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The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Makurdi Zonal Directorate, has interrogated four Benue State Government officials over their alleged involvement in the award of unapproved contracts valued at over N100 billion in the Ministry of Education and Knowledge Management.
Those reportedly questioned include the former Commissioner for Education and Knowledge Management, now Commissioner for Lands, Survey and Solid Minerals, Rev. Frederick Ikyaan; the incumbent Commissioner for Education, Mrs Margaret Adamu; the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Prof. Timothy Ornguga; and the Permanent Secretary of the Education Ministry, Mrs Helen Nambativ.
The investigation followed complaints by more than 60 contractors who reportedly approached the commission over contracts awarded for the construction of additional technical colleges across the state.
A government source had confirmed to newsmen that the Benue State Executive Council had approved the establishment of additional Technical Colleges. Following the approval, the contractors, acting on the directives of one Lawrence Kyaku, went ahead with the construction of the schools.
A source within the EFCC, who didn’t want to be named because he was not authorised to comment publicly, said the contracts, valued at over N100 billion, were allegedly awarded last year without the approval from Governor Hyacinth Alia.
According to the source, the contractors mobilised to their respective sites and commenced work with personal funds after being encouraged to proceed by one Lawrence Kyaku, who allegedly presented himself as a Senior Special Adviser to the governor and claimed to have the administration’s nod to proceed with the work.
The source alleged that Kyaku collected millions of naira from the contractors under the guise of facilitating the projects saying “The man had been claiming he is the SSA to the Governor and was deceiving the contractors to go ahead. He also deceived Commissioner that he has the Governor’s backing to do the work.
“He also extorted huge amount of money from the contractors on the guise that he is helping them to facilitate the contract. Until we conclude the investigation we can not know how much he collected from them as facilitation fees,” the source added.
He said trouble started when the contractors later encountered difficulties when they sought payment for work already executed.
The EFCC source further disclosed that the Attorney-General, Prof. Timothy Ornguga, allegedly signed a letter providing a bank account number into which contractors were required to pay one percent of their contract sums as vetting fees.
“This one percent may look to you as a small amount but when it involves a huge amount, it is huge.”
According to the source, the contractors said on seeing the letter and the account number from the Attorney General of the state, they were convinced to believe the contract was coming from government and that made them to commit their money.
The source said the commission is examining the circumstances surrounding the letter and the payments.
The source further explained that the investigation was also aimed at establishing the respective roles of the former commissioner, the permanent secretary and other officials in the contract process, including whether appropriate administrative procedures were followed.
He said the commission’s investigation was ongoing and that the alleged contracts had not been established as government-approved projects.
The source also indicated that private investigators has already been deployed to examine the circumstances surrounding the transactions.
The source added that the commission was concerned about the financial exposure of the contractors, insisting that the investigation would establish the facts surrounding the contracts and determine the appropriate steps to address the complaints.
He also noted that the EFCC has yet to conclude its investigation, and the allegations against the officials and other individuals involved remain subject to verification.
