Constituency project: ICPC fails to see borehole, transformer missing

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) inspection team that went to Nangere, Yobe, on Friday to track a borehole that was supposed to have been sunk under lawmaker’s constituency projects found none in existence.

The borehole was purportedly sunk at Sabongari area of Nengere Local Government Area of Yobe.

A correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) who accompanied the team reports that there is a hole and a stand for an overhead tank, but there were no other components.

Mr. Laban Emmanuel, ICPC Team B leader in the state, listed components of the project contract awarded in 2019 to include overhead tank, filter, motorised borehole, generator, generator house and a tap stand.

He said payment voucher with Reference No. 253C1 showed that the contractor, LRB Global Ventures Ltd., had been paid N69.2 million after tax and administrative deductions for the borehole and four others.

Emanuel said the contractor had been told to return to site and complete the project immediately.

He added that though the contractor had constructed the four units of boreholes, some irregularities were observed.

“A borehole meant for Damshi Village in Fika Local Government Area was constructed in Rafin Bodori in Potiskum.

“The generator sets supplied by the contractor to the borehole sites at Sunshine FM, Potiskum, Garin Gunja, Nangere and Lailai House, Nangere, were 6.5 KV instead of 12.5 KV as contained in the Bill of Quantities.

“We also discovered that community assessment was not carried out before the project was executed,” he said.

The team also observed that a 300 KVA/11KV transformer facilitated by Senator Ibrahim Bomoi (Yobe South) and supplied to the College of Administration, was also missing.

Emmanuel said the handover note showed that the contractor, Giohen Global Concept Nig. Ltd., had actually delivered the transformer to the college.

He said the team was investigating the whereabouts of the transformer and would ensure that it was brought back to the college.

At Jummu’at Village Primary School in Potiskum, the team monitored a model story block of seven classrooms, facilitated by Rep. Ibrahim Umar representing Potiskum and Nangere Federal Constituency in 2019.

Emmanuel observed that the balustrade of the building constructed by 4 Plus Solar Energy Ltd., contained large openings that pupils could easily fall through.

He also said 10 windows of the building were substandard and had already been blown off by wind.

ICPC began the tracking of 118 executive and constituency projects worth N4.5 billion in Yobe on August 31 in the third phase of its tracking exercise.