IDP fund diversion: Senate asks Buhari to sack, prosecute SGF

The Senate, on Wednesday, descended heavily on the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr Babachir David Lawal, accusing him of alleged corruption and, thereafter, demanded his removal by President Muhammadu Buhari.

The senators, in passing a unanimous  resolution for Babachir’s removal, accused him of alleged misappropriation of funds meant to take care of  internally displaced persons, (IDPs) in the North-East.

The resolution of the Senate followed the adoption of the report of the ad hoc committee on rising humanitarian crisis in the North-East, headed by Senator Shehu Sani.

Chairman, Senate Committee on the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Senator Dino Melaye, while contributing to the report of the ad hoc committee, accused Babachir Lawal of anti-Buhari tendencies.

Senator Melaye  accused the SGF of gross abuse of office, adding that the integrity of the Senate would be at stake if it failed to take serious action against Lawal.

“I am aware that Babachir Lawal became Secretary to the Government of the Federation before this stipulated date. He became Secretary to the Government last year and when this committee started looking at the books, Babachir Lawal is the fastest man in the world to run Corporate Affairs Commission and quickly withdrew his directorship of the company after the execution of the contract.

“Mr President, I am appalled that it is on record by these documents that as I speak to you, he is still a signatory to the account of the company. This contract is not a constituency project. Mr President, within my myopic knowledge, I am aware that going by the budget of 2015 and 2016, there is no contract award labelled against the person or name of company of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.

“This is disgraceful, this is abominable, this is diabolical, this is condemnable, this is unheard of and this is an embarrassment to we, members of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

“Babachir Lawal has exhibited anti-Buhari  tendencies, the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria will be rolling in his chair in anger. Yesterday, I felt like crying,  but today, I want to cry and I can see that in solidarity, the Senate president is also crying. We are not going to play over this issue though this is an interim report, but the resources of this country belong to the people and they belong to all of us.

“This is gross abuse of office, the truth is mightier than any currency and every lie has an expiry date. The lie of the Secretary to the Federal Government has expired. From my own expected position of the senator representing Kogi West, already there is a clarion call for,  just like the judges, the immediate resignation and after completion of the report, prosecution.

“We are not in a Banana Republic Nigerians cannot be taken for granted and the eighth Senate is obsessed by this misbehaviour of the Secretary to the Federal Government,  the integrity of Dr Bukola Saraki is on test, the integrity of the leadership of this Senate is on test and the integrity of every member of this Senate, including the Nigerians in diaspora, Senator Ben Bruce is on  test.

“Finally, I want to believe that no senator here will trivialise, will  trivialise, for the third time,  will trivialise this issue based on religion, based on sentiment, based on party politics. It is time for us to call a  spade a spade and the time for Bukola Saraki to act, we are watching,” Melaye said.

Supporting Melaye’s line of thought, Senator Baba Kaka Garbai moved a motion that the SGF should either resign or be prosecuted.

His motion was seconded by Senator Ahmad Rufai Sani, forcing the Senate President, Dr Saraki, to put the question and in the voice vote, “the ayes had it.”

In his reaction, however, the SGF, who accompanied the president to the 2017 budget presentation in the National Assembly, said the lawmakers were talking “balderdash.”

According to him, “the Senate is talking balderdash; it has developed the habit of ‘bring him down’ syndrome. Nigerians have decided that we should destroy our best, we should all destroy the promising and best among us by bringing people down without a cause. This is just how I saw it.

“I have the report of the Senate committee in which it was said that I didn’t resign at Rholavision Nigeria Limited. Let me tell you, Rholavision was formed by me in December 1990 and it has been a company that was run very successfully.

“Now, when I was appointed Secretary to the Government of the Federation, I resigned from that company on  August 18, 2015. I can see that in their report, they are talking about 2016. I don’t know where they got their facts.

“By the way, it is very instructive that when the committee was sitting, no effort was ever made to invite me to come and make a submission. It is, therefore, surprising that they devoted a whole session of today (yesterday) at maligning me, claiming what is not true without even giving me the chance to come and put my own case before them.”

While presenting the report of his committee, Senator Sani said the committee’s tour of IDPs camps revealed some inadequacies in the operations of the Presidential Initiative on North-East (PINE).

He said  the contracts  awarded by PINE were awarded under the principle of emergency situation as stipulated in Section 43 (i) & (ii) adding that the awards disregarded Subsection (iii) & (iv) of the same Section 43 of the Public Procurement Act, 2007 .

The committee said the  the entire procurement activities carried out by PINE contravened Federal Government’s Financial Rules and Regulations, number 2948.

He further submitted: “That most of the contracts awarded by PINE have no direct bearing/impact to the lives of the displaced persons apparently languishing in hunger/starvation, disease, squalor and other deplorable conditions in all the DPS. The contracts under reference include: PINE contributions to two (2) conferences on Rebuilding the North-East; and“ the purported payment of over N223 million for the removal of ‘ invasive plant species Komadugu, Yobe Water channels.

“That the PINE took undue advantage of the provision of emergency situation contract award in the Public’ Procurement Act, 2007 to over inflate contracts. Not only that, contracts were awarded to companies belonging to top government officials’ cronies.

“For example, Rholavision Engineering Limited incorporated in 1990 with RC No. 159855 at the Corporate Affairs Commission, Abuja to carry out information and communication technology services, anchored by Mr Babachir Lawal, the current Secretary to the Government of the Federation was awarded consultancy contract for the removal of the invasive plant species in Yobe State on 8th March, 2016. Although, Engr. Babachir resigned the directorship of the said company in September, 2016, it is on record that he is still the signatory to accounts of the company.

“That 95 per cent to 100 per cent payments of all contracts awarded by PINE have been paid even as some contracts are yet to be fully executed, e.g, payment of N108 million only for the supply of 1100 units of temporary tarpaulin carbines at 302,000:00 per unit made to Dantex Nigeria Limited despite the fact that 125 units valued at N37.7 million were yet to be supplied.”

The committee further submitted: “Generally, there is acute shortage of food amongst the lDPs, as observed in one of the lDPs visited, three  bags of rice of 50 kilogrammes each, a bag of beans of 50kilogrammes and a four litre of palm oil were given to 30 people for 15 days. These were considered too insufficient as confirmed by many lDPs that interacted with the committee.”