Group urges Buhari to investigate Alleged N13bn Dredging Fraud

ABIOLA Seun

A non for profit making organisation Transparent Extractive Sector Operators Initiative (TESOI), over the weekend protested against the Nigerian Ports Authority over a N13.4 billion fraud allegedly perpetrated by the management of the authority and the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP).

The National Coordinator of the group, Mr. Jude Ogiba who led the protest in Abuja, asked President Muhammadu Buhari to intervene.

The coordinator further alleged that the NPA as a procuring entity and the BPP as a regulator colluded to subvert the provisions of the Public Procurement Act (PPA) 2007 to win the contract.

The group said investigations it carried out revealed that both NPA and BPP were marred with infractions, forgery, falsification, rigging of bids and abuse of office.

According to him, “The award of N13,461,787,192.25 contract to Dredging International Services Limited by the NPA in February 2018 is a complete violation of the provisions of section 16(8)(e&f) of the Public Procurement Act PPA(2007).”

Ogiba stressed that the company with its affiliate, Dredging International Services Cyprus Limited, both of which are subsidiaries of DEME group, had been convicted by a court of law in Switzerland on allegations of $20 million bribe.

He lamented; “Despite the facts and investigation, the NPA in its show of “desperation” has proceeded to pay Dredging International Services, the sum of $6,289,538.52 as mobilisation fee for the project.

“The award of the contract was done in flagrant violation of the provisions of extant procurement laws. The NPA and BPP decided to cover their tracks to mislead the president by failing to disclose the facts,” he added.

Ogiba pointed out that the group embarked on a peaceful protest to let Nigerians know what was going on in the two government agencies, stressing that the group would approach a federal high court to secure an injunction in order to stop the contract.

“We are requesting that the matter is investigated because we feel this is injustice and we cannot continue to take it. There are so much infractions and so much corruption that must be investigated,” he stressed.

He, therefore, called on President Muhammadu Buhari, all security agencies and prosecutorial bodies to intervene in the matter, saying it’s a mockery of the present administration to bring corruption to a standstill.