IN 2022, an unnamed individual with 18 different companies won all the contracts at the Federal Institute of Industrial Research, Oshodi (FIIRO), Lagos.
The 2022 Auditor-General of the Federation (AGF) Report disclosed that 18 contracts valued at N920.362 million were awarded by FIIRO to one person. Most of the companies were observed to be related as they were owned by the same individual.
The companies had the same address and were represented by the same persons/proxies. Shockingly, they shared the same contact phone numbers.
“Evidence of adherence to procurement due process such as competitive bidding were not produced for audit, and Due Process Certificate of ‘No Objection’ from the Bureau of Public Procurement for sdoption of a different procurement methods were not produced for audit,” the AGF noted.
The nation’s chief auditor said FIIRO’s irregularities in the contract award led to the payment of public funds to incompetent contractors, diversion of public funds, and loss of government funds. The AGF recommended that the Director-General of the agency account to the public accounts committees of the National Assembly the whereabouts of the money, while returning it to the nation’s treasury.
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Failure to do so would attract sanctions as stipulated in Paragraph 3106 of the Financial Regulations. As of May 2022, Dr Adamu Tutuwa was the substantive DG and Chief Executive Officer of FIIRO. He replaced Mr Chima Igwe, who was removed for certificate forgery.
Payment of contractors without evidence of execution
The AGF further accused FIIRO of awarding a contract valued at N571.569 million contracts to 8 contractors without evidence of execution. “There were no job completion certificates attached to their respective payment documents to suggest that the contracts were executed, and there was no veritifiable evidence to show that the Institute engaged the services of these contractors in line with the provisions of the Public Procurement Act and that the contractors rendered the required services,” the AGF noted. The institute did not respond to the AGF’s allegations.
The AGF recommended that the DG of the agency account to the public accounts committees of the National Assembly and return the money to the nation’s treasury, failure of which must attract sanctions in line with paragraphs 3104 and 3106 of the Financial Regulations (2009).
Irregular upward review of contracts
The AGF further accused FIIRO of irregular upward review of 12 contracts. “Twelve contracts valued at N54,877,821.05 were revised upwards without recourse to the provisions of the above extant regulations. The review of the contracts is a flagrant disregard to Paragraph 5 of the contract agreement, which states, ‘kindly note that the contract is fixed and request for price variation shall not be entertained.’ Evidence of approval of the variations of N54,877,821,05 by the Tender’s Board and the Bureau of Public Procurement were not presented for audit.”
The AGF attributed these anomalies to the weak internal contral systems at FIIRO, recommending that the DG of the agency account to the public accounts committees of the National Assembly for the money, while returning it to the nation’s treasury. Failure to do so must attract sanctions in line with paragraphs 3115,3103 and 3106 of the Financial Regulations (2009).
AGF indicts NAICOM, Pencom, FCT Police
Economy Post reported that the AGF had accused the management of the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) of deliberately understating revenue to the tune of N4.047 billion, while also making questionable payment for vehicles.
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The AGF also accused the National Pension Commission (PenCom) of paying N7.261 billion to 2,863 unidentified beneficiaries of deceased Federal Government employees in 2022 through different Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) without details.
The chief auditor also accused the National Assembly Service Commission of inflating a contract worth N11.647 billion, while paying a contractor without approval.
The AGF further alleged that the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development committed multiple acts of fraud, ranging from an inability to account for over N5 billion to the payment for a road contract without evidence of execution.
The AGF further accused the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command of booking 42 AK-47 rifles and pistols as well as 737 live ammunition in 2 years without returning or re-booking them.
The office said police personnel under the command booked live ammunition and firearms from the FCT CID between 2021 and 2022, but its failure to return or re-book them made it difficult to verify the existence or otherwise of such arms.
