The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has revealed details of the theft of public funds at the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), confirming a PREMIUM TIMES exclusive report and indicting the former management team of the agency headed by erstwhile Managing Director, Salihijo Ahmad.
The management team, headed by Salihijo was suspended and replaced by President Bola Tinubu last week over alleged N1.2 billion fraud.
A team of investigators assigned by the EFCC to probe the alleged fraud indicted Salihijo and other senior officials of stealing or misappropriating about N12.7 billion.
President BolaTinubu suspended the management team of the agency on 7 March over the alleged N1.2 billion theft previously reported extensively by PREMIUM TIMES in October last year.
Mr Salihijo was suspended indefinitely alongside Olaniyi Netufo, the executive director, Corporate Services; Barka Sajou, the executive director, Technical Services, and Sa’adatu Balgore, executive director, Rural Electrification Fund (REF) and a new acting management team was appointed for the agency, headed by Abba Aliyu as the Managing Director/CEO.
2024 budget: How NASS allocated ₦6.6trn to 20 ministries for ‘unknown projects’ – Report
EFCC probe
EFCC sent investigators to the REA after receiving a complaint alleging cases of criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust, misappropriation of public funds, procurement fraud and money laundering at the agency under the leadership of Mr Ahmad.
The four allegations were that Mr Ahmad has 37 bank accounts linked to his biometric verification number (BVN), although he claims on his asset declaration forms with the Code of Conduct Bureau that he has only two accounts; that in June 2023, senior officials of the agency siphoned N300 million under the guise of a training programme; that N1.2 billion was also siphoned between March and June 2023 through eight staff in the agency’s account department; and that a director, Alaba Netufo, was running a private business to which some contractors of the agency had on several occasions paid money.
However, according to the investigators, in the course of their probe, they received fresh information “regarding other categories of large-scale misappropriation of public funds within the agency.”
These include “gross misappropriation” of N12.4 billion in COVID-19 funds disbursed by the federal government to the agency in two tranches of (N6.2 billion) each in 2020 and 2021.
Investigators were also told that the agency was coercing contractors executing zonal intervention and capital projects to pay five per cent of the contract sum as ‘’monitoring and evaluation’’ charges, “which are usually paid in cash to senior/management staff of the agency and are, more often than not, embezzled.
They also heard that payments totalling N728.9 million (N728,915,229.04) made by the agency to 15 contractors in 2023 for consultancy jobs were “channels for stealing and diversion of public funds majorly because by virtue of the job roles of certain staff of the agency being zonal coordinators, project department as well as monitoring and evaluation department, it was unnecessary, ridiculous and alarming that external consultants were still engaged to execute the same responsibilities.”
The investigators then presented their findings on the various categories of allegations in an interim report.
Mr Ahmad’s 37 Bank Accounts
“That Ahmad Salihijo Ahmad has (37) bank accounts linked to his biometric verification number.
“That the Bank Verification Number (BVN) printout depicts irregularities as there are different dates of birth associated with the suspect.
“That the (37) bank accounts in (ii) comprises (14) corporate accounts, (21) personal accounts, and (2) other accounts in the names of Bilkisu Salihijo.
“That on the 1st of September, 2020, Ahmad Salihijo Ahmad declared his assets with the Code of Conduct Bureau.
“That the suspect declared only two bank accounts with the Code of Conduct Bureau.
“That the suspect did not declare that he owns any factory or enterprise in the forms he filled at the Code of Conduct Bureau.
“That the suspect made false declarations at the Code of Conduct Bureau as he operates (27) active accounts against the (2) accounts declared by him.
“That the suspect made false declaration at the Code of Conduct Bureau as he stated that he does not have any factory or enterprise while in reality, he is a director in (5) companies and shareholder(owner) in (4) companies.”
B. N300m allegedly stolen through Training Programme
The investigators found that the two companies awarded the contracts to conduct the training programme for the staff of the agency, Cees Assist Resources Limited and Braintask Value Resources Limited, have the same owner, one Umaefulem Chibueze, who was used to siphon funds through the programme.
