PAUL UTEBOR
When those entrusted with the law begin to bend it, the cracks in a nation’s integrity widen. In a system where public office is meant to embody accountability and honour, the actions of powerful individuals who knowingly break the rules do more than violate legal provisions. They erode public trust. Recent revelations show that even the corridors of authority are not immune to the temptations of impunity, as Senator Aishatu Dahiru Ahmed of the 9th Assembly, who is saddled with the responsibility of upholding due process, has been found to involve herself in contract racketeering while in office. An action that goes against the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act.
The Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB), established to promote transparency, accountability, and integrity across the public sector, sets strict limits on the private business interests of public officers. Specifically, the Act forbids full-time public servants from owning or managing private companies, with only farming enterprises exempt from this rule. This safeguard was designed to prevent conflicts of interest and to curb the culture of self-enrichment that has plagued Nigeria’s public institutions.
Despite these clear provisions, evidence showed that Senator Aishatu Dahiru Ahmed, while listed as a director of Binani Publishing Limited, received contracts worth 227,965,679.8 naira from government agencies through the company as a sitting senator.
On December 28th, 2022, the Universal Basic Education Commission made the payment of N167,786,293.60 to Binani Publishing Limited for the renovation of nine (9) blocks of two (2) classrooms at Government Girls Secondary School, opposite Government House, Jimeta, Yola North LGA, Adamawa State.
Moreso, documents showed that on March 25th, 2021, the Universal Basic Education Commission made the payment of N20,306,249.91 to Binani Publishing Limited for the reprocessing of payment on the supply of instructional materials to Old Gra Primary School, Jimeta, Yola North LGA, Adamawa State.
Lastly, on 24th March 2022, the National Commission for Refugees made the payment of N39,873,136.290 to Binani Publishing Limited for the supply of relief materials (food & non-food items) to IDPs in Kumo town, Gombe state.
The company Binani Publishing Limited, with registration number 298167, was registered on 18 May 2015 with registration number 1261475.
The company has three key directors/shareholders, among whom is Senator Aishatu Dahiru Ahmed. She was a senator who represented the people of Adamawa Central at the 9th Senate Assembly.