September 13, (THEWILL) – The acting Director-General of the Projects Development Institute (PRODA) Enugu, Dr. Fabian Okonkwo, has allegedly ignored directives by the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) to implement the institute’s audit report.
Okonkwo has been accused of flagrant disregard for due process in procurement matters relating to the award of contracts, staff engagement, and implementation of the audit report.
He has also allegedly flouted instructions by the BPP to pay contractors who have fulfilled their obligations in accordance with the terms of their contract agreement, as long as such contracts meet the specifications for certification by the appropriate authorities indicating the completion of such contracts.
Also, the Academic Staff Union of Research Institutes (ASURI), the union of all the academic staff of research institutions such as PRODA, has allegedly accused Okonkwo of insubordination, culminating in criminal, unethical, and unpatriotic activities of the PRODA management.
Expressing dismay over the developments, the Union’s national secretary, Dr. Theophilous Ndubuaku, in a chat with newsmen, decried the purported sacking and suspension of some of their members in the procurement department for insisting that due process be followed in the award of contracts.
He recalled that during the public hearing with the House of Representatives (February 18, 24 and 25, 2021), the House instructed Okonkwo to retain all contracts approved by the BPP. Okonkwo was also instructed to recall all procurement officers suspended or sacked without due process to continue to perform their functions.
Ndubuaku reiterated the need for the BPP and the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology, the supervising ministry, to relieve the board chairman of PRODA, Mr. Daniel Onje, of his duties as he has stayed longer than the three years stipulated in the Act that established the institute.
According to him, Okonkwo came into his position after Onje and Dr. Agulana, the substantive director-general, were suspended. However, Okonkwo still takes instructions from the suspended chairman, whose three-year tenure ended March 2021.
Meanwhile, Onje told the National Assembly that Okonkwo deceived the Board inot believing the BPP approved the cancellation of the contracts.
In a BPP interim procurement audit report on PRODA for the Financial Year 2018, 2019 and 2020 dated May 7, 2021 with Ref No. BPP/S.1/PAR/CCM/21/Vol.1/024 and signed by its director-general, Mamman Ahmadu, it was observed that the reasons adduced by the acting director-general of PRODA for cancelling existing contracts did not conform with nor supported by any provisions of the Public Procurement Act 2007.
“There was no reason to cancel an ongoing or a concluded procurement process, without first seeking the Bureau’s position or relying on the relevant sections of the Public Procurement Act, 2007. For the avoidance of doubt, the reasons highlighted by the acting director general of PRODA for the cancellation of the 2020 procurement are not admissible.
“The procurement filing system at PRODA is cumbersome as the project files were observed to be domiciled with several officers and the office of the acting director general of PRODA leaving the procurement department with few documents. This made file location and retrieval for the audit exercise difficult.
“There was no evidence to show that the PRODA conducted due diligence/post- qualification in line with sections 16(7), 23(10) and 32(3)(1) of public procurement act, 2007 and SGF’s circular with Ref. No. SGF.50/5.52/III/652 dated October 11, 2017 on the winning bidders in the years under review.”
“There is a need to strengthen the institute’s procurement unit to fill in the obvious gap for the administrative lapses and institutional deficiencies observed in the PRODA procurement activities by certifying more procurement officers to enhance efficiency, productivity, proficiency and capacity building,” it stated.
Investigations indicate that Okonkwo was mandated to recover substantial amounts of money paid to firms under the nullified/cancelled contracts. He was also required to comply with the Bureau’s directive or face the full weight of the law establishing the institution.
The BPP also recommended the investigation and prosecution of the acting director-general for “blatant refusal to comply with the relevant provisions of the procurement law and regulations”.
In line with established protocols, a memo from the Federal Ministry of Science of Technology dated March 22, 2021 with Ref No. FMST/PD/541/2020/1/196 and signed by the Director (Procurement), Mr. O.L. Oyadoye, consequently enjoined the acting director-general of PRODA to comply with the Bureau’s decisions and directives in line with the provisions of section 20 of the Public Procurement Act 2007, which bestows the accounting officer/director-general of an agency the overall responsibility of ensuring compliance with the PPA 2007.
It was gathered that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had on September 10, 2021, taken Okonkwo in for questioning over allegations bordering on financial irregularities, abuse of office, and unethical extortion. However, he was released as investigations into the matter continue.
