ICPC discovers irregularities in Potiskum projects execution
Story from Sa’adatu MAINA, potiskum
The Independent Corrupt and other related Practices Commission (ICPC) inspection team tracking contracts, including constituency projects, went to Nangere, Yobe State, on Friday to track a borehole that was supposed to have been sunk under a lawmaker’s constituency projects, have found none in existence.
The ICPC discovers irregularities in the borehole that was purportedly sunk at the Sabongari area of Nangere Local Government of Yobe State.
A correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria who accompanied the team reports that there is a hole and a stand for an overhead tank, but there were no other components.
READ ALSO: Yobe Flood: FG promises to fix Gashua-Potiskum road
Laban Emmanuel, ICPC Team B leader in the state, listed components of the project contract awarded in 2019 to include overhead tank, filter, motorised borehole, generator, a generator house and a tap stand.
He said the payment voucher with Reference No. 253C1 showed that the contractor, LRB Global Ventures Ltd., had been paid N69.2 million after-tax and administrative deductions for the borehole and four others.
Emanuel said the contractor had been told to return to the site and complete the project immediately.
He added that though the contractor had constructed the four units of boreholes, some irregularities were observed.
“A borehole meant for Damshi Village in Fika Local Government Area was constructed in Rafin Bodori in Potiskum.
“The generator sets supplied by the contractor to the borehole sites at Sunshine FM, Potiskum, Garin Gunja, Nangere and Lailai House, Nangere, were 6.5 KV instead of 12.5 KV as contained in the Bill of Quantities.
“We also discovered that community assessment was not carried out before the project was executed,’’ he said.
The team also observed that a 300 KVA/11KV transformer facilitated by Sen. Ibrahim Bomoi (Yobe South) and supplied to the College of Administration, was also missing.
Emmanuel said the handover note showed that the contractor, Giohen Global Concept Nig. Ltd., had actually delivered the transformer to the college.
He said the team was investigating the whereabouts of the transformer and would ensure that it was brought back to the college.
However, Neptune Prime gathered that the transformer was actually 300KVA/33KV and surpassed the College’s capacity. That made the college management officially inform the Yobe State Rural Electrification Board and request it to take it and deliver the one with a smaller capacity.
Documents cited by Neptune Prime at the REB head office in Damaturu confirms such correspondence between the college and the state electrification board.
The college officially handed over the transformer to the board on the understanding that it would be taken to Anguwan Kaji in the same Potiskum.
However, it was discovered that the one taken to Anguwan Kaji was not the one taken from the college while the institution is yet to get a replacement from the Rural Electrification Board.
ICPC discovers irregularities at the Jummu’at Village Primary School in Potiskum, the team monitored a model story block of seven classrooms, facilitated by Rep. Ibrahim Umar representing Potiskum and Nangere Federal Constituency in 2019.
Emmanuel observed that the balustrade of the building constructed by 4 Plus Solar Energy Ltd., contained large openings that pupils could easily fall through.
He also said 10 windows of the building were substandard and had already been blown off by the wind.
ICPC began the tracking of 118 executive and constituency projects worth N4.5 billion in Yobe on Aug. 31 in the third phase of its tracking exercise.
Follow the Neptune Prime channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Va74ZvU2v1IqKByXoX3d
Do you have breaking news, interview request, opinion, suggestion, or want your event covered? Email us at neptuneprime2233@gmail.com
){kind=link}