Secret Reporters No place to hide
Secret Reporters
If the outgoing governor of Ebonyi State, David Umahi, ends up becoming a senator in 2023, the people of Ebonyi South Senatorial District might need to grow keen eyes. This is because #SecretReporters has once again exposed the misappropriation of funds by the governor’s administration.
The government of Umahi, through the State’s Ministry of Education and the Universal Basic Education Board, unreasonably purchased 14748 pieces of 40Leaves Exercise books for N20,293,248 (Twenty Million Two Hundred And Ninety-Three Thousand Two Hundred And Forty-Eight Naira). The breakdown of the prices shows that N1, 376 (One Thousand Three Hundred Sixty) was paid for each book.
The procurement contract for PROVISION OF 40 LEAVES EXERCISE BOOKS with the contract number OCDS-ZINQHL-002768/EB/MPE/EP007/2020/NG was given to AGELINK NETWORK LIMITED on November 9, 2020. This company was established on September 7, 2001, and its address is NO.3, HANSCRESCENT, INDEPENDENCEL/O, ENUGU, ENUGU STATE. Its registration number is 426726. However, on the Ebony State Procurement portal, the company is given a different address. The portal states that it is situated at 13 Agwu Street in Abakaliki, the capital of Ebonyi State.
The State’s 2020 budget included a N50, 000,000 (Fifty Million) budget line item for the project with Budget ID: 002768/EB/MPE/EP007/2020/NG003350.
According to investigation, the actual cost of the 55101523 – Exercise book (40Leaves) in 2020 was between N60 and N80. Furthermore, it raises concerns if the distribution of the books was successfully completed as the contract was awarded on September 11, 2020, which also happens to be the time of the Coronavirus pandemic in Nigeria.
EBONYI CREATIVE and ALLSORTS NETWORK LTD were denied in the contract awarded to AGELINK NETWORK LIMITED.
Dr. Sunday Nwagele serves as the commissioner of the Ebonyi State Ministry of Education, while Chief Hyacinth Ikpor is the board chairman of the UBEB.
