Anti-Corruption: Osinbajo Queries DG Of BPE Over Alleged Shady Contracts

The anti-corruption war of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration seem to be beaming its searchlight on government agencies and parastatals.  

Many agencies have been subjected to scrutiny by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) since the advent of this administration in May 2015.

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The latest agency whose activities are being looked into is the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), which is constitutionally under the purview of the office of the vice president, as the chairman of the National Council on Privatisation (NCP).

The Nation reports that Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has queried the Director-General of the BPE, Benjamin Dikki, on the award of some contracts. which allegedly included legal and consultancy fees amounting to N1.45billion.

Vice President Osinbajo is the chairman of the National Council on Privatisation which oversees the Bureau of Public Enterprise

According to the report, the controversial contracts include N950million for the liquidation of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) when the company had ceased to exist and N500million as consultancy fees to another  government department.

In the query issued to Dikki, he was mandated to clarify the alleged payment of N27,188,232, as premium for group life and group personal accident insurance for former staff of the defunct PHCN.

The man in the eye of the storm, Benjamin Dikki

Another issue that cropped up in the query is the alleged diversion of N455,266,618;23 meant for the payment of retirement benefits to entertainment allowance for the staff.

The query was precipitated by a petition submitted to Osinbajo’s office by a former director of the BPE, Ibrahim Muhammad Kashim, who stressed that the N950million contract for the winding up of PHCN was unnecessary because PHCN was already a “shell” company.

It will be recalled that the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) had earlier asked the EFCC to probe the contracts before the latest intervention by Osinbajo’s office.

Already, indications are rife that the contracts were awarded contrary to the advice of the immediate past Attorney-General of the Federation, Mohammed Bello Adoke (SAN) and the BPP.

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Part of Kashim’s letter to the vice president’s office read: ”One of the items approved by the NCP was Terminal Benefits for exiting staff. It was to take effect from 2015. For that purpose NCP approved for inclusion into 2015 national budget the sum of N455,266,618:23. The staff due to retire in 2015 are:(1)Ibrahim Muhammad Kashim(Director), (2)Hajiya Fati Abubakar (Director);and (3) Afolabi Mathew(Deputy Director).

”The amount approved by the NCP as terminal benefit was meant only for three of us retiring in 2015. It meant that BPE should in 2015 seek NCP’s approval for staff retiring in 2016. (As a matter of fact there will be only one retiring staff in 2016).

”The DG by these acts has wrongly converted our terminal benefits to pay management staff entertainment allowances. This he did to calm the restiveness of the management staff as he had completely spent the internally generated revenue on his weekly trips to Zuru in Kebbi State to campaign for a political party (in deed he  even bought a pilot vehicle fitted with a siren to facilitate the trips).

”Let the DG BPE Mr. Benjamin Ezra Dikki tell Nigerians by publicising the minutes of meetings where in those matters were presented to the management committee of the BPE and that it deliberated and recommended to the NCP for approval in line with the extant law.

”The BPE is the secretariat of the NCP. Matters going to NCP have to be discussed and approved by the management committee. Why none of the payments in question came before the committee was because I objected to it, so the DG went elsewhere and got the memos approved after which he disbursed the money. And it was my stance that made the DG in an attempt to pay me back, to circumvent NCPs approval that amended the BPE Staff Condition of Service, just to ensure that I don’t get my terminal benefits.

”Not only that, he equally converted the approved sum for retiring staff in 2015 to be converted into recurrent management staff entertainment allowance.”

Osinbajo’s office response read: ”I am directed to acknowledge with thanks, the receipt of your letter dated 3rd November 2015 on the above stated subject.

”His Excellency, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, GCON, Vice President, Federal Republic of Nigeria has further directed that the said document be forwarded to Director-General, Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) for his due consideration and response.

”Please accept the assurances of His Excellency, the Vice President’s warm regards.”

Reacting to Kashim’s claims, the BPE picked holes in the issues raised by its ex-director, adding that he lied and misled the public in his petition.

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Part of the statement released by the agency’s head of public communications, Alex E. Okoh, read: ‘‘The Bureau in its desire to ameliorate the plight of its former staff who retired and the financial dislocation they went through before they could access payments from their RSA, decided to explore the provision of Section 4(4) (a) on the Pension Act which gives employers the discretion to make additional payments of benefits to its retiring employees.

”It was intended to provide a cushion of funding for retiring staff pending when they were able to process and access their RSA’s.  Consequently, the National Council on Privatisation approval was sought to create terminal benefits for the Bureau’s staff who are retiring.

”This was, however, subject to the approval of the Salaries and Wages Commission, the body that has the statutory powers to approve Salaries and Allowance of Public Servants. 

”The Salaries and Wages Commission declined approval of the Terminal Benefits on the grounds that the Bureau cannot be singled out of the entire Public Service for such special treatment.  Once the Salaries and Wages Commission does not approve the benefits, such cannot be included in the budget template and be funded.

”By the provisions of the Pension Act and the determination of the Salaries and Wages Commission, there is no terminal benefit payable to Mallam Ibrahim M Kashim or any staff.

”We wish to emphasise that all retirement benefits are paid by PENCOM in line with the Pension Act and all the ex-director’s records have been forwarded to PENCOM for payment. He has been advised to follow up with PENCOM for payment.”

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It will be recalled that members of the Senate ad-hoc committee probing all the financial allocations and usage in the power sector from 1999 to 2014 recently accused some staff of the BPE of engaging in corrupt practices. 

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