By Ibanga Isine

Barely a week after he became governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello approved for himself a total of N260 million as security votes, PREMIUM TIMES has reported.

Bello, currently Nigeria’s youngest governor, was sworn into office at an elaborate ceremony on January 27 after his party, the All Progressives Congress, APC, fielded him as replacement for its former candidate, Abubakar Audu.

Audu was in clear lead in the November 21, 2015 governorship poll but suddenly died before the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, concluded the election.

Bello was fielded as the APC replacement during the rerun poll in some areas of the state. His candidacy was fiercely opposed by the deputy governorship candidate of the party, James Faleke.

On his first day in office, the Permanent Secretary in the Government House, Ilemona John, initiated a memo titled, “Request For Security Fund”.

In the document, Mr. Bello was requested to approve N15 million as his security fund.

He approved the payment of the fund two days later, on January 29.

The Government House Permanent Secretary raised yet another memo just four days later on February 2, with a fresh request for security fund. This time, the amount was jerked to N20 million.

The governor did not waste time as he gave prompt approval for the release of the funds on the same day.

It, however, became apparent that the money was not enough because John again raised another memo for the release of more security funds the following day, February 3.

In the new memo, the governor was requested to approve the “release of the sum of Five Million naira (N5, 000,000, 00) only for the replenishment of your Excellency’s security fund which has just been exhausted.”

Bello granted approval immediately.

Not done, the permanent secretary who is a reverend pastor, quickly returned with another request on the same day (February 3, 2016) seeking Bello to release another “N20 million for the replenishment of his security fund which has just been exhausted.”

The governor did not hesitate to give the approval for the release of the funds.

Five days later, on February 8, the permanent secretary again initiated a memo indicating that the governor’s security fund had yet again been exhausted and sought approval for N100 million to be released to “replenish” it.

Governor Bello granted approval the following day, February 9.

A few hours later on the same day, John raised another memo informing his principal that the security fund he approved hours earlier had been exhausted and that he needed to approve another N100 Million.

Bello readily granted approval on the same day.

PREMIUM TIMES cannot say exactly how much has so far been spent as security funds, but documents obtained so far indicate that between January 27 and May 12, Kogi State taxpayers could have coughed out billions to their profligate governor.

N148 Million for furnishing and renovation of office

While Bello was drawing millions under security funds, he also approved over N148 million to furnish and renovate his office at the Government House.

For this, John, the Government House permanent secretary, as usual, came up with another memo on February 1.

The memo was titled, “Request for the furnishing and maintenance of the Governor’s Office, Kogi State Government House”.

In it, he requested the governor to approve N99, 983, 994.00, being a proposal by a company, Maj Global Construction Company Ltd, for the furnishing and renovation of the governor’s office.

Bello promptly granted approval on the same day the request was made.

However, John returned a month later on March 4, with a memo telling the governor that the over N99 million he earlier released for the furnishing and renovation of his office, was not enough.

He, therefore, requested the governor to release additional N48, 593, 250.00 “for additional works on the renovation/furnishing and maintenance of the governor’s office at Kogi Government House”.

Governor Bello gave approval on the same day the request was made.

PREMIUM TIMES also obtained copies of the document detailing the release of the fund approved for the furnishing and renovation of the governor’s office.

The first document dated February 4, from the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development showed that the sum of N99, 983, 994.00 was released as “Grant/ Special imprest in favour of the perm secretary in the Government House Administration”.

The other document, dated March 9, was also for the release of N48, 593, 250.00 as “Grant/Special imprest in favour of the Permanent Secretary, Government House Administration to cover additional works for the furnishing and maintenance of the Governor’s office at Kogi Government House”.

While the governor engaged in a spending spree for his luxury, state workers and pensioners remained unpaid for months.

Analysts believe that while Kogi State has had a flicker of militant activities by members of the Boko Haram group, the state has remained largely a relatively peaceful state.

Governor Bello’s defense

When PREMIUM TIMES contacted the spokesperson to the governor, Kingsley Fanwo, he confirmed the spending but said they were necessary.

“It is public knowledge that Kogi State has been contending with serious security breach for the past 10 years,” Fanwo said.

“As a result of the location of the state as gateway to many states of the federation, the state drifted into a criminal hotbed.

“Also, years of gross maladministration and blinding embezzlement has left the youth bare, exposing them to all sorts of criminal activities to survive. Kogi became a haven of robbers and kidnappers.”

