The Presidential Committee on North-East awarded over a billion naira worth of bogus contracts in four months, it has been reported. A report this morning in Daily Trust on Sunday said that between January and April this year, the committee paid N1.260 billion to 12 companies for contracts said to be bogus.

Out of the N10 billion budgeted for the committee this year, about N7 billion has been released, the report said.

The Presidential Committee on North-East was constituted to, among other things, assess, recommend and implement modalities for the return of internally displaced persons (IDPs) to their respective communities. The Committee is headed by Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr. Babachir David Lawal.

A table of how the Presidential Committee disbursed about N1.3 billion to contractors obtained by the paper shows the names of companies, the banks, account numbers, amount and the date the payments were made. A company known as VFS was paid N50 million twice on the New Year day and during a public holiday. Another company, Josman Technologies Limited was paid N230 million in two installments for the removal of invasive plant species in Yobe State.

The document shows that in a day, a company known as “Is Yours Investment Limited” was paid N185 million in five installments.

On March 30, this year, the company was paid N50,299,270 and N37,754,900 twice for the supply of food and non-food items. It was also paid N9.3 million same day and to one account from one bank.

The committee, according to the document, paid N117 million and N108 million to Lintex International and Dantex Nigeria Limited respectively, for the provision of temporary shelters.

It revealed that N80.7 million and N97.6 million were paid to JMT Global Technologies Limited and Greenstone General Enterprise Limited respectively for the rehabilitation of police stations in Adamawa State. Another N258 million was paid to Dantex Nigeria Limited for the supply of food and non-food items.

The Senate had, on Tuesday, constituted a committee chaired by Senator Shehu Sani (APC, Kaduna Central) to probe the award of the contracts by the Presidential Committee. This followed allegations of shady practices of the committee first made public on Tuesday by Senator Baba Kaka Bashir Garbai (APC, Borno Central) on the floor of the Senate.

Garbai had, while presenting a motion on the humanitarian crisis in the North-East, said the contracts were awarded without recourse to due process.

“We are worried that rather than use the money appropriated to ameliorate the problems of the displaced persons in the North-East, the focus of the disbursement so far made has been to serve other interests,” he had said.

•Photo shows SGF Babachir David Lawal.

Update news