Dateline May , 2007 : Anambra State ;Another Hope Betrayed, Another Opportunity wasted Under Former Governor Obi . Grand corruption uncovered in Obi’s ministry of works New information of grand corruption in Governor Peter Obi’s cabinet has been uncovered by the operatives of Ukpakareports that reeks of malicious disregard of law and abuse of the doctrines that govern the moral character professed publicly by the Obi administration. In a cursory investigation conducted by Ukpakareports into the management of State funds by the various ministries of Anambra State, it was discovered that the corruption in the various ministries in “broad daylight” has gone unabated under the nose of the Governor. Virtually all the ministries investigated by Ukpakareports showed disturbing levels of financial corruption – of which the Governor has acknowledged being aware of the corrupt practices. Of the many ministries investigated, the Ministry of Works, Transport and Housing exhibited the lowest form of spineless corruption. As Ukpakareports gathered, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry – Engr. D. H. Ndulue who due to his knowledge of the ministry has acted as the head of the ministry because of the high turnover rate of the seating commissioners. Because of this, Engr. Ndulue served as the Governor’s advisor for matters concerning Works, Transport and Housing. And as Ukpakareports has discovered, Engr. Ndulue took the opportunity to take the Ministry to the cleaners. It began with the misuse of monies allotted to the ministry – to perform palliative works during December 2006 period. According to the Obi administration, the amount of N250million was given to the ministry for the palliative works. Out of the monies handed to the ministry - about N130million was utilized to do some scanty road repairs in Onitsha and then the remainder of N120million was mysteriously transferred from Zenith Bank to another bank by Engr Ndulue. Making matters worst, the N130million was reported to have never been used to do the original work intended. Ukpakareports contacted Engr. Ndulue regarding the missing funds. Engr. Ndulue indicated that the Governor is aware of it. He then refused to comment further and decided to work operatives of Ukpakareports out of his office and turned off his telephone {0803 717 6088}. Also, Ukpakareports found that the Ministry of Works, Transport and Housing has engaged itself in kickbacks from road contractors. In a recent approved payment of N17million to a contractor {contractor’s name withheld}, Engr. Ndulue in cohorts with the seating commissioner paid only N13million while pocketing N4million – for reasons that remain to be answered by the Permanent Secretary and the Obi administration. Operatives of Ukpakareports raised the issue with the commissioner for Ministry of Works, Transport and Housing. While he did not deny the findings, he questioned Ukpakareports source - and complained of having “saboteurs” within his ministry. He told Ukpakareports that he has been “a civil servant for years and understands the way Nigeria works and how Nigeria conducts her business” – that these are just the way things are carried out in Nigeria. Puzzled as to the response, our investigator left the commissioners office. Governor Peter Obi recently {late April 2006} flagged off a road construction project in Awka North LGA priced at about N2.6billion of which was formerly priced at N1.5billion in March 2006 by another contractor. As it turns out, the road contract award for the construction of Amansi Road in Awka North - awarded to Brecco - was the result of an April 11th 2007 meeting between the Engr D. H. Ndulue and a representative of Brecco at the Nike Hotel in Enugu State. Both parties discussed the contract and agreed on inflating the price – and Engr. Ndulue, in turn promised to award the contract to Brecco. The credible source disclosed that Brecco offered to pay Engr. Ndulue about N400million upon completion of the project. According to the source, Engr. D.H. Ndulue told the Governor that he decided not to invite CCC who had done the field analysis - to bid for the project because the Project Manager of CCC was out of town - not withstanding the fact the project manger had assigned his assistant – Mr. Yusuf to interface with Engr Ndulue. Ukpakareports discovered that the road contract in Awka North was originally awarded by the Ngige administration for N1.5billion in March 2006 to another road construction company – Interpal who is reported to have a decent record in Anambra State. But with the return of Peter Obi from impeachment, it was reported that the folks that the ministry raised the road for re-evaluation- since Peter Obi had halted all road construction flagged off by the Ngige administration. For the re-evaluation, a reputable road contractor was brought in – by the name CCC. The project manager of CCC and the Permanent Secretary both re-evaluated the units of measurements and other details of the road to be re-awarded. This was before Brecco was invited for a “selective bidding” process which they were never qualified for – based on their experience and technical background. Brecco’s past performances in Anambra has been horrendous, particularly on the roads awarded to it in Nnewi and other areas where Brecco has not been able to mobilize itself to start work on contracts that the State had paid the mobilization fee. In terms of technical background, it is even more horrendous. Brecco, as Ukpakareports discovered, has no staff, no equipments - and constitutes of one man-team who used to be a foreman at Nigercat Construction Company. Brecco is reported by the finance ministry in Anambra to not pay taxes in Anambra. Not only that, the Project Engineer for Ministry of Works, Transport Housing and who also serves as the Director of Roads and Highways was reported to have raised written concerns on file to the ministry and to the government over the faulty manner the road contract of N2.5billion magnitude was awarded to a company with a track record like Brecco. He questioned the manner the analysis and Tender was conducted, and why Brecco never submitted a Company Profile during the “selective Bidding” process. He questioned why there was no “Advance Payment Guarantee” submitted by Brecco – which is required of all bidders. {The concerns by the Director are filed in the ministry – the ministry has refused to release them to Ukpakareports}. The grandeur of corruption also pours into the practices of the Head of Services – Madam Ngozi Meluifeonwu – who is in charge of the civil servants employed by the State. She also happens to be the sister to Barrister Ikpeazu – Peter Obi’s lawyer in his term extension case. Ukpakareports have discovered that Madam Ngozi Meluifeonwu, the head of service – has been using her position to force Permanent Secretaries and other officers to get work for herself using her husband’s consulting firm as a front/cover. Her husband’s consulting firm was awarded the contract for consultative service for rebuilding of the Awka Secretariat and of many roads in Onitsha among others - against the tenets of ICPC. Just last week, Madam Ngozi Meluifeonwu engineered the award of another contract to her husband’s consulting firm – for the construction of – Harbor Industrial Layout Road in Onitsha. The interesting aspect of the corrupt practice by the Mrs. Ngozi Meluifeonwu is the new unearthed information that point directly at the governor himself. According to a source within his cabinet, Peter Obi is aware of the dubious practices of Madam Ngozi Meluifeonwu and turns a blind eye to it because of the relationship he enjoys with her brother Barrister Ikpeazu – in that he represent him as his lawyer. Some allege that Barrister Ikpeazu is being paid for his services via the fraudulent contract awarded to Madam Ngozi Meluifeonwu’s husband. In fairness, Ukpakareports, prior to publishing its findings, wrote the Governor of Anambra State a private letter disclosing the findings of Ukpakareports. {Click here to view the letter}. The letter which was received by the Governor on May 3, 2007 indicated that he is aware of the practices and that he is investigating the matter. The governor’s special aide further elaborated that the Governor is primarily concerned with his term extension case and may not get to investigate the matter as fast as it normally would have been. The struggle continues… Publisher - 0703 470 5555; Editor@...
Posted on: Sun, 04 Jan 2015 01:49:09 +0000
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