- The Federal Medical Centre (FMC) Yola awarded a COVID-19 contract to the Medical Director’s secretary;
- Out of the ten laboratory items, only three are useful for COVID-19 related work;
- With the procurement, under relevant laws, the director of the Centre, Prof Auwal Abubakar risks between three to five years of imprisonment and dismissal;
- Prof Abubakar says the contract was awarded to a reputable company but failed to give details of the contractor.
Prof Auwal M Abubakar stands three to five years imprisonment for contravening public procurement law. Rather than adhere to open bidding, the Medical Director, Federal Medical Centre (FMC) Yola awarded a ₦343.7 million to an individual. An individual, Dataphyte’s investigation revealed to be no other than Mr Abubakar’s secretary.
This revelation follows Dataphyte’s analysis of the latest COVID-19 procurement data uploaded by the Centre on the Federal Government’s Open Contracting Portal (NOCOPO).
The NOCOPO data shows FMC Yola awarded the project, ‘procurement of molecular laboratory equipment,’ to one Ahmadu Umaru under the COVID-19 intervention for 30 days. Further scrutiny revealed Mr Ahmadu Umar as the Secretary to Prof Abubakar, the Centre’s medical director and CEO. Records showed that Mr Umar had been Head of Administration of the Medical Centre, per details on his LinkedIn account.
Breakdown of the procurement
Besides the flaunting of open contracting regulation, FMC Yola’s procurement featured only three COVID-19 related items. But according to NOCOPO data, it procured ten items worth ₦343.7 million.
The breakdown of the procurement include Lot 4 – Procurement of PCR Lab:
(1) Automated Blood culture system; (2) Automated ID AST system; (3) Automated nucleic acid extractor; (4) Real-time PCR system; (5) Biological safety cabinet class II type A2; (6) Ultra-low temperature freezer – 86oc; (7) Automated immunoassay analyser; (8) Refrigerator centrifuge; (9) Digital autoclave; (10) Vortex mixer (11) Benchtop Automated etc. (3716 Number)
Most of the instruments are for general lab activities, save three. According to a medical consultant at the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital (OAUTH), the Automated nucleic acid extractor, Real-time PCR system, and the Automated immunoassay analysers are used for COVID-19 related tests.
FMC Yola’s Director Reacts
Curious, though, FMC Yola’s Director insists their procurement followed the Bureau of Public Procurement guidelines and laws.
Prof Abubakar also denied awarding a contract to his secretary, Mr Umar, despite glaring evidence on NOCOPO. He, however, failed to mention the name of the ‘real contractor’.
“We followed the procurement act. We awarded the COVID-19 contract to a reputable company. We cannot talk on the phone. We need to see and discuss it. Someone uploading it may make a mistake or portal is faulty, but I know we followed the procedure. I will check with my people and get back to you today (Friday).”
After 3 hours, when the reporter called back, Prof Abubakar said such transactions couldn’t occur. But when the reporter asked about the ‘real contractor’, Prof Abubakar declined to mention a name.
A few hours later, Mr Umar called the reporter and asked for his location.
“Hello Aderemi, where are you now? Someone gave me your contact information, and I need to talk to you.”
After declining his location request, he dropped the call. Later, Truecaller identified the caller as Ahmed Umar, the Secretary whose name appeared as the contractor for the job.
BPP in disbelief
An official at the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) expressed shock over the line item on the portal. Mr Mansur Mamman said it is practically impossible for an agency of government to award a contract to a director or any member of Staff.
“Maybe the agency used the name of a director of the company instead of the entity’s name. They (officials) should be able to reveal the company’s name.”
When asked about implication if such occurs, Mr Mamman advised that it should be channelled to the BPP or anti-graft agencies for further investigation.
FMC contravenes procurement and financial regulation
While Mr Abubakar’s responses suggest a mild mistake, in truth it is concerning. His failure to provide the ‘real contractor’ or bidding details in clear terms contravenes the Public Procurement Act. An Act which espoused Open Competitive Bidding for federal procurement to ensure transparency and accountability.
What is more? Section 113 (h) of the Procurement Act mandated all accounting officers of MDAs to ensure compliance with the provisions of the Public Procurement Act by their organisations. Again, the section further stated that heads of agencies and ministries are liable for any breach or contravention of the Act.
And such infringement, as in the case of FMC Yola, per section 58 of the Act comes with grave consequences, including the ‘summary dismissal from government services and imprisonment of not less than five (5) calendar years without an option of fine.’
Mismanagement of COVID-19 fund, experts call for caution
Experts have continually described federal agencies as notorious for shady contracting. Apart from FM Yola, the FMC Abeokuta also shunned transparency and accountability in the procurement of COVID-19 items and contracting.
The Centre awarded ₦600,000 for a laptop and ₦1.49 million in excesses for furniture and tents. The Dikko Umaru Radda-led SMEDAN also disbursed ₦1.3 billion to 33 unverified contractors. Also, the Federal Ministry of Water Resources tampered with the contract amount on the Nigeria Open Contracting Portal (NOCOPO), reducing it by ₦326 million from ₦1.3 billion to ₦1.02 billion after Dataphyte’s FOI request for contract details.
Speaking recently at the launch of Open Contract Implementation in Nigeria, Mr Jude Ilo, the country representative of Open Society Initiative for West Africa, OSIWA, urged public officials to desist from viewing the nation’s treasury as a ‘National Cake.’ Mr Ilo said citizens need to see the treasury as a pastry rather than the mindset of National Cake. In May 2020, the Public and Private Development Centre (PPDC) also urged all MDAs to carry out emergency procurement under strict BPP guidelines.