- The APC Government has been a cesspool of corruption.
- Adams Oshiomhole Was financially reckless.
- Oshiomhole’s faction says Obaseki is not much better.
- We say they are birds of the same feather.
The Edo state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP has revealed details of how former governor of the state and national chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC held the state hostage while wasting public resources.
The Edo PDP while going memory lane exposed how then Governor, Adams Oshiomhole squandered the state’s resources on several white elephant projects.
This was disclosed in a statement on Tuesday by its state Publicity Secretary, Chris Nehikhare.
“With the recent indictment by a properly and legally constituted judicial commission of inquiry, of the Adams Oshiomhole government, and the narrative that has been pushed out by the APC, depending on which faction is talking, one thing that is clear is that the Edo APC led government is fantastically corrupt and too arrogant to apologize to Edo people for their inept, crisis prone and scandalous administration of our beloved state.
“It’s no secret that the hospital was a conduit for the illegal siphoning of state funds and wealth creation for friends and relatives of APC.
The Party narrated how” Governor Oshiomhole embarked on reckless spending of meagre state resources in the University of Science and Technology (now Edo University, Iyamho) without appropriation.”
A letter seen by NAIJA CENTER which was addressed to then Governor Oshiomhole and signed by the permanent secretary of the ministry of health on behalf of Commissioner for health, Dr Peter Ugbodaga corroborated the PDP’s revelation
Read full revelation by the PDP below
CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITIES IN EDO STATE UNIVERSITY WITH STATE FUNDS WITHOUT APPROPRIATION
Governor Oshiomhole embarked on reckless spending of meagre state resources in the University of Science and Technology (now Edo University, Iyamho) without appropriation.
On 23rd December 2015, just seven days to the end of the 2015 financial year, the state government awarded contract to the tune of a whopping sum of N12,282,852,413.69 (Twelve Billion, Two Hundred and Eighty Two Million, Eight Hundred and Fifty Two Thousand, Four Hundred and Thirteen Naira, Sixty Nine Kobo) to A&K Construction Limited for the construction of a teaching hospital in the university.
To demonstrate his desperation to access state funds for the project, Governor Adams immediately approved payment to the contractor in the sum of N3,070,713,103.42 (Three Billion, Seventy Million, Seven Hundred and Thirteen Thousand, One Hundred and Three Naira Forty Two Kobo).
On the same day, the Governor approved an additional sum of N1,228,285,241.36 (One Billion Two Hundred and Twenty Eight Million, Two Hundred and Eighty Five Thousand, Two Hundred and Forty One Naira Thirty Six Kobo) to be paid to the contractor.
Total sum approved by the Governor came to N4,298,998,344.78 (Four Billion Two Hundred and Ninety Eight Million, Nine Hundred and Ninety Eight Thousand, Three Hundred and Forty Four Naira, Seventy Eight Kobo).
We can confirm that all payments were made from state coffers even as there was no appropriation for the expenditure in the 2015 Appropriation Law or in the supplementary appropriation for that year.
IMPORTANT NOTE
It is noteworthy that whereas the first component of N3,070,713,103.42 paid to the contractor was not budgeted for in the 2015 State Budget, the second component of additional N1,228,285,241.36 was vired without the approval of the Edo State House of Assembly from the budget of N3.5 Billion for the construction of the new accident and emergency ward complex and renovation of existing structures in Central Hospital Benin City contained in the capital budget of the Ministry of Health in the 2015 budget.
This is a clear violation of existing financial regulations and the appropriation law.
FURTHER VIOLATION
Earlier on 15th December 2015, a contract in the sum of N2,505,582,486.38 (Two billion, Five Hundred and Five Million Five Hundred and Eighty Two Thousand Four Hundred and Eighty Six Naira Thirty Eight Kobo) was awarded to Sageto Limited for the construction of senate building at the Edo University, Iyamho, out of which the Governor approved the sum of N626,395,621.60 (Six Hundred and Twenty Six Million Three Hundred and Ninety Five Thousand Six Hundred and Twenty One Naira Sixty Kobo) to be paid to the contractor on the same day.
Curiously, on the same day the Governor further approved payment of the sum of N245,825,133.77 (Two Hundred and Forty Five Million Eight Hundred and Twenty Five Thousand One Hundred and Thirty Three Thousand Seventy Seven Kobo) out of the contract sum of N983,300,535.07 (Nine Hundred and Eighty Three Million Three Hundred Thousand Five Hundred and Thirty Five Thousand Seven Kobo) to be paid to the same contractor for construction activity in the same university, this time for construction of faculty auditorium.
Total un-appropriated payment to the two contractors, A&K Construction Limited and Sageto Limited, came to N5,171,119,000.23 (Five billion One Hundred and Seventy One Million One Hundred and Nineteen Thousand Twenty Three Kobo).
MORE ACTS OF VIOLATION – CENTRAL HOSPITAL COMPLEX
On 14th January 2016, one month before the State Budget for 2016 was passed into law, the Governor approved payment of the sum of N1,408,841,507.78 (One Billion Four Hundred and Eight Million Eight Hundred and Forty One Thousand Five Hundred and Seven Naira Seventy Eight Kobo) being 75% mobilization fee or advance payment to Vamed Engineering Nigeria Limited for the supply, installation, training and maintenance of medical equipment for the accident and emergency ward as well as the ward complex at Central Hospital, Benin City. The sum is said to be part of the 2016 Budget of the State Ministry of Health even when no appropriation had been made for 2016 financial year.
Two acts of violation occurred here:
1) The 75% mobilization fee or advance payment paid is in gross violation of section 47 of the Edo State Public Procurement Agency Law 2012 which provides that only 25% advance payment be made to a supplier or contractor.
2) On a closer look, you will discover that the 2016 State Budget, on the basis of which the payment was made, was not in existence as at 14th of January, 2016. The State Budget was passed 16th February, 2016. The Constitution is clear that no anticipatory expenditure can be made on a budget that has not been passed into law. If the state government claims to rely on Section 122 of the 1999 Constitution which permits the Governor to authorize expenditure till 6 months into an appropriation year pending passing of the appropriation law for the year, the same section limits such expenditure to the tune of the appropriation made for the immediate preceding year, which in this case is 2015. Regrettably, in respect of this particular expenditure, the 2015 Budget of Edo State does not contain any single item of appropriation upon which this expenditure was made.
CONCLUSION
From the foregoing, it is quite obvious that the State was held hostage by Governor Adams Oshiomhole and his appointees in a determined bid to drain it of its meagre financial resources. The tactics used to perpetrate this serious financial recklessness is clear: approve payment without appropriation, vire funds without approval.
Those who may have aided and abetted these serial acts of financial recklessness must face the music.
WE ARE NOT LIKE THEM!
It’s time to RESET Edo!!
This message is from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo State and these observations were first made public by Edo PDP in 2016.
