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Documents obtained by SecretsReporters have revealed ₦242,779,366.26 in contract and expenditure irregularities at the Federal College of Forestry, Jos, Plateau State, across four findings for the 2022 financial year.
The findings involve a ₦63,445,118.63 contract awarded to a company whose Tax Clearance Certificate contained an inflated turnover figure, ₦127,834,432.50 awarded to contractors who did not meet the qualification requirements, ₦38,486,293.63 linked to an irregular alteration of a project’s scope after award, and ₦13,013,521.50 spent outside the College’s approved budget.
The first finding concerns a ₦63,445,118.63 contract for the construction, rehabilitation and furnishing of a College building and workshop. According to the documents, the company awarded the contract submitted a Tax Clearance Certificate showing a turnover figure that was contradicted by a search conducted by the College on the Federal Inland Revenue Service’s official verification platform.
The documents cited Paragraph 3 of Establishment Circular Ref. No. SGF.50/S.52/III/652 of 11 October 2017, which requires Accounting Officers to conduct post-qualification due diligence on every recommended bidder before a contract is awarded. The College’s management reportedly maintained that turnover was not a stated criterion for the award. However, the explanation was found unsatisfactory in the findings because the discrepancy in the certificate was not detected through the College’s verification procedures, irrespective of whether turnover determined the award.
Additionally, ₦127,834,432.50 was awarded to contractors who did not satisfy the qualification requirements for the contracts they received. The finding identified the awards as irregular, with Paragraph 3106 of the Financial Regulations 2009, which addresses irregular payments, cited in connection with the financial irregularities.
Similarly, the documents identified ₦38,486,293.63 in connection with an irregular alteration to a project’s scope after the contract had been awarded. The finding formed part of the four issues recorded for the 2022 financial year, with Paragraph 3106 of the Financial Regulations 2009 also applying to the reported irregular payments.
Moreso, ₦13,013,521.50 was spent outside the College’s approved budget. The expenditure was listed as the fourth finding, with Paragraph 3106 of the Financial Regulations 2009 cited in connection with the financial irregularities.
In its recommendations, the documents directed the Provost to account for each of the identified sums before the Public Accounts Committee of the National Assembly. The recommendations also required the recovery and remittance of the amounts to the Treasury, alongside the submission of evidence confirming the remittances to the appropriate authorities.
Source: …Secretsreporters