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From Sola Ojo, Abuja
A civil society organisation, the Network Against Corruption and Trafficking Foundation (NACAT), has petitioned President Bola Tinubu, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) over alleged procurement irregularities at the Energy Commission of Nigeria (ECN).
The organisation’s chairman, Fejiro Oliver, said at a press conference in Abuja yesterday that its findings pointed to suspected contract splitting, abuse of office and possible diversion of public funds involving solar energy projects valued at about N700 million.
NACAT alleged that the Director-General of ECN, Dr Mustapha Abdullahi, approved the award and payment of multiple contracts to five companies said to be owned and controlled by the same individuals, in a manner it claimed breached provisions of the Public Procurement Act, 2007.
According to the group, payments were made between October 21 and 23, 2024 to DOAD Contractors Ltd, Bajaj Modupeola Empire Ltd, B&H Dynamic Global Services Ltd, BMU Construction Company Ltd and Dehanzel Nig Ltd, all of which were registered within a single week in late 2023.
It said corporate records showed that the companies shared identical directors, and in some cases, the same registered addresses, raising concerns about compliance with procurement thresholds and competitive bidding requirements.
NACAT stated that on October 23, 2024, ECN paid N103.4 million to DOAD Contractors Ltd, while mobilisation fees of about N57 million each were paid the same day to Bajaj Modupeola Empire Ltd and B&H Dynamic Global Services Ltd for solar street light projects in several states.
Similar payments were said to have been made on October 21, 2024, to BMU Construction Company Ltd and Dehanzel Nig Ltd for related projects.
The organisation further alleged that several of the projects were either not executed or inadequately executed, raising questions about whether public funds were used for their intended purposes.
NACAT said the alleged transactions appeared to contravene Sections 24 and 25 of the Public Procurement Act, which require open competitive bidding and public advertisement for government contracts.
The group called on the President to direct a comprehensive and independent investigation by the EFCC, ICPC and the Bureau of Public Procurement and urged that Dr Abdullahi be suspended pending the outcome of investigations to prevent interference with evidence.
It also distanced itself from what it described as counter-claims by an unregistered group, which it said were aimed at distracting from the allegations.
As at the time of filing this report, the Energy Commission of Nigeria and Dr Mustapha Abdullahi had not issued an official response to the allegations.
