THE Senate resolution to investigate alleged diversion of funds voted for the welfare of Internally Displaced Persons in the insurgency devastated North East geo-political zone promises to be revealing.
Apart from investigation of diversion of funds, the probe will also ascertain how much has been released to the Presidential Initiative on North East; how the funds have been utilized as well as examine the diversion of grains and other food items from the strategic reserves, National Emergency Management Agency and other sources for IDPs.
The planned investigation has already started attracting wide-ranging interpretations. While some Senate observers saw the resolution as timely and essential, others dismiss it as dead on arrival and a mission impossible.
The sponsors of the motion that gave rise to the investigation expressed concern that the Senate, in recognition of the dire situation in the North East, raised the amount proposed by the executive in the budget for the IDPs from N6billion to N10billion.They were also concerned that the Presidential initiative on the North East, inaugurated by President Buhari over a year ago to manage the unfolding humanitarian crisis in the zone, is yet to show tangible result with over half of the appropriated N10billion already released.
Details of payments to contractors provided by the sponsors of the motion are indeed troubling. They appear to show why starvation and malnutrition are pervasive in IDP camps. The details of payments, some of them made on non working days and holidays may have exposed why deaths of children and women would continue to be recorded in the camps except urgent steps are taken to do the needful.
The Senate pointedly accused the Presidential committee under the supervision of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr. Babachir David Lawal, of spending N1.3bn out of the N10billion budget for North East on what it called “bogus contracts.”
Senator Baba Kaka Garbai (Borno Central) and 18 others who presented the motion “On the humanitarian crisis in the North East” told the Senate the fund was spent on “21 bogus contracts awarded to families, friends and cronies” of members of the Presidential committee to the detriment of the thousands of IDPs scattered across the region.
According Garbai, the breakdown of the “bogus contracts” showed that N100 million was paid on January 1st, this year (a Public holiday) to a company, VFS for a conference; N203.6 million was paid to Josman Technologies limited in two installments for the removal of invasive plant species in Yobe State, while another N185million was paid to a company called “Isyours Investment Limited in five installments.
The table showed that Isyours Investment Limited was paid twice N50,299,270 and N37,754,900 for the supply of food and non-food items.
Senator Garbai also informed his colleagues that the Presidential Committee paid N117million and N108million to Lintex International and Dantex Nigeria Limited respectively for provision of temporary shelters while N80.7million and N97.6 million were paid to JMT Global Technologies Limited and Greenstone General Enterprise Limited, respectively.
The Borno Central lawmaker claimed the contracts were awarded without recourse to due process and in complete disregard of directives.
For him, “it is worrisome that rather than use the money appropriated for the IDPs and the North East to ameliorate the problems, the focus of the disbursements made so far have been to feather other interest.”
He prayed the Senate to note with grave concern the unfolding humanitarian crisis in the North Eastern quoting the words of Arjan de Wagt, UNICEFs chief of Nutrition in Nigeria in an interview on Friday September 9 in Abuja, that “We haven’t found the right words to describe the magnitude of the crisis in the North East.”
Garbai further quoted the UNICEF report that 4.5 million people are in dire need of assistance out of which one million people are in danger of extreme malnutrition.
He observed that recent report by the Financial Times that about two million people are beyond the reach of aid and at risk of starvation in North-East Nigeria, according to a senior United Nations official and the finding of Western diplomats who described the response of government to the crisis as “a disgrace” as a pointer that the Senate should act fast to remedy the situation.
He said the Senate should be disturbed that already “we are losing so many of our children under five years to this extreme conditions in the affected areas.”
Senate, he stressed, should be further disturbed that “the rather incoherent and largely fragmented state of the procurement process so far points to a vague and corrupt scheme that is not in tune with helping our people in the North East out of their present harrowing experiences and misery.”
Garbai said he is aware that while government has made concerted efforts at ameliorating the sufferings of the IDPs, some other people are working towards undermining government efforts, especially with the allegations of diversion of 63 trucks of grains released from the strategic grains reserve allocated to the IDPs in Borno State by the Federal Government.
He observed that the intensity of the unfolding crisis was amply exemplified in August when IDPs took to the streets to obstruct vehicular movement and grounded business activities along the Maiduguri-Kano/Jos Road, the major road leading to Borno to protest what they claimed was shortage of food,
Senate Leader, Mohammed Ali Ndume (Borno South) who supported the motion said substantial amount out of the N10bn voted for the rehabilitation of the North East has been released but that the money is being mismanaged.
Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu condemned the award of the “bogus contracts.”
Ekweremadu recalled that during the civil war, humanitarian crisis in Biafra was described as the worst in the world “today we are also being told that the humanitarian crisis in the North East is the worst in the world.”
Warning that “we cannot continue to allow history to repeat itself”, Ekweremadu added, “I don’t think I will need further investigation to know that there is a fraud here. In a day, money was paid to a company five times for the supply of food items. With these items on the table, I don’t need any accountant to tell me that some people are making fortune from other people’s misfortune.”
Deputy Senate Leader, Senator Bala Ibn Na’Allah, on his part said the temporary shelter they saw during their visit to IDP camps cannot go for N4million.
The prayer to ascertain what went wrong with released funds was unanimously adopted by the lawmakers.
The adoption of the resolution led to the constitution of a 10-man ad-hoc committee with Senator Shehu Sani (Kaduna Central) as chairman to conduct a public hearing to ascertain how much has been released to the Presidential Initiative on the North East and how the funds have been utilized from inception to date.
The Senators also resolved to contribute N300, 000 each as donation to IDPs in the North East.
The seriousness of the investigation was further underscored by the Senate President, Abubakar Bukola Saraki, when he described details of payment to contractors as “callous.”
Saraki said, “This is massive and monumental corruption. Serious attention must be given to details given. This is callous.”
The Senate President charged the ad-hoc committee not to cover up anybody, saying, “we are also watching you.”
How the investigative committee will conduct its affairs and what it will come out, only time will tell. It is also not yet clear when the investigative committee will be inaugurated.
The fact however remains that urgent step should be taken to save the IDPs from untimely death
The full power of the Senate should be employed for the benefit of the IDPs.
