Secrets Reporters
Data assessed by this online media have revealed that contrary to the laws guiding the use of government funds, the federal ministry of education paid millions of naira into the account of first time House of Representatives member, Abang Victor Bisong in 2018 and 2019.
For the records, Treasury Circular No. TRY/ A2&B2/ 2009/ OAGF/ CAD026/V OF 24th March 2009 states that, “All procurement of stores and services exceeding N200,000.00 shall be made only through the award of contract”.
Similarly, Treasury Circular Ref. No. TRY/A2&A3/2013 OAGF/CAD/026/V.1/188 OF 9th April, 2013 emphasized that, “cash advance in excess of N200,000.00 should not be granted to any officer for procurement of goods and services but the procurement should be given out as a contract”.
However, contrary to these laws, we gathered from Govspend that the ministry of education paid a total sum of N147,208,954.00 into the account of Abang while he was serving as the Chief of Staff to the Chairman of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) Chairman.
According to the data buried on Govspend, the fund was transferred in five tranches with different transaction descriptions.
For instance, on 11 October 2018, the Federal ministry of education transferred ₦11,468,800.00 to Abang as payment for the “2018 selection of candidates into jss! in fucs”.
In a similar move on the same day, the sum of ₦34,000,000.00 surreptitiously left the coffers of the Federal ministry of education and landed in the lawmaker’s account for the “2018 world teachers’ day celebration”.
We gathered that on November 26, 2018 the Federal ministry of education experienced an outflow of ₦16,026,500.00 in favour of Rep Abang as payment for “Stakeholders’ workshop on sustainable funding of education in Nigeria”.
Further findings revealed that on 11 December 2018, the Federal ministry of education wired the sum of ₦16,026,500.00 into the 57-year-old’s account as “Payment for two days stakeholders workshop on sustainable funding”.
Lastly, records have it that on 14 February 2019, the sum of ₦69,688,154.00 happily danced out of the premises of the Federal ministry of education and settled in Abang’s account as “Payment of monitoring of prestige scholarship beneficiaries”.
Born on April 11th 1967, in Bawup, Boki Local Government Area, of Cross River State, Abang is a first-term Member of the House of Representatives in the 10th National Assembly, representing the Boki/Ikom Federal Constituency of Akwa Ibom Borno State.
Records have it that Abang joined mainstream politics in 2005, when he was appointed as the Chief Legislative Aide to the then-Senate President, Ken Namani, serving from 2005 to 2007. He subsequently held the position of Special Assistant to the Senate President on Public Affairs from 2007 to 2016 and Chief of Staff to the Chairman of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) Chairman from 2016 to 2019. In 2021 He was appointed as the Special Adviser to the Governor on the National Assembly Matters by the then-governor, Senator Ben Ayade.