Korede Abdullah in Lagos
Former Central Bank of Nigeria Governor Godwin Emefiele is facing allegations of awarding contracts without bidding processes, violating the procurement act.
Stephen Salau Gana, the 10th Prosecution Witness, testified before Justice Hamza Mua’zu of the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja, revealing that Emefiele awarded a contract to supply vehicles to the CBN, valued at N99.9 million, without competitive bidding.
The contract was awarded to a company owned by Sa’adatu Ramalan Yero, a staff member of the apex bank, through direct procurement.
Gana, who headed CBN’s Procurement Office during Emefiele’s tenure, stated that the CBN governor’s threshold for contract approval was N100 million.
Direct procurement was only allowed in specific circumstances, such as sole manufacturer or distributor, emergency, or single-source availability. However, none of these conditions applied to the company, April 16 16, in this contract award.
Gana testified that April 16 16 was neither the sole manufacturer nor sole distributor, and did not have exclusive dealership rights for the supplied vehicles.
As head of Procurement, Gana’s role was to oversee goods and services procurement, but he took no steps to verify if April 16 16 was the only available vehicle vendor.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is prosecuting Emefiele on amended 20-count charges, including conspiracy, criminal breach of trust, and forgery, involving $6,230,000.
The case has been adjourned to November 13, 2024, for continuation of trial.
Emefiele’s trial is a significant development in the EFCC’s efforts to combat corruption and ensure accountability in Nigeria’s financial institutions.
