How Governor Awards Contracts Worth N511million To Perm Secretaries, Heads Of Government Agencies In Contravention Of Law
The Ekiti State Bureau of Public Procurement law states that contracting should be through open competitive bidding while stating standards for restricted bidding.
A review of the Ekiti State open contracting portal has shown that the state government awarded contracts worth N511.5million to permanent secretaries and general managers of agencies in the state in the month of December, 2024.
The Ekiti State Bureau of Public Procurement law states that contracting should be through open competitive bidding while stating standards for restricted bidding.
However checks on the law did not state that permanent secretaries, general managers of agencies or Director Generals can be awarded contracts.
Section 24 of the law states “that persons who have been involved in the process of preparing for a procurement or part of the proceedings thereof may neither bid for procurement in question or any part thereof, either as main contractor or subcontractor nor May they cooperate in any manners with bidders in the course of preparing their tenders.”
On December 23, 2024, the state awarded a contract to the tune of N135million for construction of seminar/general hall, office extension, security house, fencing and other sundry works at the office of the auditor general.
The contract was however awarded to the permanent secretary.
Another contract for dredging work at GRA/NTA/Satelite/Abekoko was awarded to the general manager of the State environmental protection agency.
The cost of contract stood at N79.6 million and was awarded on December 11, 2024.
The renovation of government house main entrance gate and attached offices in Ado-Ekiti cost N26.6 million and awarded to the permanent secretary on December 10, 2024.
Purchase of one unit of JAC Sunray ambulance and a scania truck head with 11,000 liters capacity water tanker was awarded to the tune of N155.6 million to permanent secretary ministry of transportation on December 9, 2024.
Another contract under the tag expansion of Ekiti broilers production scheme for youth empowerment to the tune of N47.8 million and was awarded to the permanent secretary on December 2, 2024.
Replacement of damaged transformer with new 500Kva transformer at Ilu-omoba in Ekiti worth N66.9 million was awarded to the general manager of the Ekiti State electricity board on December 2, 2024.
On the same day, contracts for rehabilitation of electricity network to Epe-Ekiti and Araromi-Ekiti was also awarded to the general manager of the Ekiti State Electricity board on December 2, 2024.
Earlier, SaharaReporters reported how the Ekiti State government awarded contracts worth N1.1 billion to permanent secretaries director generals between July and August 2024, in abuse of procurement laws.
Earlier, when SaharaReporters reached out to the Ekiti State government, it defended the contracts awards on the basis of direct procurement.
The state information commissioner, Taiwo Olatunbosun had stated this.
“Direct Labour Procurement Laws were established to ensure that procurement activities are conducted transparently, efficiently, and within the bounds of fiscal responsibility.
“The Direct Labour Procurement method is principally designed for projects that require urgent attention, and it is well-regulated to prevent any form of abuse or misallocation of resources. All contracts awarded through this process have been thoroughly vetted, ensuring that they meet the necessary requirements and contribute to the public good without exceeding the legally permissible financial limits.”
“It’s important to understand that the Permanent Secretaries involved in these processes are not beneficiaries of the contracts. Rather, they are the custodians, as Accounting Officers of their respective MDAs, that shoulder the responsibility of ensuring that public procurement adheres to the highest standards of accountability and transparency”.
“Any suggestion that they are personally benefiting from these contracts is not only inaccurate but also undermines the integrity of the civil service”.
Experts however argue that the government is wrong in its position.
Speaking to SaharaReporters on the development, the Advocacy and Network engagement director of the Public and Private Development Centre (PPDC), Kachi Chukwu, told SaharaReporters that the development is an aberration of the law.
“It is a clear aberration of the law, although some states have stated that they award these contracts on direct labour, however this may not excuse the action. The states also blame the timeframe between awarding contracts and the actual time the contracts were awarded.”
He however noted that states are meant to respect the open contracting law especially if they have signed up to the open contracting standards.
The executive director of Paradigm Leadership Support Initiative, Segun Elemo, told SaharaReporters that such actions by the state was unlawful.
“It is not lawful for the state to do that, even tho sometimes they want to do internal procurement to avoid the procurement process” he noted.
