Even as Nigeria anti-corruption body, wey dem dey call Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC), don use better N563 million take buy computer system and photocopy machine from 2020 reach 2024, dem still dey plan carry another N300 million do same waka for 2025 budget.
Na Southern Herald gather this tori wey shock belle. Dem dig inside di spending matter and find say all the money — better five hundred and sixty-three million naira — na government release for different kind purchase between 2020 and 2024.
Wetin Southern Herald gather from one platform wey dem dey call GovSpend — na platform wey dey show Nigerians how government dey use dem money, based on transparency and accountability — na say EFCC chop that N563 million for five years. Na eight different private companies dem share the money give, and dem break am into thirteen installments.
Di work wey dem give these companies na to either maintain EFCC equipment or buy new one. Di things wey dem buy include photocopying machines and computer systems. Di data wey Southern Herald see still show say dem begin pay these companies from Wednesday, November 18, 2020, reach Tuesday, April 2, 2024.
But wahala come burst as Southern Herald con sabi say some of di payment wey EFCC make no even yarn
how many photocopying machines or computers dem buy. No beta explanation dey about quality or quantity of di things. Everything no dey clear like say dem dey hide somtin . But di EFCC still put another N300 million for same computer and photocopy matter for 2025 budget.
This kain spending for tins wey dem no sharply write for budget na wahala, as e break Section 16 of di 2007 Public Procurement Act. Di law clear well well say:
“make sure say everything dey clear , wen e suppose be, no dey one sided and follow this Act; (e) aim to get better value and quality; (f) encourage competition, save money and make sense; (g) follow procedures and timeline wey Bureau don talk.”
But as matter be so, Southern Herald still find say some of these contracts break di Procurement Law. Di law no gree make dem give contract to company wey no register. But EFCC still do am.
Wetin burst people brain na wen Southern Herald check Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) place where dem dey kip informate. Dem see say one of di company wey collects contracts, Patriots Arsenal Limited, na on Friday, May 31, 2021 dem register am.
But EFCC don already give am contract and even pay di company three months before dem register am proper-proper.
Di Newspaper wey dig dis Matter find out say one company wey dem call Patriots Arsenal Limited kollekt N14,4010,681 on Monday, 22 February 2021 to supply office items wey dem no even talk. Dis kain waka na clear gbege against di law, especially Section 16 Subsection 6 of di Public Procurement Act (2007). Di law talk am well say make any company wey no register no near government contract at all. E still talk say government no suppose give any contract to any company wey no dey properly registered.
We later discover say another company, IT Touch Limited, wey dem just register on Friday, February 24, 2021, still kollekt contract money on top Tuesday, March 19, 2021. Na just small time after dem register am o. Dem registration number na RC-1762804. Even though law no dey talk direct say new company no fit collect contract, dem suppose get tax clearance for three years, register with National Pension Commission (PENCOM) and Industrial Training Fund (ITF). But dem just bone all dat one for dis people case.
Na wetin subsection 8b of di Public Procurement Act talk be dis: “Any supplier, contractor or consultant wey never perform well or do wetin e suppose do for public procurement work for di past three years no suppose dey carry contract.”
On top dat one, Section 31 (5) of di Companies Income Tax Act (CITA) come still add say no company fit kollekt government contract if e no get tax clearance certificate for di last three years.
Southern Herald come go check all di money EFCC release give contractors, make dem sabi who chop wetin and how much each person carry.
Dem come find say about N74,695,925 land for EFCC side for 2020, make dem buy 190 computers.
Na two companies chop dat money: Digital Communications Kosult Nigeria Limited and Bravo & Yellow Limited. Di first one chop N34,085,025 (thirty-four million eighty-five thousand nine hundred twenty-five naira), and di second one collect N40,608,000.
Digital Communications Kosult Nigeria Limited suppose supply 100 Dell Optiplex 3080 computers, while Bravo & Yellow Limited dey in charge to bring 90 computers for EFCC.
Another payment wey shock us na when EFCC pay N250,293,463 to three companies for four times between Monday, February 22, 2021, and Tuesday, November 30, 2021. Di three companies na Patriots Arsenal Limited, IT Touch Limited and Jagmai Projects and Services Limited.
Patriots Arsenal Limited chop N14,4010,681 on Monday, 22 February 2021 to supply Gubabi fireproof cabinet, sharp photocopier, laserjet printer, Dell Optiplex desktop and stamp machine.
Next month, 9th March, dem pay IT Touch Limited N170,200,068 to supply desktop computers wey dem no even mention d number clear- clear .
