Senate links suspended SGF to another N500m fraud

chika ebuzor

May 3, 2017 9:46 AM

This revelation is contained in the final report of the Senate Ad-hoc Committee on Mounting Humanitarian Crisis in the North-East.

The Senate has discovered that N500m was paid into the bank account of Rholavision Engineering Limited by some unnamed contractors.

The suspended Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir Lawal, reportedly has an interest in the company.

The Osinbajo panel recently discovered from Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) documents that Lawal resigned from the company on September 16, 2016.

According to Vanguard, the 45-page report was submitted to the Senate by the committee chairman, Senator Shehu Sani.

The committee also established that Lawal was a signatory to the accounts of Rholavision Engineering Limited and other companies, while serving as the SGF.

According to the committee, the suspended SGF “breached the Oaths of Office as Secretary to the Government of the Federation.”

It also recommended that Lawal be prosecuted for violating the Part 1 of the Fifth Schedule of the 1999 Constitution (as amended); Public Procurement Act 2007, Vanguard reports.

Other recommendations made by the committee are: “That since it was observed that there was no bill of quantities on the contracts awarded by PINE under emergency situation, the Bureau of Public Procurement, BPP, should undertake a revaluation of all such contracts to recover any proceeds from over-inflated contracts;

“That the relevant agencies should ensure that contracts partially executed but fully paid for must be completed by the concerned contractors, or asked to refund the equivalent money of outstanding jobs to government treasury;

“That all resources that have been misapplied or stolen by public officials should be retrieved and anybody found culpable of contravening any of the provisions of the Public Procurement Act, 2007 and the Federal Government Financial Rules and Regulations pertaining to the award of these contracts, should be duly prosecuted by the relevant authorities;

“That the committee also recommends further investigation by relevant agencies of government on why contract benefitting companies paid over N500 million into Rholavision Engineering Limited, a company Engr. Babachir David Lawal has interest.”

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Seven out of the nine members of the committee signed the report. They are: Senator Shehu Sani; Senator Ben Murray Bruce; Senator Oluremi Tinubu; Senator Ali Wakil; Senator Theodore Orji; Senator Tayo Alasoadura; Senator Yahaya Abdullahi, and the Clerk, Lawal Barau Bungudu.

According to reports, the Senate is expected to study the report and debate on it at plenary today, Wednesday, May 3, 2017.

Babachir Lawal was suspended by President Buhari to pave way for his investigation by the Osinbajo panel.

chika ebuzor