- Says former minister in-law’s firm not approved for Katsina airport project
- Claims Sirika split contract to evade FEC approval
- Case adjourned till July 5 for cross-examination
A High Court of the Federal Capital Territory in Maitama heard on Tuesday, July 2, that a firm linked to the son-in-law and daughter of former Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, was not approved for the N2.7billion contract for terminal building and an expansion project at the Katsina airport.
The Director of Certification, Compliance, and Monitoring at the Bureau of Public Procurement, Isaiah Ganiyu Yesufu, told the court that Al Buraq Global Investment Limited, the firm in which Sirika’s son-in-law, Jalal Sule Hamma and the ex-minister’s daughter, Fatima are directors was not one of the five companies approved for the Katsina airport project.
He said the Aviation Ministry’s letters to the BPP for approval, categorized the terminal building and apron expansion at the Katsina airport as a single project and that the approval given by the BPP for the due process no objection was given for the project as a single one.
The witness said he was surprised to learn when he was invited to the EFCC’s office, that the Katsina airport project was split into two by the Aviation Ministry and awarded to two companies, including Al Buraq Global was not part of the companies listed and approved to bid for the project.
Yesufu spoke while testifying as the prosecution’s fourth witness (PW4) in the trial of Sirika, Fatima (his daughter), Jalal Hamma (his son-in-law), and Al Buraq Global Investment Limited on a six-count charge brought against them by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
In the charge, the EFCC accused Sirika of conferring undue advantage, between April 2022 and March 2023 in Abuja, on some entities allegedly owned by his associates.
The EFCC alleged that Sirika used his “position to confer an unfair advantage upon Al Buraq Global Investment Limited, whose alter ego, Fatima Hadi Sirika and Jalal Sule Hamma, are your daughter and son-in-law, respectively, by using your position to influence the award to them, the contract for the Apron Extension at Katsina Airport for the sum of N1, 498,300,750.”
Fatima is said to be a staff of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd, while Jalal Hamma is described as an employee of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission.
Led in evidence by prosecuting lawyer, Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), Yesufu told the court that sometime in May 2022, the Federal Ministry of Aviation wrote to the BPP for approval for a “due process no-objection” to enable it to adopt a selective procurement method, which will not require it to advertise for bids, in view of the urgency of the project.
Yesufu said in the two letters from the Aviation Ministry, dated May 16 and 17, 2022, the Ministry listed five companies who were to bid for the project.
He said, in his agency’s approval, which was communicated via a letter dated June 6, 2022, the five companies identified did not include Al Buraq Global Investment Limited.
“Item 13 (in one of the Aviation Ministry’s letters) relates to the terminal building and apron expansion project at Katsina airport. It is a single project.
“The budgetary provision that is indicated here is 800m.
“The companies to participate in this procurement at Katsina airport project are the five companies that were listed here,” he said and proceeded to identify them.
Yesufu added, “Al Buraq Global Limited was not listed as one of the companies to bid for the project.
“The approval (by the BPP) did not include Al Buraq. It (Al Buraq) was not approved to participate in this particular project.
“The no objection granted with these five companies implies that the bidding is limited to only these five companies.”
The witness said the Aviation Ministry was required to do its due diligence, by investigating the companies listed to ascertain their capacity, competence, and record of performance.
“The due diligence they (officials of the Aviation Ministry) are supposed to conduct was also to find out the names of directors of the companies to be sure that there is nothing wrong with them.
“On the contract for the terminal building and apron expansion at Katsina airport, after we issued our due process no objection, they (officials of the Aviation Ministry) did not refer to us again.
“When we were invited by the EFCC, we found out that the project (the terminal building and apron expansion project at Katsina airport) has been split into two.
“The terminal building was awarded to one company, while apron expansion was awarded to another company,” he added.
Yesufu said the cost of the project was not known to the BPP at the time of issuing its approval but found out from the EFCC that after the contract was split into two, one was awarded at about N1.4billion, with the other was awarded at N1.3b, which cost did not require the Ministry to revert to the BPP.
He added that if the project was left as one and not split, and had executed it as was approved, the cost would have been about N2.7bn and the Ministry would have been required to go before the Federal Executive Council for approval.
The witness added, “By splitting the project and awarding them at the ministerial tenders’ board level, they (those at the Aviation Ministry) have evaded the threshold that has been set.
“By splitting the project, they did not allow the project to go through the procedure it ought to go through as provided in the Public Procurement Act.
“The budget estimation that was presented to us from the Ministry was N800m for the single project and that was what we approved due process no objection for,” Yesufu said.
At that point, Jacobs told the court that he was done with the witness, following which Justice Sylvanus Orji adjourned till July 5 for cross-examination of the witness by the defence.
