Secret Reporters No place to hide
Secrets Reporters
Discreet investigations by this online media have unearthed how five Lagos State government agencies bypassed the laws guiding the award of contracts by gifting several mouth-watering projects to unqualified companies.
It is on record that both the federal and Lagos State procurement law stipulates that a company must have three years tax record before it can be qualified for a government contract.
However, data buried on the Lagos State open procurement portal have shown that Office of Drainage Services & Water Resources, Lagos State Law Enforcement Training Institute, Lagos State Parastatals Monitoring Office, Lagos State New Towns Development, and the Lagos State Infrastructure Asset Management Agency awarded contracts to companies without the stipulated tax record, including unregistered company.
Our findings revealed that the companies that got contracts amounting to N221,241,413.08 from these Lagos Government agencies were less than two years in operation, raising questions of nepotism and accountability.
For instance, in June 2022, the Office of Drainage Services & Water Resources awarded a contract worth N82,162,781.28 to F O Engineering Limited For Construction of Drain at Isheri North Residential Scheme.
We gathered that the company was floated on 25th April, 2021 with the registration number: 1786829. The company’s registered address is Plot 8 Impressive Close, Alausa, Lagos.
From the date of incorporation to the date it scooped the juicy contract from the coffers of Office of Drainage Services & Water Resources, it can be deduced that the company was barely a year old when it got the N82 million worth of contract.
In a similar move, we discovered that in June 2022, the Lagos State Law Enforcement Training Institute awarded a contract worth N6,200,000.00 to Future Care Consulting for “Y2022 Mandatory Training for Lagos State Government Law Enforcement Officers”.
Digging further, we found out that Future Care Consulting has no record with the Corporate Affairs Commission, implying that it is not registered.
(Screenshot showing that Future Care Consulting has no record with CAC)
On their part, the Lagos State Parastatals Monitoring Office awarded a contract worth N9, 913,544.00 to Oceanic Palms Services for “The Purchase of Furniture and Equipment for Parastatals” in April 2021.
Findings revealed that Oceanic Palms Services was incorporated in Ejigbo, Nigeria with Registration Number 2914838. It was registered on 26 June 2019. The company’s registered office address is 6, Kensten Close, Idimu. This implies that the company did not have up to three years tax clearance as stated by the Lagos State Government.
Data in the procurement portal have it that a contract worth N122,015,087.80 was awarded to Viropact Earth Services Limited by the Lagos State Infrastructure Asset Management Agency (LASIAMA) in April 2021.
It was stated that the contract was for “Facility Management Of Lagos Island Maternity Hospital, Marina Lagos”.
Meanwhile, findings revealed that the company was floated on 5th November, 2019, implying that it did not have up to three years taxation before it scooped the contract.
Lastly, our investigation revealed that in April 2021, the Lagos State New Towns Development awarded a contract worth N950,000.00 to Alpha Liquid Ventures for “Procurement of Working Materials and Gadget for the Use of Planning Unit”. Findings revealed that the company, registered on Feb 27, 2020, did not have up to three years tax clearance as stated by the Lagos State Government.
