Gov. Emmanuel Uduaghan
By SaharaReporters, New York
In another development, a scholarship scam of about N74 million has also been uncovered in the commission. The scam ha left hundreds of students, particularly of the Ijaw ethnic extraction who are supposed to have received the yearly scholarship, in limbo.
Bayoro is currently the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Finance, while Origho is the Permanent Secretary, Government House Annex, Warri. Along with Mayuku, they are said to have pocketed the funds through a Lagos based company called the “South Beach Company Limited (Security Printing and Services).”
According to impeccable sources in DESOPADEC, before the dissolution of the Wellington Okrika-led administration, the South Beach Company, which was allegedly brought in by the House committee on finance and appropriation, had won a training contract on youth empowerment but following the truncation of the commission, financial obligations emanating from it could not be carried out.
Our source disclosed that immediately the IMC was engaged to oversee all activities of the commission, the South Beach issue resurfaced and the sum of N180 million was paid to the company to commence the youth training empowerment programme.
But that programme was never undertaken.
SaharaReporters has obtained minutes of the meeting of the IMC held on December 30, 2010 at the office of the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Finance who doubled as the IMC chairman at that time, and signed by Bayoko and Mr. Origho.
The document states as follows: “IMC reviewed the proposal presented by South Beach and ratified the approval for the engagement of South Beach earlier carried out by the previous board of DESOPADEC. IMC considered the agreement prepared between DESOPADEC and South Beach and approved the agreement and additionally authorized the secretary of IMC to sign on behalf of DESOPADEC. IMC waived the usual requirement for a bank performance bond and in its place directed the acceptance of a performance bond from a reputable insurance company and that IMC considered the peculiarity of this programme and approved the immediate release of 100% of the programme amount to South Beach for the sum of N180, 000, 000 (One hundred and eighty million naira) only.”
Another classified document obtained by Saharareporters signed by the then IMC chairman and his secretary authorizing immediate payment to the company shows that the N180 million was wired into an Oceanic Bank account operated by the South Beach Company with account number 0561101005685 and a sort code 056150195. The money, it was learnt was withdrawn after only a few days, and was shared among the actors.
A Head of Department (HOD) who pleaded for anonymity confided in Saharareporters as follows: “The company only commenced distributions of forms to the public and after that the programme never held again despite a whopping sum of N180 million released to the company and only for us to discovered that the whole thing was a racket between the then IMC chairman, Secretary and the influential lawmaker and till date no one heard about it again.”
It was reliably gathered that during budget defence, if a Ministry or government agency failed to part with a huge sum of cash running into millions of Naira, the wrath of the house committee chairman on finance and appropriation, Mayuku, would be visited upon such a ‘defaulter,’ a situation which has rendered the legislator into a figure feared by all.
When contacted, then IMC chairman and current Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Finance, Mr. Reginald Bayoko who expressed shock after contradicting himself severally, said nobody drew his attention to the fact that the contract was not executed. “My duty then as the IMC chairman was not to monitor contracts; however, as the head, I take full responsibility of whatever happened.”
Bayoko, who owned up to having had several dealings with Mayuku when he was in office as the IMC chairman, denied having any fraudulent dealings with the man.
On his part, Mr. Origho directed Saharareporters to the current leadership of the commission for comments.
To persistent questioning, Origho began to shout at the top of his voice: “Who are you to question me, is money not meant to be spent?” he screamed.
“Come to think of it what is your business if I am involved in a deal and what is your concern if the programme was not held? After all IMC was not the first and will not be the last to be involved in such deals, so please leave me alone let me be ok nonsense.”
All effort to reach Mayuku for comments proved abortive as he ignored calls to his mobile phone.
The scholarship scam comes from a scheme which provides scholarships for indigent students in each of the five oil ethnic nationalities of Urhobo, Ijaw, Itsekiri, Isoko and Ndokwa, which constitute the DESOPADEC mandate area. The budgetary allocations are made for them in accordance with the order of contributions to the funding of the commission.
Investigations by Saharareporters however revealed that the Head of Department of social services in the commission, Tony Tebekemi and the Head of Department of Sports, Daniel Tofawei, who were handed the large sum, did not disburse the funds to the affected students.
Sources at the commission disclosed to Saharareporters that already, a high-powered panel set up to investigate the scholarship scam has submitted its findings and fingered the two officials.
Details of the findings of the panel, it was learnt, are still being kept top secret, but according to a source that saw the report, the sum of N28 million was traced to the account of Tofawei and both men have been ordered to refund all the money they looted.
The source further added that the students, especially those in Delta State University, Abraka, and Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, whom the officials claimed to have paid, were actually not paid.
Besides, the officials are now courting the assistance of the Ijaw Commissioner in DESOPADEC, Barrister Kingsley Otuaro, who is said to be disappointed with their actions, to save them from facing the wrath of the law.
Contacted on his mobile phone, Tebekemi said he was in a function at Bayelsa and promised to call back the next day, but he never did. On his part, Tofawei denied ever involved in such fraudulent act. “Please I don’t know what you are talking about. This must be a wrong a number,” he said.
Confirming the fraud to Saharareporters, the current chairman of the commission, Mr. Oritsuwa Kpogho said that following a thorough investigation, those involved in the fraud have since been dismissed from the commission.
“A university connived with our staff and there were irregularities,” he said. “The two staff who were involved have been dismissed from the commission. One was a HOD and the other HOD too.”
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