Looting Ahead: How Cross River State Govt. Awarded Contracts  to Companies a Year before Registration

Secret Reporters

Investigations by this online media have revealed how companies located in Cross River state violated the Public Procurement Law and defrauded the people of Cross River state to the sum of N32, 321,000 through contract.

Among other requirements stipulated by public procurement law, a contractor must provide a certificate of incorporation with the Corporate Affairs Commission before such a company can be awarded a contract.

Investigations showed that two companies registered with Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) on 28th June 2021 and 11th August 2020 were awarded contracts on the 13th of February 2020, an obvious infraction of the Procurement Law

SecretReporters, perusing the Cross River state Public Procurement Portal, discovered that the state government, through the state Waste Management Agency, awarded a contract worth N20, 000,000 to Patson Environmental services, on the 13th of February 2020 for Waste collection and Evacuation in Calabar Municipality.

More so, the Cross River Geographic Information Agency (CRGIA) awarded a contract worth N12, 321,000 to CostGuru and Associate on the 13th of February 2020 to carry out consultancy for the advertisement of CRGIA.

Investigations by SecretReporters revealed that Patson Environmental Services was incorporated with the Corporate Affairs Commission on 28 June 2021, and was not qualified to take a contract as of 13 February 2020.

Finally, CostGuru and Associate was incorporated with the Corporate Affairs Commission on 11 August 2020 and was not qualified to take a contract as of 13 February 2020.