesman for the NEDC, Abba Musa, said the procurement of vehicles for the security operatives was the outcome of a meeting of relevant stakeholders in Maiduguri.
Musa said, “There was a security summit in Maiduguri last year where part of the recommendations made in the communiqué was that the NEDC should support security operatives with logistics and that was what we did and the money spent was not up to N5 billion.
“The money was not up to N5 billion but it was above the approval limit of the commission. We therefore referred it to the ministerial tender’s board, which in turn sought advice from the Bureau for Public Procurement.
“The bureau responded appropriately and the vehicles were purchased. I want to assure you that NEDC did not receive up to N100 billion. Our take-off grant was N10 billion and N45 billion was budgeted for the commission in 2019 out of which N25 billion was released.
“And for the 2020 budget, you all know what is going on…So, I wonder how they came about N100 billion.”
Deputy Director Information and spokeswoman of the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Mrs Rhoda Ishaku Iliya, said the ministry was not aware of the allegation by the House of Representatives members.
The development is coming days after the house concluded its investigation on the alleged mismanagement of N81.5 billion by the Niger Delta Development Commission.
The report on the NDDC probe is yet to be laid at the plenary of the House.