Senate seeks resignation, trial of SGF over IDPs funds

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A report introduced to the Senate yesterday blamed the Secretary to the Government for the Federation (SGF), David Babachir Lawal of complicity in the affirmed misappropriation of assets gave to the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the North East.

Subsequently, the legislators asked Lawal to quickly leave his office and face arraignment for charged mishandle of office and swelling of agreements.

The Senate took the choice subsequent to receiving the interval report of its adhoc board of trustees, headed by Shehu Sani, which examined the mounting philanthropic emergency in the North East created by appetite, infection, lack of sanitization, hardship and need among the lDPs.

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Showing the report, Sani revealed that "the board of trustees found that all agreements from the Presidential Initiative on North East (PINE) were granted under the standard of crisis circumstance as stipulated in Section 43 (i) and (ii) however with total nonchalance to subsection (iii) and (iv) of a similar Section 43 of the Public Procurement Act, 2007."

As per him, the Act stipulates: "All obtainments made under crises should be taken care of with clarification yet along standards of responsibility, due thought being given to the gravity of every crisis; and instantly after the suspension of the circumstance justifying any crisis acquisition, the securing substance might record a nitty gritty report thereof with the agency which might confirm same and issue an authentication of 'No Objection.'

Sani told the Senate that "the whole acquisition exercises did by the PINE negated the Federal Government's Financial Rules and Regulations number 2948.''

The advisory group cited the tenets as saying that "under crisis circumstance, an acquiring element may take part in immediate or single source acquirement of products, works, or administrations; that further to sub-segment (i), acquisition should be made speedily, without dismissing the standards of responsibility and straightforwardness; and that on end of crisis circumstance justifying acquirement under this strategy, the getting substance might document records of obtainment continuing with a view to acquiring Certificate of 'No Objection' if essential from Bureau of Public Procurement."

Sani told the Upper Chamber that "the greater part of the agreements granted by PINE have no immediate bearing/affect on the lives of the uprooted people clearly mulling in craving/starvation, sickness, lack of sanitization and other terrible conditions in every one of the IDPs camps."

The report recorded the agreements under reference as PINE's commitments to two meetings on revamping the North East and the "implied installment of over N223 million for the expulsion of obtrusive plant species in Komadugu, Yobe water channels.

"The PINE took undue favorable position of the arrangement of crisis circumstance contract grant in the Public Procurement Act, 2007 to over blow up contracts.

"Contracts were granted to organizations having a place with top government authorities' friends, relatives and close partners. For instance, Rholavision Engineering Limited joined in 1990 with RC No. 159855 at the Corporate Affairs Commission, Abuja to do data and correspondence innovation administrations, moored by Babachir Lawal, the present Secretary to the Government of the Federation was granted consultancy contract for the expulsion of the obtrusive plant species in Yobe State on eighth March, 2016. In spite of the fact that, Babachir surrendered the directorship of the said organization in September 2016, it is on record that he is still the signatory to records of the organization," the board administrator said.

As indicated by the board of trustees, "95% to 100% installments of all agreements granted by PINE have been paid even as a few contracts are yet to be completely executed. A case is installment of N108 million for the supply of 1100 units of impermanent covering carbines at N302,000.00 per unit made to Dantex Nigeria Limited in spite of the way that 125 units esteemed at N37.7m were yet to be provided."

After a thorough verbal confrontation on the report, the Senate embraced the suggestion that the SGF ought to leave and be arraigned.