For July dat same year, IT Touch Limited still kollekt anoda N29,750,000 for more desktop computers again.
Last payment na for Jagmai Projects and Services Limited on Tuesday, November 21, 2021. Di money na for renewal of U-Fed licenses, cloud analyzers and computer analytics for EFCC. Analytics computer na dat kain wey dey help to make sense from plenty data sharp sharp.
Southern Herald still see say for 2022, EFCC pay N32,632,000 to buy and renew maintenance for photocopiers.
Aptron Consults Limited na dem collect dat one. Dem give dem N15,061,000 on Monday, February 7, for one year maintenance wey cover November 2022 reach November 2023.
E never finish—Southern Herald still dig out say Aptron Consults Limited still carry N17,571,000 again for printers and photocopiers on Tuesday, December 20. But wetin dem buy, no gree clear.
One research wey three scholars from London do, talk say Nigeria budget matter get as e be—projects dey always no Dey clear , money dey repeat and waka go where we no sabi.
Dem suggest say if we use social media and ICT follow budget dey monitor am, we go fit know where wahala dey—like where dem dey inflate money, repeat same project or even chop money waka.
As e be, 2021 na di year wen EFCC comot di highest moni take buy computer and photocopy machine dem. But as 2023 show face, na im carry second position – dem still spend over 136 million naira mainly for repair and buy printer and photocopy machines.
Two company na im chop di moni – dem pay dem four-four times.
Panasharp Technologies Limited na di first wey chop big moni – dem pay dem one-time fat cheque of N76,469,000 for photocopying machines dem deliver for early March dat year. Dem bank account smile wella. As for Aptron Consults Limited, dem collect N15,429,000 for repair and maintain photocopier wey dey EFCC head office.
Later again, Aptron Consults collect another N13,772,000 for maintenance of photocopier dem for plenty EFCC branch office from December 2020 go reach November 2021.
But wahala dey – dem no talk how many photocopier dem fix or which EFCC office dem work for. That kain silence na clear break of Public Procurement Act. Na yawa be dat.
Later again, Aptron still collect final payment – N30,470,000 for supply of photocopier consumables – things like toner and spare parts for Xerox, Panasonic, Sharp, Rocoh & Gestetner machines.
Make we cut di tori short small – EFCC later pay Mubalco World-Wide Services Limited to supply 32 different photocopy machine model to headquarters for 2024. But as EFCC payment dem dey examined, e clear say wetin dem buy and how many dem buy no too clear. Everything dey somehow like say person dey hide something.
Budgit come burst matter – dem talk say 732.5 billion naira project allocation for 2024 budget no clear
As di mata scatter reach public, BudgIT Country Director, Gabriel Okeowo, talk say di thing dey worry person. Him talk say di kain bendi -bendi. matter mean say dem no go fit properly monitor, evaluate or make sure say di project go last
Deep Dive enter di companies
Southern Herald gada say na eight companies EFCC pay for all this printing, photocopying and computer matter.
Di companies na:
Digital Communications Kosult Nigeria Limited, Bravo & Yellow Limited, Patriots Arsenal Limited, IT Touch Limited, Jagmai Projects and Services Limited, Aptron Consults Limited, Panasharp Technologies Limited plus Mubalco World-Wide Services Limited
Dem do plenty research to check say all this company legit – dem waka enter Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) and some other online source.
Southern Herald come find out say Digital Communications Kosult Nigeria Limited – dem pay dem N34,085,925 for 2020 – but for CAC public record, di company no dey active or inactive. E just dey lost. As dem check B2BHint platform, dem see say di company never even register for CAC.
But as dem dig well well e show say dem register am for July 1997, but no clear informate about di status now. Di CAC registration number na 316009.
Same kind waka enter Bravo & Yellow Limited. Dem register for 2016, but current info no dey show for CAC. But Southern Herald get one beta finding -dem registration number na 1309151.
Jagmai Projects and Services Limited too get unclear status, but dem register am for 2016 with registration number RC 1324002, according to Southern Herald.
Aptron Consults Limited register for May 2013 with RC number 1115161. Panasharp Technologies Limited na since November 2007 with RC 716169.
Southern Herald come check Mubalco World-Wide Services Limited – dem register am for December 2014 with RC number 1233891.
CAC no really gree drop full detail of all di company dem. But as dem go B2B Hint platform, dem see say by September 2024, Patriots Arsenal Limited, Jagmai Projects and Services Limited, Digital Communications Kosult Nigeria Limited, and IT Touch Limited dem all dey marked as “active”.