As a responsible government, he argued that the Yahaya Bello administration has taken security to the front burners by strengthening the state’s security architecture in order to make it inhabitable for hoodlums and criminal elements.

Because of his principal’s huge investment, he said security in the state had greatly improved while however, adding that “security vote is not usually a subject for public consumption and no cost can be higher than human lives.”

He said Governor Bello would continue to prioritize security because it was one of the main objectives of his election.

Continuing, he said, “Let me also put on record that the Governor Yahaya Bello administration is contractually committed to fighting corruption and enthroning transparency in the polity. These are the terms of his social contract with the Kogi people.”

“If you have ever been to the Kogi State Government House in Lokoja, you will appreciate the rot of the architecture. It was not befitting of one of the most historic Government Houses in Nigeria.

“In tandem with the present administration’s drive to turn the economy of the state to a private sector driven one, we need to start our charity at home. People must love to come to our Government House to transact businesses.”

For these reasons, he said the Government House was undergoing massive renovation to make it habitable and to mirror the image of the state as a first-rated tourist destination.

Being what he described as “an accomplished business mogul” who believes he assumed power by the grace of God, he said Mr. Bello had always reiterated his determination, not only to block corrupt practices, but to also ensure corrupt officials of government were made to face the wrath of the law.

To underscore its transparency, he said the administration opened its account books to the people of the state.

Besides, he said the governor constantly briefed the media on the income and expenditure of government.

“Massive constructions are ongoing in the state and the Governor is focused on ensuring transparent and active performance of this year’s budget,” the governor’s spokesperson said.

“The antics of our opponents will be judged by the people of the state who are already witnessing the benefits of the New Direction Programs. The bulwark of the Yahaya Bello administration is transparency.”

• This investigative report was first published by Premium Times. It is published here with permission

By Dayo Aiyetan

Over N16 billion of Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme, SURE-P, funds released by the Goodluck Jonathan administration in 2012 for the Public Mass Transit Revolving Fund, PMTF was squandered, the www.icirnigeria.org investigations show.

The fund, administered as a revolving loan by The Infrastructure Bank, TIB, was given out in form of mass transit vehicles to 31 beneficiaries, mostly commercial transport operators. A total of 1,179 vehicles were released to the beneficiaries under the scheme, with a repayment plan covering four years.

But four years after the vehicles were disbursed, only two of the beneficiaries-ABC Transport PLC and Young Shall Grow Transport Limited, have fully liquidated their loans. Most of the beneficiaries are yet to pay back as stipulated in the contractual agreements signed between them and the TIB.

The bank lists as “chronic defaulters 15 companies and organizations, owing a total of N4,586,088,671.63 as at December 2015. That figure would have gone up as at the time of filing this report. The loan defaulters include the Nigerian Union of Road Transport Workers, NURTW, which got N2.3 billion; National Association of Road Transport Owners, NARTO, N403,487,239; RTEAN, N370,738,460; Greenline Bus, N370,500,000; Global Ginikana, N295,290,190 and Classic Link Express, N123,500,000.

To a large extent, it was discovered that the Jonathan administration gave out the loans as political patronage, with many of the recipient believing that they were actually helping the government out of the blind spot it ran to after the fuel subsidy protests of January 2012.

Investigations by the www.icirnigeria.org revealed the scheme was compromised by the stakeholders, including the beneficiaries, TIB and the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP).

Most of the beneficiaries who defaulted in loan repayment have cited supply of poor quality vehicles by TIB as major reason for their inability to pay back. While the beneficiaries requested Toyota, Mercedes and Ashley Leyland high capacity buses, they were supplied Hyundai and IVM Innoson vehicles, which they said is unsuitable for commercial use.

Unlike Mercedez, Leyland and Toyota vehicles, the loan defaulters said that spare parts for Hyundai and Innoson vehicles are also not easily available in the country, a situation that forced many of the beneficiaries to park the vehicles less than a year after delivery.

Najim Yasin, National President of the National Union of Road Transport Workers, NURTW, said that the organization rejected the vehicles provided by TIB but was persuaded to take them as show of support to the Jonathan administration which was then facing a debilitating country-wide workers strike over removal of fuel subsidy.

