BETWEEN 2018 and 2024, the Nigerian federal government paid a total of N231.07 million to six contractors for rehabilitation and repairs of the Alau dam, data extracted by The ICIR have shown.
The ICIR extracted these payment details from the Govsepend website, a model website by BudgIT, designed to give access to the daily expenditure of the government. The website feeds its data from the Nigeria Open Contracting Portal (NOCOPO).
The extraction of this data became relevant following the breakdown of the dam, located in Maiduguri, Borno State, which led to flooding in major communities close to the dam. This flood has displaced no fewer than 600,000 people, The ICIR reported.
The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) also revealed that over 259 people have lost their lives as excessive floodwaters takeover communities like Fori, Galtimari, Gwange, and Bulabulin areas of Maiduguri.
The Alau Dam was built in 1986 to help farmers in Maiduguri with irrigation. It is a major reservoir on the Ngadda River, one of the tributaries of the Lake Chad. However, authorities say that the dam busted in the early hours of Tuesday, September 10, following excessive rainfall in the state.
The ICIR reports that the flood displaced residents and destroyed their homes while also displacing animals from the zoo.
Similarly, international bodies like the United Nations and the Nigerian Red Cross Society have called for intervention as the floods might propel the spread of disease.
Repairs of Alau Dam
The ICIR found out that six contractors were awarded to carry out repairs and construction of some sections of the dam between 2018 and 2020.
These contractors are S. M. Gudunbali Nigeria Limited, Dalori Construction Nigeria Ltd, Auno Engineering And Construction Services Limited, Kukabam General Merchant Nig Ltd, Hammal And Partner Ltd and Bulgari Global Link Nig Ltd.
| Beneficiary Name | Amount | Description | Date paid |
| S. M. GUDUNBALI NIGERIA LIMITED | N8,194,728.28 | BEING PAYMENT ON REHABILITATION OF ALAU DAM | 9/19/2018 |
| DALORI CONSTRUCTION NIGERIA LTD | N13,668,375.84 | 2019 ALAU DAM REHABILITATION WORS | 3/27/2020 |
| S. M. GUDUNBALI NIGERIA LIMITED | N7,670,119.04 | COMPLITION OF ALAU DAM REHABILITATION WORKS | 2/6/2019 |
| DALORI CONSTRUCTION NIGERIA LTD | N12,354,962.06 | 2019 Alau Dam Rehabilitation Works | 4/25/2020 |
| AUNO ENGINEERING AND CONSTRUCTION SERVICES LIMITED | N17,189,758.16 | FINAL PAYMENT ON ALAU DAM REHABILITATION WORKS (RESURFACING OF ROAD NETWORK WITHIN ALAU DAM PREMISES & OVERHAULING OF THE DAM SPILLWAY GATES | 11/13/2022 |
| KUKABAM GENERAL MERCHANT NIG LTD | N23,433,216.29 | FINAL PAYMENT ON CONSTRUCTION OF COFFER DAM AT ALAU DAM – KONDUGA LGA, BORNO STATE | 6/4/2023 |
| HAMMAL AND PARTNER LTD | N122,466,754.5 | FINAL PAYMNENT FOR ALAU DAM REHABILITATION WORKS | 9/20/2023 |
| BULGARI GLOBAL LINK NIG LTD | N26,087,373.23 | REHABILITATION OF ALAU DAM | 7/29/2024 |
| Total | N231,065,287.4 |
Table showing the payment for repairs of the Alau Dam. Source: Govspend
The ICIR also went further to check the viability of these contractors, and our preliminary showed that four out of the six contractors had their head office located in Borno state. However, only Hammal And Partner Ltd had an active status on the Corporate Affairs Commission website, as of the time of writing this report.
An active status means that the business annual returns have been updated by the CAC. Our findings show that within the period under review, except in 2021, at least a payment was approved by the federal government to repair the dam.
| Beneficiary Name | Location | Date of establishment | Registration number |
| S. M. GUDUNBALI NIGERIA LIMITED | Borno | 2001 | RC-427197 |
| DALORI CONSTRUCTION NIGERIA LTD | Borno | 1997 | RC-323789 |
| AUNO ENGINEERING AND CONSTRUCTION SERVICES LIMITED | Borno | 2013 | RC-1095232 |
| KUKABAM GENERAL MERCHANT NIG LTD | Sokoto | 2017 | RC-1459279 |
| HAMMAL AND PARTNER LTD | Gombe | 2018 | RC-1539561 |
| BULGARI GLOBAL LINK NIG LTD | Borno | 2017 | RC-1391627 |
Table showing the location of contractors for the Alau dam. Source: CAC, NG-Checks
A recent payment of N26 million was made in July 2024 to Bulgari Global Link for the same rehabilitation exercise. This is following the budget approval of N30 million in the 2024 budget under the Ministry of Water Resources in January.
Efforts were made by The ICIR to verify if the rehabilitation project was carried out but contacts and addresses of the company were not provided online despite having six shareholders.
Meanwhile, The ICIR reports that N1.65 billion was allocated by the Borno state government to address flooding and erosion issues in the state, but only 1 per cent (N20 million) of the funds have been released as of the second quarter of 2024.
The state has also received 815.9 million as ecological funds between January and June 2024.
Kehinde Ogunyale tells stories by using data to hold power into account. You can send him a mail at [email protected] (jameskennyogunyale@gmail) or Twitter: Prof_KennyJames