“That on the 6th March, 2023 and 10th of April, 2023 respectively, Mr Umaefulem Donatus Chibueze dispatched an application/training proposal to the Managing Director of the Rural Electrification Agency, seeking the training of the Agency’s staff.
“That Cees Assist Resources Limited application in (ii) emphasized that the training cost per week for each participant is (N450,000.00) which translates to (N128,571.43) for two days being the duration eventually adopted by the agency.
“That Braintask Value Resources Limited application emphasised that the training cost per week for each participant is also (N450,000.00) which translates to (N128,571.43) for two days as well.
“That based on the computation, the payments due to Cees Assist Resources Limited and Braintask Value Resources Limited for two days training of (203) staff of the agency as approved, was supposed to be (N52,200,000.58).
“That between the 16th June 2023 and 23rd June 2023, the Rural Electrification Agency made payments totalling (N279,330,197.76) to Cees 7 Assist Resources Limited and Braintask Value Resources Limited in the sums of (N139,562,569.76) and (N139,767,628.00) respectively.
“That the payments were made into the companies’ Access Bank account numbers 0094494027 and 0107644861.
“That the consultant was overpaid in the sum of (N227,130,197.18).
“That upon receipt of the (N279,330,197.76) by the consultant, the Director of Administration and Human Resources of the Rural Electrification Agency namely Mr Suleiman Garba Bulkwang gave him instructions to remit the total sum of (N144,523,969.00) to other individuals, some of whom are staff of the agency, as well as some contractors of the agency all of whom were conduits for laundering the (N144,523,969.00).
“That the consultant heeded the instruction of the Director of Administration and Human Resources and disbursed the (N144,523,969.00) as instructed.
“That the consents of the recipients of the funds in (x) were not sought before they were paid the monies.
“That upon receipt of funds in (xiii), the Director of Administration and Human Resources Suleiman Bulkwang once again contacted the recipients and gave directives for the disbursement of the funds to various other persons thereby, creating a complex trail of transactions in a bid to launder the funds.
“That having disbursed the (N144,523,969.00) as instructed in (x), and having being qualified to get the (N52,200,000.58) for the training exercise which was eventually executed, the consultant still had in custody, the balance of (N82,606,228.18) representing his share of the proceeds of crime.
“That from the proceeds of crime, the consultant made payments totalling (N54,000,000.00) to two real estate companies namely Jaykim Properties and Logistics Enterprises and Urban Shelter for purchase of properties from the loot.
“That the consultant also made payment of (N3,855,000.00) for Bureau de Change transaction.
“That the said consultancy/training contract was not appropriated for in the 2023 Appropriation Act and should never have been considered and paid for.
“That the agency did not carry out any procurement exercise, neither did it obtain requisite Certificate of no Objection from the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) prior to its engagement of the Consultant in clear violation of the Public Procurement Act, 2007.
“That the total payments of (N139,562,569.76) and (N139,767,628.00) made to Cees Assist Resources Limited and Braintask Value Resources Limited exceeded the approval threshold of the managing director of the agency, Ahmad Salihijo Ahmad because his payment approval limit for consultancy services in year 2023 was (N99,000,000.00) and below.
“That for payments exceeding over (N99, 000,000.00), the Ministerial Tenders Board approval should have been gotten by the Agency.
“That in order to bring the payments within the threshold of the Managing Director of the agency, monies paid to the consultant were split into (12) tranches in ranges between (N18, 000,000.00) and (N27,000,000.00).
“That the Managing Director of the Agency approved the payments for the said training as proposed and processed by the Director of Administration and Human Resources Suleiman Garba Bulkwang, Executive Director Corporate Services Mr Alaba Netufo, Director of Finance and Account (Funds) Abdullahi Sambo.
“That the Director of Finance and Account (Funds) Abdullahi Sambo, authorised the payments made to the consultant without sighting necessary documents showing that the consultant was engaged upon execution of requisite procurement process in accordance with the Financial Regulation 2009.
“That ultimately, the sum of (N227,130,197.18) was criminally diverted and laundered out of the (N279,330,197.76) received by the consultant.”
N1.2 billion taken from Agency’s account
The report threw light on the N1.2 billion fraud earlier reported by PREMIUM TIMES that put the management of the agency in trouble.
