Executive Thieves: How Lagos State Chief of Staff, Office of Environmental Service, and Office of Transformation, Creativity & Innovation Awarded Multi-Million Contracts To Unqualified Companies Using Back Door

Secrets Reporters

In a display of outright turning a blind eye to the laws spelled out by the State Government and the Code of Conduct Bureau, public officers within the Lagos State government under Governor Sanwo-Olu Babajide have continued to operate within the system as though there are no laws guiding their conduct.

Data buried within the Lagos State open procurement portal have shown that the Office of Transformation, Creativity & Innovation, Office of Environmental Service, and the Office of the Chief Of Staff awarded contracts to companies that were not qualified to scoop government projects.

SecretsReporters gathered that in June 2022, the Office of Transformation, Creativity & Innovation awarded a contract worth N2,090,000.00 to Jay “N” Eff Events Planners for “Engagement of Catering Service for Management Service Department Activities.”

Findings showed that the company was registered on Feb 27, 2020, making it unqualified for the contract.

Meanwhile, the contract details concealed the method used in awarding the project. It also failed to disclose other companies that bided for the project.

In a similar move, the investigation revealed that in June 2022, the Office of Environmental Service awarded a contract pegged at N12,128,000.00 to Envish Solution for “Procurement of Uniforms, Protective Wears and Other Logistics for the Special Sanitation Squad.”

The contract details, which did not reveal the method used in giving out the project, failed to reveal the identities of other companies that sought the contract.

According to our findings, the company was registered on 21 Feb 2022, making it unworthy to bid for a government contract. It is unclear how the Office of Environmental Service gave the contract to the company since it was not qualified for the project.

This online media further gathered that in June 2022, the Office of the Chief of Staff awarded a contract worth N10,000,000.00 to De-Fam Eventor Limited, for the “Decoration of Venue and Logistic for the Pull-out Ceremony of Former Police Commissioner in Lagos State”.

Our findings revealed that the Office of the Chief of Staff concealed the method used in awarding the project, raising suspicions about the legality of the process.

A search on the Corporate Affairs Commission revealed that the Lagos-based company was registered on 15 September 2020, which implies that it didn’t have up to three years taxation before it was awarded the contract.

The Lagos State procurement laws have it that a company must have three years tax clearance before it can be qualified for a contract in the State.