Yasin stated that out of the 234 mass transit buses given to NURTW, less than 65 were Toyota vehicles, the others were Hyundai and Innoson buses that broke down within the first month of operation. Communications between NURTW and TIB in possession of this website show that the organization complained about the poor quality of the vehicles and the fact that there were no spare parts to fix those that had broken down. Yasin said the complaints were ignored by TIB.

In a letter dated May 22, 2012, NURTW wrote to TIB to reject all the Hyundai and Innoson buses given to it by the bank, claiming that they were not good for transportation business.

Also, in a reply to a letter from the TIB for settlement of the N4.7 billion loan given to NURTW dated July1, 2015, the NURTW wrote: “We reiterate the fact that our good intentions to defray the loan have been hampered and challenged by the fact that these vehicles are mostly grounded due to their inferior and sub-standard qualities. Others are accidented, and despite the fact that we have sent several claims for insurance cover/payment on the buses, these claims have not been paid by the consortium of insurance companies solely appointed by you.”

The Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria, TREAN, another beneficiary, said it requested TIB to supply it 100 Toyota and Ashley Leyland buses but was given only 10 Toyota buses and 32 Hyundai and Innoson buses, all at the cost of N370.7 million.

National President of the association, Musa Shehu, told the www.icirnigeria.org that most of the Hyundai and Innoson buses broke down within the first month because of the rigour of travelling on bad roads, while the others could not last a year, thereby making it impossible to repay the loan.

Shehu gave our reporter copies of the letters his association wrote TIB to supply them the remaining 58 vehicles and make sure they were Toyota or Ashley Leyland buses so that they could off-set the loan on the bad vehicles with money from the good ones. He said although TIB promised to give them the vehicles the bank never kept the promise.

On May 24, 2012, RTEAN wrote to TIB, complaining that some of the buses were “faulty and draining our pocket.” The association said that many of the vehicles they got developed faults within days or weeks after they were delivered.

“Most of the vehicles giving us severe problem are Innoson and Hyundai models,” it said in the letter, asking that the buses be replaced.

In another letter dated July 19, 2012, the association complained that it could not continue to meets its repayment obligation under the agreement as some of the buses given to its members were breaking down daily. “These buses can hardly be used for 3 days without developing some sort of fault or the other. There is no week that passes by without these buses going to a mechanic’s workshop,” the association wrote.

“We hereby appeal that these Innoson buses should be retracted by you and in exchange, release to us Hummer buses in order for us to effectively run our commercial businesses…”

Both NURTW and RTEAN said those who got the Toyota buses, who are few, have met their contractual obligations because the buses are still on the road. “But those who got Hyundai and Innoson cannot pay back because the vehicles have been parked due to lack of spare parts. While the former has paid only N350 million till date, the later has paid back less than N30 million,”Shehu stated.

But our investigations also show that the transporters were also wont to complain about just any vehicle given to then, even Toyota buses. For instance, in a letter written to TIB by RTEAN in September, 2012, the association also complained about a Toyota Coaster bus which it said developed faults three months after

It was supplied. “This particular vehicle (a Toyota Coaster bus), which has not been on the road for more than three months, has been associated with all sorts of problems which include perpetual break down, faulty internal parts of the vehicle and high cost of maintenance.”

Documents in possession of the website indicate that the BPP in January 2012 issued a Certificate of No Objection to TIB’s request to engage nine vehicle providers under the scheme. The vehicle providers include Globe Motors and IVM Innoson, among others. The document also showed that the selection of vehicle providers was based on their ability to deliver high capacity buses within a very short time, and not to provide vehicles with high durability.

The TIB and the BPP were more concerned with helping government to provide transport palliative to cushion effect of fuel subsidy removal at the time, and not making the loan scheme efficient.

There are also allegations that TIB received and supplied sub-standard vehicles because officials of the bank received gratifications from the vehicle providers.

Some of the beneficiaries told our reporter that TIB never discussed with them the brand of vehicles they would be given, but only specified that they would be high capacity buses. Moreover, they alleged, TIB ignored their request for vehicles of their choice and instead decided on its own to impose the vehicles on them.

Besides, our investigations show that the government owned bank has continued to give out loans in form of mass transit buses to companies without appearing to have learnt from its experience managing the revolving loans scheme.

Investigations show that in 2015, TIB gave vehicles for mass transit purposes to companies that either never operated in the transport business or lacked capacity to successfully manage a mass transit operation. In some cases, it appeared, some of the companies were registered or their initial business focus changed to be able to take the car loans.

