Senate probe indicts suspended SFG

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Senate probe indicts suspended SFG

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The Senate ad-hoc Committee on Mounting Humanitarian Crisis in the North East has revealed the payment of over N500m in bribes to a company allegedly owned by suspended Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Eng Babachir David Lawal.Reports had it that a temporary report, the previous year had named Lawal for violation of due process in the award of contracts under Presidential Initiatives on North East (PINE)The said money was paid to Rholavision Engineering Limited.The report which was presented yesterday by the chairman of the committee Senator Shehu Sani (APC, Kaduna Central) to Senate at plenary is to be deliberated on today.Reports also confirmed that the Yemi Osinbajo-led committee in charge of the investigation of the matter involving Lawal and the Director General of the National Intelligence Agency, NIA, Amb. Ayo Oke had the previous week demanded the Senate to release relevant documents on it.The Sani panel report were convinced that N507m was remitted to Lawal’s company account by contractors working on the PINE project.There were allegations that JOSMON technologies limited which won two of the contracts, totaling N530m from PINE, only paid N317m in favour of the suspended SFG’s company in 23 transfers.The panel also affirmed the award of eight contracts amounting to N199m by PINE to JMI global technologies limited but that the latter paid N30m from a Zenith Bank account number 114357188 into Rholavision account domiciled at Ecobank.It was also revealed that Messers Adamawa Borehole and Drilling Company was awarded contract to renovate seven number of 18 classrooms belonging to Yeskule Girls Secondary School Michika in Adamawa State for N54.8m but only transferred N18.3m to the suspended SFG’s company.An additional N58m was remitted to Lawal’s company by Yuby Ventures limited, a company awarded the contract of five number of 15 classrooms at Hausari Primary School in Adamawa.Barde Brother Multi-Services Limited was also awarded seven contracts for renovation of classrooms in Adamawa State for an amount put at N145m but N71m was paid to Rholavision in three instalments.It was gathered too that the company paid another N13m into Diamond Bank account (no. 0003004417) belonging to the suspended SGF in three instalments.The committee noted that the suspended SGF resigned in September 2016, but records show he was the signatory to accounts of the company as at Wednesday, 15th February 2017.“In the course of its investigation, the committee observed that Rholavision Engineering Limited has become a destination pool for companies that were awarded contracts by PINE and other government agencies to make payments into its (Rholavision) account no. 0182001809 with ECObank,” the report read.Recommendations made by the committee were meant to carry out further investigation as to why should contract-benefiting companies pay over N500m into Rholavision Engineering Limited, belonging to the suspended SGF.“The banks transaction of Rholavision Engineering Limited and the confirmation by CBN that the Bank Verification Number (BVN) of Babachir David Lawal is still the signatory to Rholavision and 13 other accounts, some with different names.“The committee is of the opinion that Lawal has contravened the provision of part 1 of the fifth schedules of the 1999 Constitution and the breach the oaths of office as SGF and therefore he should be prosecuted,” the committee said.

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