The Presidential directive was predicated on the recommendations of the committee established to audit the procurement of arms and equipment in the Armed Forces and Defence sectors from 2007 to 2015. The directive also indicated that the troubles of the immediate past National Security Adviser, (NSA) Col. Mohammed Sambo Dasuki (rtd), whose office coordinated the arms procurement, are far from over as he was also fingered in the billions of dollars and trillions of naira arms purchase contracts that were allegedly never executed.
Besides the three officers, others recommended for further investigations include Maj-Gen. E.R Chioba, I.A Balogun (rtd), AG Tsakr (rtd), AG Idowu (rtd), AM Mamu, OT Oguntoyinbo, T Omenyi, JB Adigun, RA Ojuawo, JA Kayode-Beckley, Air Cdres SA Yushau (rtd), AO Ogunjobi, GMD Gwani, SO Makinde, AY Lassa, Col. N Ashinze and Lt Col. MS Dasuki (rtd).
Ads by Buzzeff
5
A statement yesterday by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu released to newsmen, said that following the submission of the audit committee’s second interim report, “President Buhari has directed the EFCC to investigate the roles of the officers and the following companies and their directors in fundamental breaches associated with the procurements by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) and the Nigerian Air Force (NAF).
“The companies include Messrs Societe D’ Equipments Internationaux, Himma Aboubakar, Aeronautical Engineering and Technical Services Limited, Messrs Syrius Technologies, Dr. Theresa A. Ittu, Sky Experts Nig Ltd, Omenyi Ifeanyi Tony, Huzee Nig Ltd, GAT Techno Dynamics Ltd, Gbujie Peter Obie, Onuri Samuel Ugochukwu, Spacewebs Interservices Ltd, Oguntoyinbo Tayo, Oguntoyinbo Funmi., Delfina Oil and Gas Ltd, Chief Jacobs Bola, Mono Marine Corporation Nig Ltd, Geonel Intergrated Services Ltd, Sachi Felicia, Mudaki Polycarp and Wolfgang Reinl”
The statement went further: “The breaches identified by the Audit Committee include non-specification of procurement costs, absence of contract agreements, award of contracts beyond authorised thresholds, transfer of public funds for unidentified purposes and general non-adherence to provisions of the Public Procurement Act.
“Furthermore, the procurement processes were arbitrarily carried out and generally characterized by irregularities and fraud. In many cases, the procured items failed to meet the purposes they were procured for, especially the counter insurgency efforts in the North East. A major procurement activity undertaken by ONSA for NAF was that concerning the contracts awarded to Societe D’ Equipment Internationaux (SEI) Nig Ltd. Between January 2014 and February 2015, NAF awarded 10 contracts totalling Nine Hundred and Thirty Million, Five Hundred Thousand, Six Hundred and Ninety US Dollars ($930,500,690.00) to SEI Nig. Ltd.
“Letters of award and End User Certificates for all the contracts issued by NAF and ONSA respectively did not reflect the contract sums. Rather, these were only found in the vendor’s invoices, all dated 19 March 2015. Additionally, some of the award letters contained misleading delivery dates suggesting fraudulent intent in the award process. The observed discrepancies are in clear contravention of extant procurement regulations.
“The SEI contracts included procurement of two used Mi-24V Helicopters instead of the recommended Mi-35M series at the cost of One Hundred and Thirty Six Million, Nine Hundred and Forty Four Thousand US Dollars ($136,944,000.00). However, it was confirmed that the helicopters were excessively priced and not operationally air worthy at the time of delivery. A brand new unit of such helicopters goes for about Thirty Million US Dollars ($30m). Furthermore, the helicopters were delivered without rotor blades and upgrade accessories.
“Additionally, the helicopters were undergoing upgrade while being deployed for operation in the North East without proper documentation. It was further established that as at date, only one of the helicopters is in service while the other crashed and claimed the lives of two NAF personnel. The Committee established that ONSA also funded the procurement of 4 used Alpha-Jets for the NAF at the cost of Seven Million, One Hundred and Eighty Thousand US Dollars ($7,180,000.00). However, it was confirmed that only 2 of the Alpha-Jet aircraft were ferried to Nigeria after cannibalization of engines from NAF fleet.”
The statement said this was contrary to the written assertion of the former Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal AN Amosu to the former NSA that all the fouur procured Alpha-Jets aircraft were delivered to the NAF, adding that the non-militarisation of the Alpha-Jets made them unsuitable for deployment to the North East and they are currently deployed only for training at NAF Kainji.
“Furthermore, the procurement of the Alpha-Jets was contrary to the recommendation of the assessment team. The Committee found that the conduct of Air Marshal Amosu was deliberately misleading and unpatriotic. The contract for the procurement of 36D6 Low Level Air Defence Radar for the NAF was awarded to GAT Techno Dynamics Ltd in April 2014 at the cost of Thirty Three Million US Dollars ($33m) and was funded by ONSA. The Committee established that the radars were excessively priced as a complete set of such radars (comprising 6 radars including the Control Centre) goes for Six Million US Dollars ($6m) averagely.
FOR MORE STORIES VISIT
CKN NEWS SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS:
Twitter: @CKNNigeria
Facebook: CKNNigeria
CKN NEWS Hotline:
08080054001
Whatsapp: 08099677755
BBM : 2BE329DF
Website: www.cknnigeria.com
Tags
Society