The Coalition Against Malpractices and Corruption (COMAC) has called on the federal government to probe the aviation and aerospace development ministry over alleged N30 billion procurement breaches.
The coalition, comprising the Centre for Democracy and Human Rights (CEDEHUR), the Association of Media Practitioners in Oil and Gas Producing Areas (AMEPROGAS), and the Arewa Youth Alliance for Progress and Development, specifically demanded the suspension and investigation of Ibrahim Kana, permanent secretary of the ministry, over alleged abuse of office and failure to declare assets.
At a press conference in Abuja on Tuesday, Odey Otunu, COMAC’s convener, urged anti-corruption agencies to investigate the ministry’s financial transactions over “suspected procurement irregularities and unexplained payments”.
Otunu said the coalition has written a formal request under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act, 2011, seeking clarification from Kana on his alleged involvement in a private business while serving as a public officer, noting that it contravenes constitutional provisions.
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He said the FOI request also sought details of procurement records, bid documents, payment vouchers, company registration verifications, and tax compliance certificates relating to contract awards within the ministry.
“Our FOI request followed investigations which uncovered alleged violations of the Public Procurement Act, 2007, in the award of multi-billion-naira contracts to non-existent or newly registered companies, as well as those that were not tax compliant,” Otunu said.
Otunu claimed that some firms that benefited from the ministry’s contracts were “either not registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) or lacked any operational track record”.
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He alleged that some contracts were awarded to companies whose registered business objectives were not aligned with the nature of the work they were engaged to perform or lacked tax clearance records.
While Otunu did not provide supporting documents at the briefing, he said the evidence would be contained in petitions the coalition plans to submit to relevant anti-graft agencies, including the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB), and the national assembly.
“We are briefing the press today because the ministry has refused to provide the requested information on how taxpayers’ money is being spent,” Otunu said.
He said the coalition will stage peaceful protests and advocacy visits to key institutions if its demands are unmet.
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“In furtherance of our democratic rights, we shall organise peaceful marches to compel transparency and accountability. If the ministry fails to comply, we will approach the judiciary to obtain an order compelling it to release the requested information under the Freedom of Information Act,” he said.
He said the campaign is driven by public interest and aimed at strengthening transparency in the management of public funds.
When contacted, Tunde Moshood, spokesperson for Festus Keyamo, minister of aviation and aerospace development, declined comment, saying questions should be directed to the permanent secretary.
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