BY BRISIBE HARRIMAN
Apparently miffed by the alleged lack of due process in procurement at the Maritime Academy of Nigeria, Oron, Akwa Ibom State, the Bureau of Public Procurement has concluded plans to carry out a forensic audit of the finances in the specialized varsity.
This is as a result of petitions to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, the Independent Corrupt Practices and the Senate Committee on Public Accounts and the BPP by concerned lawyers under the aegis of Michael Eshiet and associates.
The petition addressed to the anti-graft agencies is entitled: “Complaint of financial impropriety, mismanagement of public funds, duplication of contract awards for corrupt enrichment, contracts splitting, splitting of tenders, gross abuse of office and brazen violation of public service rules, financial recklessness and brazen breach of public procurement process against Commodore Duja Emmanuel Effedua (rtd), Rector and his management board at Maritime Academy of Nigeria, Oron.”
The petitioners accused the management of the institution led by Effedua of lack of transparency in financial transactions, which grossly violate the relevant sections of the Procurement Act.
Part of the petition reads: “In line with our resolve and believe in Mr. President Muhammadu Buhrai’s anti-corruption and whistle blowing policy, concerning the alleged corruption at the Maritime Academy of Nigeria, Oron, we decided to dig into these ugly and murky tales of corruption and we wish to inform your good offices that you will be shocked beyond words by what we discovered.”
The BPP in a letter by the director in-charge of Compliance, Certification and Monitoring Department, Ishaq Yahaya, on behalf of the Director General of the agency said BPP would soon commence forensic investigation of the allegations to ascertain whether all financial transactions in the institution followed the due process.
He said: “The Bureau having carefully perused your complaints observed that the allegations bother on contracts splitting, collusion, lack of accountability and transparency.
“Please be informed that the Bureau will conduct procurement audit exercise on the academy’s procurement activities.”
However, Effedua has dismissed the allegations as “corruption fighting back.”
He disclosed that he blocked financial leakages as soon as he took over three years ago, adding that “80 percent of funds allocated to the academy were stolen by staff and external cabal.”
He said, “When we came, the academy was in near collapsed stage. We are here to add value, not to steal money.
“I did not get extra funding to do what you have seen here, it is just that I blocked leakages, and when you block leakages, corruption will fight back.
“The corrupt people, the staff from within and those from the outside, they are cabal who had benefited from the academy and milked it dry.”