For example, Global Leasing Limited, a company incorporated in 1997 to “carry on the business of equipment leasing, hiring, renting or otherwise dealing in tractors, machines and other heavy duty equipment, machinery and vehicles normally used in dredging, loading, carting in the oil industry” got two loans totaling over N2 billion. It got the first loan of N1,058,300,000 or 60 buses (one billion, fifty eight million, three hundred thousand naira) on January 20, 2015 and a second one of N1,005,337,500 or 60 buses (one billion, five million, three hundred and thirty seven thousand five hundred naira on December 24, 2015.

It is one of only few companies to have received loans twice and the private firm with the second largest loan portfolio but checks at the Corporate Affairs Commission, CAC, shows that it was not incorporated to do and had never been involved in mass transit business. Besides, the company that got a loan of over two billion had a share capital of only N2 million. However, the company is not known to have defaulted on its loans.

Intermission Global Investment Limited, the company that got the biggest loan of N2,999,053,575 or 206 buses from TIB in March, 2015 was incorporated in 2009 to undertake strictly construction business. With a share capital of N1 million, the company’s ownership changed in June 2014, the same day that its focus of business shifted from construction business to mass transportation.

Also questionable is the loan given to Safetrip Limited, a company incorporated in 2009 to carry on all kinds of businesses in the transportation sector. The company actually got two loans; the first one of N227,620 in January, 2012. A year after, the loan had to be restructured as the company was falling back badly on repayments. Safetrip commenced repayment of the restructured loan in March 2013 and as at March 2016 it had paid only a paltry sum of N32,575,295, according to bank documents obtained by this website, thus entering the bad books of chronic defaulters.

However, in spite of its terrible experience with the company, TIB went ahead to grant another loan of N185,250,000 to Safetrip in April 2014. Not surprisingly, the company has paid back only N6.3 million of the loan as at March 2016.

Efforts to get TIB’s reaction were fruitless as the bank refused to provide information on the loans or respond to the allegations against it and its officials.

The bank denied the request for information written to it since March 17. In the request made pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act 2011, the newspaper requested

In the letter addressed to the bank’s Managing Director, the www.icirnigeria.org asked it to provide details evidence of Federal Executive Council, FEC approval for the scheme, a copy of the Funds Management Agreement signed between the bank and the federal government, documentation on beneficiaries of the scheme, including number, type and total value of vehicles obtained, documentation on all vehicle suppliers including the number, type, cost and date of delivery of the vehicles and a copy of the Standard Bidding Documents issued to all bidders to supply the vehicles.

We also demanded for the final signed contract award documents, documentation on total money spent on loan revolving scheme, documentation on total loans redeemed and total outstanding and documentation on beneficiaries who have defaulted, including how much is outstanding on each name.

In a reply to the letter dated March 24 signed by Abiodun Daria and Ezinwanyi Ken-Ahia, of the Corporate Legal Department, the bank begged for time to provide the information requested.

“We have noted your request as contained in the letter and we are presently in the process of attending to it. We shall respond to you after the Easter holidays.”

However, when our reporter called Ken – Ahia about two weeks later, she said that the bank was waiting for approval from the ministry of finance before replying and providing the information. Asked if the information was domiciled with the ministry, she said it was not but added that since it was the supervisory ministry, the bank had to obtain its permission before replying to the request.

But, as at press time, TIB has not provided the information, in flagrant disobedience of the FOI Act.

A last minute attempt to get the bank to respond to specific allegations did not work out. When our reporter visited the bank’s headquarter offices in the Central Business District in Abuja on Monday, the Administrative Manager, Hamisu Umar, who attended to him said that he could not respond to the questions put to him because they are management issues and advised the reporter to write officially to the bank’s management. When he was told that a FOI Act request for information had been submitted to the bank for over two months but ignored, Umar said that a reminder should be written and sent to the bank.

It was gathered that the whole matter is under investigation by the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission, ICPC, and that many of the key players have been interrogated. The case is however yet to be charged to court.

But some of the beneficiaries, including the NURTW and RTEAN have taken TIB to court for insisting that they repay the loan given to them. They are claiming that the loan was impossible to repay because TIB deliberately supplied them poor quality vehicles and ignored their complaints that the vehicles were not performing.