House of Rep Uncovers Another N3.1bn Contract Scandal in NEMA
… DG NEMA, Maihaja pays N400mn Demurrage on China Donated Rice
For the second time in 24 hours, the House of Representatives has uncovered another contract scandal involving a whopping sum of N3.1bn in the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) under the current Director-General, Engr. Mustapha Maihaja.
The N3.1bn was said to have been approved and release for the agency by the office of the Accountant General of the Federation for procurement of rice for the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs)S in the North-Eastern Region of the country being ravaged by the deadly activities of Boko Haram insurgents.
At the continuation of the alleged breach of public trust in NEMA by the House of Rep Committee on emergency and disaster preparedness, the Director General of the agency, Maihaja was found to have expended the huge sum on companies that have no legal qualifications to get contract awards from the federal government.
Two of the companies Olam Limited a foreign firm and Three Brothers Rice Mill were said to have been award huge rice supply contract without meeting the pre-qualification conditions.
At the public hearing, presided over by the Deputy Chairman of the House Committee on Emergency and Disaster Preparedness, Hon. Ali Isa, the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and the National Pension Commission (PENCOM) in their separate reports adopted by the committee claimed that the two companies never possess tax clearance certificates, having not paid any tax to the Federal Government coffers as required by law before they can be awarded any contracts.
The committee lambasted the NEMA boss for circumventing the Public Procurement laws brazenly in the award of the N3.1bn rice contract under the guise of acting under emergency.
Apart from the contract scandal, the House Committee also uncovered that only 110 containers out of 271 containers of rice donated to Internally Displaced Persons by the Chinese government have so far been cleared at the port since July last year when the donation was made.
The committee specifically took a swipe at the NEMA DG for paying over N400 million as demurrage on 110 rice containers due to the delay by the inefficiency of NEMA under Maihaja leadership.
Consequently, the House Committee ordered the Controller General of the Nigeria Customs Service, the Minister of Agriculture and that of Budget and National Planning to appear before the committee at the next adjourned date to enable them offer explanation on why the 6779 metric tonnes of rice meant for hunger-stricken Internally Displaced People in North-East are abandoned at Lagos Port .
The Committee expressed bitterness with NEMA boss over his claim that documents relating to the rice donation by the Chinese have been scattered and tampered with by unknown persons.
The Committee was also angry with Maihaja that he expended as much as N400 million taxpayers fund on the demurrage on the rice due to the long delay in clearing the containers by his office.
The Committee has therefore ordered Maihaja to go back to his office and get all relevant documents relating to the rice donation and bring them to the committee to enable the lawmakers take appropriate steps that would facilitate the evacuation of the huge quantity of rice from Lagos Port to the North-East region where they are needed to feed the IDPs.
By PRNigeria
Kidnapped School Children
Yauri FGC Students, Kebbi419 days 3 hours 25 minutes 15 seconds,
Baptist School Students, Kaduna
401 days 5 hours 6 minutes 40 seconds
Tegina Islamiya Pupils, Niger (Freed)
Report By: PRNigeria.com
[…] House of Representatives has uncovers another N3.1bn Contract Scandal in NEMA, while the DG Maihaja Pays a whopping sum of N400mn Demurrage on Chinese donated Rice among others. Read more at: https://prnigeria.com/2018/04/nema-n3bn-scandal-n400m-demurrage-chinese-rice/ […]
[…] House of Representatives has uncovers another N3.1bn Contract Scandal in NEMA, while the DG Maihaja Pays a whopping sum of N400mn Demurrage on Chinese donated Rice among others. Read more at: https://prnigeria.com/2018/04/nema-n3bn-scandal-n400m-demurrage-chinese-rice/ […]
The NEMA BOSS is incompetent and knows nothing about disaster management. He is being used by the former SGF, Osibanjo and others to steal government money.
A NEMA staff complained bitterly that since the man joined the agency, nothing was working again. The paradigm shift of the agency on disaster mitigation is now a thing of the past. The agency is now back to NERA (National Emergency Relief Agency) Era, they now wait for disaster to occur and then relief given. The more relief approvals, the more money to be stolen.
NEMA staff have also been told that there is nothing like overtime. Once it’s 4pm, work closes, if an emergency or disaster occur after 4pm, no response by the agency until the next day by 8am when work resume. Running cost giving to Zones and operation offices were reduced to 250k per quarter to pay electric bills, fuel vehicles, buy water, general maintenance etc, what can that do while the DG office get 500k monthly for refreshments alone.
The DG once traveled for a one month course abroad, spent 4 days and came back yet he collected his full one month estacode.
The DG kept promising the hungry staff that take barely 50k a month for a level 8 step 2 officer that he is working towards ensuring their salary is upgraded but they say they don’t trust him and some internal investigation by us in the office in charge of civil service salary showed he was not doing anything towards the salary upgrade of the staff.
The staff can barely go to work cos there is no money and the DG doesn’t care. He doesn’t need them. He only works with few of his men who are also benefiting from his largesse.
The FG brought in an Engineer business man who knows nothing about disaster management and humanitarian service to head a sensitive agency like NEMA. This shows how insensitive and callous the FG is towards lives and properties of Nigerians.
The NEMA board headed by the vice president showed they are in support of the DG by suspending some directors and staff of the agency including the director of finance without investigation just so they can clear the way for the DG to steal money without checks.
The house of rep is doing a great job investigating the agency but do they have the power to axe the DG? The power still lies with the executive and maybe like NHIS boss, they will do nothing rather embolden him to steal more for the leading party in preparation for 2019 election.
APC government is the worst thing that happened to Nigeria in a long time.
By the grace of God, this face will pass and Nigerians will survive.