*To Be Quizzed May 2
AN ongoing investigation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) alleged diversion of N7.5billion by NSCDC contractors has reportedly implicated some top officials of the organisation.
It was discovered that payments for executed jobs were redirected, with contractors linked to Bureaus De Change.
Meanwhile, the anti-graft agency has summoned the affected officers for questioning from May 2.
“The EFCC investigation is currently ongoing into the alleged diversion of N7.5billion by contractors working with the Commandant General of the NSCDC, Ahmed Abubakar Audi, over a period of five days.
“The entire amount that was shared to contractors account has been identified and linked to BDCs, who were invited and have been questioned.
“The contractors involved in the case are being called for questioning as the investigation progresses.
“The investigators discovered that payments were made to a total of 20 contractors, with a significant sum of N2billion allocated to three major contractors, who each own five companies.
“Each contractor received a retention fee of five per cent. Letters of invitation have been sent to these contractors.
“All the contractors have been interviewed, except for one woman, who has been working tirelessly to avoid it and who received over N1billion, and all the funds were discovered to have been converted to USD (United States Dollar).
“The contractors made useful statements that led to the recovery of approximately N1billion, which Audi had given to them to avoid being invited.
“The contractors have been under pressure from the EFCC, as they have stated that the operatives are so professional that there is nothing to hide, given that they have records at their fingertips.
“One of the contractors informed us that they were planning to start a protest at the NSA office to seek assistance, as they feel that he is the only senior official who can help them reach the CG (Commandant General).
“They applied for jobs as contractors, only to learn that the job was already executed on their behalf by the Director of Procurement, Victor Fayemi, and Anthony Akpan, depending on the contractor they are in touch with.
“They sent account numbers with individual names, which the investigators informed them are BDC. The contractor that is yet to come is the MD of Absolute Solutions, Cerise Limited, BNT arm, who have been getting paid since the CG assumed office in 2021, and have been using same BDC to exchange funds, which she’s always informed that the jobs have been executed on her behalf.
“The BDC investigated so far include Main One Global and Double Spec Agro. Another contractor that received over N1billion is Sotitrech Computers, Jikol Multipurpose, and have exchanged funds through One Al-Hikma communications and made some refunds.
“It was observed at NSCDC that these payments were meant for jobs that had already been executed, but the contractors had not been paid. If the investigators request the goods, they will be found in the stores, but the main contractors who supplied them were not paid.”
Additionally, payments for the elections were meant for the staff, but sources at the NSCDC claimed that the staff were underpaid, compared to staff at other sister agencies.
The EFCC has written a letter inviting officers of the Corps for questioning. Officers scheduled to be questioned by EFCC, starting from May 2, include Victor Olanrewaju Fayemi; Anthony Akpan Uwen; Patrick Babatunde; Comfort Danladi; Akibo Michael Olusola; Umaru Usman Karshi; Adewale Kukoyi; Joseph Ajayi Ibitulo; A.A. Jonathan and Paul Ahepa