More dey o! Bravo & Yellow Limited, Aptron Consults Limited, Panasharp Technologies Limited and Mubalco World-Wide Services Limited dem don dey marked as inactive companies.
Wetin dis one mean be say, dem no submit dia annual report go Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) as law talk say make dem dey do every year.
For Companies and Allied Matters Act wey dem do for 2020 (CAMA), companies wey no dey file annual returns no suppose even near any government contract, because e dey compulsory make any company wey wan collect government job show say dem don file dia returns wella.
Make we break am down: computer wey we fit buy with 300 million naira?
Di EFCC wey be Economic and Financial Crimes Commission talk say dem wan use money take buy photocopy machines and computer gadgets, make we yan di breakdown:
1. Dem say dem go use ₦25 million take buy HP and Deskjet colour, black & white printers;
2. Dem budget ₦100 million to buy Sharp, Panasonic, Ricoh & Rank Xerox photocopy machines for new zonal offices;
3. Dem plan use another ₦25 million buy HP & industrial scanners;
4. Lastly, dem wan use ₦150 million take buy Dell and HP desktop computers and laptops for same zonal offices.
Southern Herald come compare wetin EFCC wan buy with how e go be for Naija economy wey no dey smile. Even though di EFCC no talk how many or wetin exactly dem wan buy, Southern Herald waka go Jumia marketplace to find current price of di gadgets wey dem mention.
First one, di printer dem wan buy for ₦25 million. For Jumia, di most expensive HP DeskJet printer na HP DeskJet 2720e All-in-One HP+, and e dey cost ₦1.335 million. If dem wan use dat budget buy dis type, dem go fit buy like 18 printers.
Anoda one na , photocopy machines. Dem mention Sharp, Panasonic, Ricoh & Rank Xerox – big big names wey no clear which exact model dem dey talk about.
But Southern Herald come choose one correct one: Sharp BP-30M31 Multifunctional Printer, wey dey cost ₦5.06 million per one.
If na this kind machine dem wan buy, dem go fit buy 19 photocopy machines with the ₦100 million budget. And dat one go reach all 15 EFCC zonal offices well well.
The gbege come start when we look the industrial scanners. EFCC say dem go spend ₦25 million for dem. But wetin Jumia show na say most HP scanners wey dem sell na ordinary office scanners like HP ScanJet.
Industrial scanners wey strong pass fit survive warehouse or factory use, and dem get speed, durability, and large paper handling.
Southern Herald come pick HP LaserJet Enterprise MFP M528z 1PV67A, wey be high-speed business scanner, e cost ₦3.975 million. From this, dem fit buy six (6) scanners with the budget.
The last one, di biggest money – ₦150 million for Dell and HP computers and laptops. Dem no talk which model dem wan buy.
So Southern Herald go find one better desktop wey go fit rugged office work. Dem pick DELL OptiPlex 7410 ALL-IN-ONE, Core i7 processor, 256GB SSD, 16GB RAM, with Windows 11 Pro, mouse and keyboard, 23.8” screen. Dis one cost ₦650,000 for one.
So if na dis type dem wan buy, dem go fit buy 230 desktop computers scatter across all dem zonal offices.
EFCC come talk say di reason why dem dey always buy computer gadgets na because dem work dey expand. Di spokesperson for EFCC, Dele Oyewale, yarn say EFCC na big institution and say na normal thing to dey buy new equipment as time dey go.
Him talk say: “EFCC big well well. Computer and accessories no fit just dey dey stale. From 2020 reach 2024, we don buy some computer gadgets. After that, we do plenty recruitment.”
“Him talk say three new zonal directorates go start work this year. And people wey dem go post for there go need computer to work.”
Him come add say, di way EFCC work dey go na im make all dis equipment matter necessary.
When dem ask am about Southern Herald discovery say some companies wey collect EFCC money dey inactive, Oyewale sharply defend EFCC.
Him talk say: “I wan make I sure say your facts correct. No be say you just say you get info from source, I wan know your source well. Some facts no fit stand well.”
“As law enforcement and anti-corruption agency, EFCC dey serious about procurement. We dey make sure say every ‘i’ wey we suppose dot, we go dot am, and every ‘t’ we suppose cross, we go cross am before we allow any company buy anything.”
“My response be say all dis wey una talk no happen. EFCC dey transparent and credible for our procurement matter, and na so e be.”
Na Adedokun Theophilus write am. Otera Daniel na im put am for we own way. Adedokun Theophilus gum bodi put join Udhekru Hiliary to arrange the whole thing make e balance well-well.