Secret Reporters No place to hide
Secret Reporters
Like the typical Nigerian politician, when Mai Mala Buni was campaigning to be elected as the Governor of Yobe State in 2019, he promised not to betray the trust of the people by misusing the resources of the state if voted as the State’s number one man.
He went further to pledge that if elected, he would copy and domesticate the federal government’s social empowerment programs to tackle poverty and unemployment through agriculture and entrepreneurship.
However, despite promising not to misuse the resources of Yobe State, ranked one of the poorest States in Nigeria by the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics, Buni did not wait to exceed a year in office before flamboyantly throwing the State’s resources on exotic vehicles.
Data on the State open procurement portal have it that the State government, under the leadership of Buni, awarded a contract to Abay Multi Concept Nig Ltd for the procurement of vehicles in 2020.
The contract, titled “Procurements of 29 Numbers of vehicles to SSGs office and the Members House of Assembly,” was awarded on 15th January 2020, barely eight months after Buni assumed office as the governor of the State.
According to the data, the contract, which has been completed, was awarded for one billion, eight million, eight hundred thousand naira (N1, 008,800,000.00).
Though the contract details stated the number of vehicles, it did not reveal the various Senior Special Assistants that benefited from the project.
Investigations revealed that the company that executed the contract, Abay Multi Concepts Nigeria Ltd, was incorporated in Damaturu, Nigeria, with registration number 1270703. The company was registered on 29 June 2015, and its current status is unknown.
Data revealed that the company’s registered office address is no 7 Potiskum Road, and its directors are Rashida Adamu and Isyaku Hamisu.
Meanwhile, a check on the Corporate Affairs Commission, the body of the Nigerian Government responsible for the regulation and management of companies in Nigeria, revealed that Abay Multi Concepts Nigeria Ltd is not active.
It is germane to note that where a registered company has not filed its annual returns up to date with the Corporate Affairs Commission, the status of the Company is indicated as ‘INACTIVE”.
