The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) yesterday said it had recovered six tractors from a former Senator, Isa Hamman Misau.

The tractors were meant for farmers in six local government areas in the Central Senatorial District of Bauchi State.

But the equipment were not delivered to the farmers as indicated in the Constituency Projects credited to a senator.

A statement by the spokesperson for the anti-graft commission, Mrs. Rasheedat A. Okoduwa, said a dialysis machine, an ECG monitor, an oxygen regulator and anaesthetic machines have been recovered from Mma Obot Foundation, allegedly belonging to Senator Godswill Akpabio.

The statement reads: “The on-going tracking of constituency projects by the ICPC and its partners through the Constituency Projects Tracking Group (CPTG) initiative has yielded yet another significant result with the recovery of six tractors meant for the use of farmers in six local government areas of Bauchi Central Senatorial District.

“The tractors formed part of a N430 million contract for the supply of pumping machines and other agricultural machinery to farmers in the senatorial district, which was awarded in 2015 by the Federal Government as part of senators’ constituency projects across the nation.

“The CPTG team for Bauchi discovered that N76.6 million was paid for the tractors in December 2015 and supplied in March 2016. They were supposed to have been distributed for the use of farmers in each of the six local government areas in the senatorial zone, including Misau, Dambam, Ningi, Warji, Darazo and Ganjuwa.

“It was found out that the tractors had obviously not been distributed as required in the terms of the contract.

“In the effort to trace the tractors, Isa Hamman Misau, the then senator under whose auspices the project was included in the budget to be executed by the MDG (Millennium Development Goals) Office, met with officials of ICPC in Bauchi and in a written statement claimed that the tractors were kept in Yuli village.

“However, the CPTG team did not find any of the tractors there and some of the intended beneficiaries who were interviewed claimed not to have ever seen the tractors in the village as claimed by the senator.

“The senator, who was later contacted on telephone by the CPTG team, to ascertain the actual location of the tractors, could not offer any positive explanation during the conversation.

“The CPTG team, however, gathered through intelligence that the tractors were being hurriedly moved to Ganjuwa Local Government headquarters and it then proceeded to the place to take custody of them.

“The tractors, which are already showing signs of dilapidation as a result of usage, with some leaking oil, have been seized by the Commission and handed over to the Chairman, Ganjuwa Local Government Area for safe keep pending further directives.”

The former Bauchi Senator could not be reached yesterday to confirm the ICPC claim.

The commission confirmed that a dialysis machine and hospital equipment had been recovered from Mma Obot Foundation, allegedly belonging to the former Senate Minority Whip and a former Akwa Ibom State Governor, Godswill Akpabio.

ICPC said: “Among the recoveries so far made by the CPTG team are dialysis machine, ECG monitor, oxygen regulator, Anaesthetic machines, generators and other hospital equipment meant for a cottage hospital in Ukana, Essien Udim Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, from premises of Mma Obot Foundation, alleged to belong to Senator Godswill Akpabio.”

The CPTG assessment and review of constituency projects across the country by the Commission and its partners – Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors (NIQS), Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP); Budget Office of the Federation; Premium Times, BudgIT and Udeme.ng is aimed at ensuring satisfactory execution of all constituency projects.

It has so far led to multiple recoveries of items, hospital equipment, vehicles and funds. It has also forced many contractors, who hitherto had abandoned projects, back to site to complete them.

But Akpabio defended his integrity yesterday.

He told The Nation that the project for which the equipment allegedly retrieved from the Mma Obot Foundation were meant for an on-going project.

According to him, the ICPC, as a Federal Government agency, should not allow itself to be used by politicians for selfish motives.

He said: “The story is false; it is lie from the pit of hell. It is politically-motivated. And ICPC should stop misleading the public with false stories.

“I have no foundation that deals in medical equipment. I don’t have a kidney problem. So, what will I be doing with a dialysis machine? What will I be doing be generating sets?

On June 8 after the end of my tenure as a member of the Eight Senate, I empowered 8000 indigenes of me senatorial district with N100,000 each. The N100 million disbursed was party of my constituency project for 2018.

“I am not a contractor and I was not paid to supply medical equipment. We only initiate constituency projects, we don’t implement them. Why are they dragging Akpabio’s name into it.

A federal agency of the nature of the ICPC should not allow itself to be used some people to score cheap political points.” (The Nation)

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