N33bn IDP Fund: Presidency’s Plot To Cover Up Fraud Exposed … Senate May Probe Osinbajo, NEMA DG

Indications emerged yesterday that the presidency had queried the embattled and indicted Director General of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Mustpha Maihaja, over fraud, corruption and embezzlement of billions of Naira illegally expended by the agency last year.
However, the query and the report of the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offenses Commission (ICPC) were not made public as some powerful forces within the presidency covered it up ostensibly to protect Maihaja.
Similarly, the Department of State Services (DSS) did investigate Maihaja over same allegations and indicted him of fraud and misappropriation during the tenure of the disgraced former Director General Lawal Daura.
But some influential persons intervened and Daura was said to have allegedly “reached a deal” with Maihaja and only asked him to refund the monies he collected as travel allowances for official trips he didn’t embark on.
The query letter dated January 15, 2018, with reference number SH/OVP/DCOS/LG&R/NEMA/367 was addressed to Maihaja and signed by Ade Ipaye, Deputy Chief it Staff to the President, office of the Vice President.
The House of Representatives had adopted the report of its Committee on Emergency and Disaster Preparedness chaired by Hon Ali Isa J. C, had indicted Maihaja for fraud, diversion and embezzlement of N33 billion.
Documents show that Vice President Yemi Osinbajo acting on a directive from President Muhammadu Buhari directed that Maihaja be issued the query following a petition over several fraud allegations against the DG, by one Abba Kyari Modu Gana in a petition dated 11 November, 2017.
Gana, in the petition reportedly copied the Presidency, especially office of the Vice President, who doubles as the Chairman, Governing Council of NEMA, the nation’s anti-graft agencies, leadership of the two houses of of the National Assembly and others, made allegations of fraudulent practices against the NEMA DG.
Gana said prior to Maihaja in April 2017, activities of NEMA were on smooth sail, but on his assumption as DG of the agency, he grounded the Mobile Ambulance Intensive Care Unit of the body, the emergency response vehicles, as well as the Air Ambulance and the Helicopter, which cost the nation about $100 million to put in place
“Upon resumption, he (Maihaja) ground the Mobile Intensive Care Unit, Emergency Response Vehicles, Air Ambulance and the Helicopters that cost the Federal Government about $100 million tax payers money to acquire, Anne dire 1 is a letter written to the Agency by the NCAA”,
On the 2017 devastating floods that affected 16 states of the federation, the petitioner alleged that upon the directive for the immediate release of N1.6 billion for the supply of relief support for victims, he said “these might interest you that no item was procured and delivered to the states” affected by flood.
“The DG awarded a contract of N2.4 billion without following due process even though it’s strictly above his approval limit and that of the Chairman governing council of the agency.
“Annexure II are copies of draft letters written to the Federal Executive Council and the BPP seeking certificate of no objection after an award letter was issued to the supplying company. Even though they are just draft documents, the DG went ahead to pay the company the sum of Three Hundred and Sixty Million (N360,000,000) and another sum of Nine Hundred and Nineteen Million (N919,000,000) with just invoices.
“He has been involved in the illegal approval of contracts that are constitutionally and according to the Agency’s Act exceeds his approval limit and that of the Chairman of the governing council.
“The contract award letters signed by the acting director Department of Relief Services and Rehabilitation, a department that happens to be the consuming department of the items, annexure iii is the approval threshold of the Director General, annexure IV is a copy of NEMA Act, annexure v are copies of the contract award letters, payment vouchers and others illegal documents used for payment.
“The NEMA Abuja operations office was located at Wuye District before his resumption in office, on the expiration of the rent, the DG (Maihaja) said the amount paid (N7,000,000) seven million for two years was on the high side so he relocated the office to his brother’s house at Wuse Zone 2, Mombolo street at the cost of N16,758,000 (Sixteen Million Seven Hundred & Fifty Eight Thousand Naira)for the same period of two years.”
“He (Maihaja) travelled to the United Kingdom for training in Bournemouth with all his travel entitlements paid for two weeks but he only spent five days and bought an apple ipad, upon return to the country he pulled out the amount from the agency’s account, see annexure vi).”
