No Due Process, No Problem: Lagos State Chief Of Staff’s Office Awards Juicy Contract To 3-Month Old Company As Poverty, Pension Ministries Divert Over N150M To Cronies

Secrets Reporters

In what can be described as high level systemic corruption, discreet investigations have again uncovered rot in three entities of the Lagos State government. Findings revealed that the duo of the Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation and the Ministry of Establishments, Training, and Pensions were involved in contract racketeering.

Data obtained from the Lagos State open procurement portal have it that the office of the Chief of Staff in Lagos State was also complicit in contract racketeering.

According to the data, the Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Lagos State, awarded a contract worth ₦152,900,000.00 in 2022 for the procurement of empowerment materials targeting vulnerable women, widows, indigent citizens, artisans, and graduates of skill acquisition centers. The contract was granted to Dywnkiks Ventures Limited, a company with registration number RC – 1703816. Records show the company was incorporated on August 27, 2020, indicating it did not meet the mandatory three-year taxation requirement stipulated for contractors.

In a separate development within the same year, the Ministry of Establishments, Training, and Pensions awarded a contract worth ₦6,987,500.00 for the development of a website for the Lateef Jakande Leadership Academy. The contract was awarded to Potenergy Limited, which was registered in 2021. Investigations revealed that Potenergy Limited was also ineligible for the contract, as it had not met the requisite three-year registration and tax compliance standard.

Further scrutiny of the website development project highlighted concerns over the actual value of the deliverables, with findings suggesting that the cost of the website did not align with the quoted price. This discrepancy has raised suspicions of possible fund diversion linked to the contract.

On June 16, 2023, the office of the Chief of Staff in Lagos State awarded a contract valued at ₦7,475,000.00 for the replacement of liquid fragrances in the Governor’s office at the Lagos State House, Ikeja. The contract was given to ARC 44 Global Enterprises, a company registered less than three months before securing the deal. This raises questions about the company’s eligibility, particularly regarding its compliance with taxation and registration requirements.

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The same day, the Chief of Staff’s office also awarded a contract worth ₦2,300,000.00 to ARC 44 Global Enterprises for producing telephone directory pamphlets of divisional police officers (DPOs) and the Emergency Response Agency in Lagos State. As with the fragrance contract, ARC 44 Global Enterprises had been incorporated only three months prior to the award.

The revelation of these contracts has drawn attention to compliance with regulatory frameworks designed to ensure accountability and transparency in public procurement processes. Lagos State’s procurement laws mandate that companies vying for contracts must demonstrate a minimum of three years of operational history supported by relevant tax records.

While the intent of these projects—ranging from empowerment initiatives to enhancing administrative functionality—aligns with governance objectives, the pattern of awarding contracts to recently registered companies contravenes procurement regulations. These findings underscore the importance of due diligence in vetting contractors to prevent potential misuse of public funds.

The contracts awarded to Dywnkiks Ventures Limited and Potenergy Limited also raise eyebrows over the adherence to fiscal prudence and value-for-money principles. Additionally, the contracts involving ARC 44 Global Enterprises raises concerns over potential breaches of transparency, given the company’s limited operational history. The awards, made shortly after its registration, prompt questions about the fairness and impartiality of the selection process.

Efforts to contact the relevant ministries and the companies involved for official statements have so far yielded no response. The Lagos State Government has also not issued any clarification on the circumstances surrounding the awarding of these contracts.