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From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
The Federal Government has approved the recommendation by the Administrative Panel, set up to investigate the activities of the Project Development Institute (PRODA), Enugu, that the suspended Director-General of the institute, Dr Charles Agulanna, proceed on retirement.
The Panel’s recommendation was contained in its report on the investigation, which was issued in September, 2021.
Recall President Muhammadu Buhari had in 2020 approved Agulanna’s suspension based on a letter written by the governing board of the institute, dated June 25, 2020, and addressed to the Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation.
The board had claimed that the institute’s contribution to the scientific and technological evolution of Nigeria, which was its core mandate, was not commensurate with the financial investments of the Federal Government over the years.
The letter was jointly signed by the board’s Chairman, Daniel Onjeh; and four members, Prof. Mohammed Mu’azu, Gabriel Akpan, Diran Ayanbeku and Ampe Fut.
According to the report, sighted by The Sun in Abuja on Friday, Agulanna sins include violations of a number of civil service rules, including dereliction of duty, alleged misappropriation, maladministration, insubordination, conflict of interest, abuse of office.
The five-man Panel was made up of Mrs. Margaret Azeez (Chairman); Emmanuel E. Akissa, Esq., Member/Secretary; Engr. Babatunde Kuye, Member; Olaleye Y. Idowu, Member; and Abdulkarim Ozi Ibrahim, Member.
Recommending Agulanna’s penalty, the Panel said “that Engr. C.N. Agulanna is guilty of misconduct in Section 030301 of the Public Service Rules (PSR) for his deliberate delay in treating official documents and also serious misconduct under Section 030402 of the PSR, for suppression of records from the officer taking over from him.
“Having been found liable of this serious misconduct, it is recommended that Engr. C.N. Agulanna be directed to proceed on immediate retirement in line with the recommendation at Paragraph 4.1 (A),(vii)”, it said.
The Panel’s report, in its conclusion, said “further to a query by the Chairman of the Governing Board of PRODA, Comrade Daniel Onjeh, against the Director-General, Engr. Dr. Charles Agulanna, an Administrative Panel was set up under the office of the OSGF to investigate the allegations raised and conduct a holistic assessment of the activities at the Institute. The Panel was inaugurated on the 9th of December, 2020.
“In line with the directive of the President and Commander-in-Chief, Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, the Board Chairman was asked to step-aside while the Director-General was suspended pending the determination of the investigation by the Administrative Panel.
“The query by the PRODA Chairman was premised on several allegations of Misappropriation, Maladministration, Insubordination, Conflict of Interest, Abuse of Office, among others. The Panel examined all the documents submitted before it as well as the evidences attached for its consideration. The Panel also invited relevant parties to the matter for the purpose of obtaining their testimonies. This included the suspended DG, the entire members of the Governing Board as well as representatives from the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology.
“Furthermore, the Panel carried out a physical visit to the PRODA Complex, Enugu, for the purpose of obtaining more information, interacting with staff of the Institute and conducting an on-site assessment of the activities at PRODA. The outcome was indeed revealing and aided the Panel in its resolution of the matter.
“Ultimately, a prima facie case of the alleged infractions has been established and recommendations for further investigations have been proposed. It is advised that tighter measures be put in place by Government to curb occurrences of misappropriation in Parastatals and Agencies such as regular inspection by relevant agencies of Government”, it said.
The Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation had since directed the ministry to implement the recommendations.
The directive was contained in a letter dated January 5, 2022 and signed by the Permanent Secretary, General Services Office, Nnamdi Mbaeri, a copy of which was also sighted by our correspondent.
In the letter, the government directed the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation and PRODA board to implement the first recommendation that read, “The Director General of PRODA, Dr Charles Agunlanna, be directed to proceed on retirement forthwith in the public interest.”
The government also directed the Bureau of Public Procurement, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission to implement the second recommendation that asked for “further review by the BPP of the procurement processes and award of contract for the construction of 3km PRODA access road and access road with side drains, and escalation to the EFCC and ICPC if required.”
Based on the report, the government also directed the acting DG, Fabian Okonkwo, to investigate the collection of administrative charges from contractors and sanction officers found culpable.
“Furthermore, the Ag DG, PRODA is to ensure all monies fraudulently collected as administrative charges are accounted for and paid into government coffers,” the letter added.
Other recommendations approved include that Mrs Ogechi Obinna and Ifeanyi be queried for failing to appear before the panel; enactment of an establishment Act for PRODA to give the agency the legal framework to enhance its functions; and that the institute should comply with Section 3210 of the Financial Regulations and render its audited financial statement for 2017 to 2020 to the AGF and AuGF respectively among other recommendations.