“He was scheduled to travel to Mexico for two weeks but he did not embark on the trip and he did not make refunds.
“He was scheduled for trip to Canada for two weeks, he collected the travel entitlement and spent two days, see his international passport for further details”.
Meanwhile, the Senate says it may set up an ad-hoc committee, on resumption from its one-week recess, to probe the alleged mismanagement of N33bn currently rocking the Presidential Intervention Programme for the North-East.
The Vice-Chairman, Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Senator Ben Murray-Bruce, told newsmen that the upper legislative chamber would commence the probe as soon as the House of Representatives ad-hoc committee concluded its own investigation.
Already, the House of Representatives ad-hoc committee, probing the alleged scam, had said Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, in his capacity as the chairman of the programme, and the Director-General of the National Emergency Management Agency, Mr Mustapha Maihaja, were culpable.
The Senate spokesman spoke just as NEMA stated that the probe by the House into the N5.8bn Presidential intervention funds, approved by the vice president for the North-East, was shocking and should not be directed at NEMA alone.
The Chairman of the Reps panel, Mr Ali Isa (APC, Gombe), had told journalists last Tuesday that Osinbajo, as chairman of the programme, issued directives leading to the release of the funds, while the NEMA DG supervised the execution of the directives.
The Reps panel also specifically indicted Osinbajo for allegedly approving N5.8bn North-East Intervention Fund, which it claimed was illegal.
Osinbajo had dismissed the allegation, stating that the government was obliged to make an emergency response to the humanitarian crisis in the geopolitical zone.
The senate spokesman, in a telephone interview with one of our correspondents in Abuja, said the Senate would carry out an independent investigation into the issue considering the weight of the allegations.
Murray-Bruce said, “It is very likely that the Senate will institute a probe into the issue but you will get the details on Tuesday. We will allow the Reps committee to finish its probe before we start our own.
“The allegations against those in charge of the programme (Osinbajo and Maihaja) are very serious and we will not allow it to go like that. We will take the decision on Tuesday.”
But a senior official of NEMA, in an interview with newsmen, stated that all necessary documents detailing how the funds NEMA got were spent had been submitted to the lawmakers.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the procurement process for some of the intervention programmes started from the Federal Ministry of Budget and National Planning and not from NEMA.
Asked why NEMA failed to follow due process, as alleged by the lawmakers, the official replied, “Do you believe them? The procurement process did not start from NEMA; it started from the Ministry of Budget and National Planning. All that was given to NEMA was money for the distribution of the relief materials. Aside from that money, no other funds came to NEMA. So, some of the questions should be channelled to that ministry.
“Our role at NEMA is just the distribution and this is going on in the North-East.”
The agency, in a document made available to newsmen in Abuja on Friday, stated that it was “astonished to hear some of the findings and conclusions presented by the House ad-hoc committee on the issue, which did not reflect the facts and documents placed before it by NEMA.”
Reacting to some of the issues of port clearance and transportation of emergency food assistance donated by the Chinese government, NEMA stated that the Federal Government received a total of 6,779 metric tonnes of rice for the IDP in the North-East as donation from China.
“This amounted to 271 containers, which arrived at Apapa ports between June and October 2017. The correct total value of the rice is N2.25bn and the amount spent on demurrage and storage was about N450m, not N800m, as alleged by the committee,” it stated.
Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party has urged Osinbajo to seek forgiveness over the alleged intervention fund scandal even as it asked the VP to make refund to the government.
National Publicity Secretary, PDP, Mr Kola Ologbondiyan, in a statement on Saturday, said the alleged indictment of Osinbajo in the matter by the House of Representatives was sad, given the VP’s perceived transparent and pious posture.
He said, “The Peoples Democratic Party says Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, as a preacher, should search his soul, seek forgiveness and make restitution for entangling himself in corruption and sharp practices instead of his lame effort at concealment in the N5.8bn North-East Intervention Fund scandal.
“It is heartrending that Osinbajo, despite his sanctimonious posturing, is being fingered in the frittering of the N5.8bn meant for the purchase of food and the general welfare of the suffering Internally Displaced Persons in the North-East.”