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How Govt. MDAS Mismanaged Over N3 Billion For COVID-19 Procurement -Dataphyte

How Govt. MDAS Mismanaged Over N3 Billion For COVID-19 Procurement -Dataphyte
A media research and data analytics organization, Dataphyte has stated that Federal Government Ministries Agencies and Departments mismanaged at least N3 billion in COVID-19 emergency procurements according to data at their disposal.
Senior Data Reporter at Dataphyte, Aderemi Ojekunle made this known during a special radio town hall meeting against corruption, organized by Progressive Impact Organization for Community Development, PRIMORG, with the support of MacArthur Foundation on Friday in Abuja.
Dataphyte’s statement is coming on the heels of investigative reports showing that emergency expenses by MDAs was floored by lack of strict mechanism, bureaucratic process, underhand deals in procurement procedures and inflation of prices by government agencies.
Ojekunle bemoaned wastage of scarce resources by MDAs and stressed that the situation was more pathetic because over bloating of prices of Personal Protective Equipment should not be the case during a pandemic.
“Over N3 billion has been wasted, mismanaged by various MDAs and according to the various reports I have done on COVID-19 and if we look at the impact of this N3 billion, it would have cause Nigeria to build a lot of schools, hospitals and help us to manage a lot of things in society,” Ojekunle stated
Iyanuoluwa Bolarinwa, Manager at CIVIC HIVE revealed during the program that the Federal Ministry of Health’s claim to have spent about N37 million on 1800 pieces of face masks, which means each face mask costs about N25,000.
On a similar note, a reporter at International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR), Amos Abba, added that their investigations exposed that National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) purchased thermometers at about N84,000 each against N25,000 sold at open market at the time of the investigation.
Community Engagement officer at Connected Development (CODE), Uzochukwu Ohanyere, revealed that the Federal Government received over N95 billion in COVID-19 donations. He, however, lamented federal and state government’s unwillingness to respond to Freedom of Information (FOI) requests.
While expressing worry over lack of transparency in public offices, he stressed that lack of sanction on MDAs indicted of misappropriation was breeding corruption in the public service.
On ways to curb corruption in public service and procurement, While Bolarinwa called for creation of a bill to empower Auditor General of the Federation to take action against MDAs found wanting, Abba suggested that naming and shaming of corrupt government officials and MDAs will drastically reduce corruption in public service.
On his part, a political analyst, Jonathan Ipaa stated that corruption in Nigeria with funds donated to help the nation during a pandemic was very unfortunate and tarnishing the nation’s image more.
Ipaa urged citizens to get involved in governance and be at the forefront of holding the public office holders accountable.
The PRIMORG’s Town Hall Meeting Against Corruption is aimed at calling the public and government attention to specific issues of corruption in Nigeria.
Business
Tax Reform Bills: The Verdict of Nigerians

Ismaila Ahmad Abdullahi Ph.D
The public hearings conducted recently by the two Chambers of the National Assembly have elicited positive responses from a broad spectrum of Nigerians, cutting across regional interest groups, government agencies, civil society groups, concerned individuals, the academia, and Labour Unions, among diverse others. Contrary to a few dissensions hitherto expressed in the media, almost all the stakeholders who spoke during the week-long sessions were unanimous in their declaration that the hallowed Chambers should pass the tax reform bills after a clean-up of the grey areas.
The public hearings were auspicious for all Nigerians desirous of economic growth and fiscal responsibility. They were also a watershed moment for the Federal Inland Revenue Service, which had been upbeat about the tax reforms. Indeed, the public hearings had rekindled hope in the tenets of democracy that guarantee freedom of expression and equitable space for cross-fertilisation of ideas. Without gainsaying the fact, the tax reform bills have been unarguably about the most thought-provoking issues in Nigeria today, drawing variegated perspectives and commentaries from even unlikely quarters such as the faith-based leaders, student bodies, and trade unions, which speaks much about the importance of the bills.
In the build-up to the public hearings, not many people believed that the bills would make it to the second reading, much less the public hearings. Even the Northern stakeholders who seemed unlikely to support the passage of the bills have softened their stance and have given valuable suggestions that would enrich the substance of the bills. The Arewa Consultative Forum came to the public hearings well-prepared with a printed booklet that addressed their concerns. It concluded with an advisory that the bills should be “Well planned, properly communicated, strategically implemented and ample dialogue and political consensus allowed for the reforms to be accepted.”
The concerns of ACF ranged from the composition of the proposed Nigeria Revenue Service Board as contained in Part 111, Section 7 of the bill, the unlimited Presidential power to exempt/wave tax payment as proposed in Section 75(1) of the bill, the family income or inheritance tax as contained in Part 1, Section 4(3) of the bill, to the issues around development levy and VAT. On the development levy, the ACF stated that unless the Federal Government is considering budgetary funding for TETFUND, NASENI and NITDA, it does not see the “wisdom behind the plan to replace (them) with NELFUND”.
The position of the North was equally reinforced by the Supreme Council for Shariah in Nigeria, Northern Elders Forum, Kano State Government, Professor Auwalu Yadudu, and the FCT Imams. Like the ACF, these stakeholders lent their respective voices to the Section on the Inheritance Tax in Part 1 of the bill and the use of the term ‘ecclesiastical’, which, in their views, undermines certain religious rights and beliefs. The Kano State Government, represented by Mahmud Sagagi, affirmed that “we support tax modernisation” but cautioned that “we must ensure that this process does not come at the expense of states’ constitutional rights and economic stability”. Professor Auwalu Yadudu, a constitutional law professor, drew attention to the use of the ‘supremacy clause’ and cautioned that the repeated use of “notwithstanding” in the bills would undermine the supremacy of the Nigerian constitution if passed as such.
Other stakeholders that made contributions at the sessions included the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas, Fiscal Responsibility Commission, Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission, Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria, Nigeria Customs Service, and a host of others. While most of their concerns bordered on technical issues requiring fine-tuning, they were unanimous in their support for the bills. They aligned with the position of the Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, Zacch Adedeji, Ph.D. and the Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Mr Taiwo Oyedele, which is that the extant tax laws and fiscal regulations are obsolete necessitating reforms aimed at creating a fair and equitable tax and fiscal space to grow Nigeria’s economy.
In one of the sessions, Dr Zaach Adedeji expounded on the criss-cross of trade activities in the Free Trade Zone whereby companies misuse tax waivers as exporters to sell their goods or services in the Customs Area at an amount usually less than the price the operators in the Customs Area who pay VAT and other taxes sell theirs thereby disrupting business transactions. This way, the operators in the Free Trade Zone shortchange the government in paying their due taxes by circumventing extant regulations, which are inimical to the economy’s growth.
Overall, the presentations were forthright, foresighted, and helpful in elucidating the issues contained in the bills. According to the statistics read out at the end of the hearings at the Senate, 75 stakeholders were invited, 65 made submissions, and 61 made presentations. At the House of Representatives 53 stakeholders made presentations. By all means, this is a fair representation. Given the presentations, it is evident that the National Assembly has gathered enough materials to guide its deliberations on the bills. As we look forward to the passage of the bills, we commend the leadership of the National Assembly for their unwavering commitment to making the bills see the light of the day.
Abdullahi is the Director of the Communications and Liaison Department, FIRS.
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