Testy moment for Ministry of Agric - The Nation Nigeria Newsa
A knotty issue over debt owed contractors has posed a major challenge to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, but the ministry under Minister Sabo Nanono is finding a solution to it, writes CHINAKA OKORO.
The jobs were signed, sealed and delivered by the contractors. They expected their contracts’ sums to be released to them. But, some two years later, they are still waiting. Their patience ran its course last week and they laid siege on the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
At the time they completed their deals, the ministry was under a different political and administrative heads. For the contractors, government is a continuum and they expect those in charge now to pay the bills of over N17 billion.
A source in the ministry said: “The Ministry sympathises with those whose contracts were duly awarded and the Honourable Minister truly feels their pain. Currently, efforts are at an advanced stage to ensure that all those who have executed their contractual terms are paid.”
The crux of the matter
About 50 members of the Concerned Unpaid 2018 Contractors of the ministry picketed the ministry’s headquarters in Abuja last Wednesday.
They blocked the major entrance of the minister’s office. The contractors bore placards with inscriptions such as “Enough is Enough”, “Ministry of Agriculture pay us our money”, “No payment no new contract” and “We are dying of hunger, pay us our money”.
They were back at the ministry on Friday. They bore placards with messages such as “Our Projects won the election for PMB”, We are dying of hunger”.
Their coordinator, Mr Daniel Mozie, on Wednesday said: “None of them has spoken to us. Since 2018, they held our money, over N17bn, and refused to pay us.
“You’ll be shocked to know that some contractors are dead; many others have sold or mortgaged their houses and their creditors are on their neck. Many can’t pay house rents and school fees for their kids or access medication.”
Mozie claimed the contracts had been funded 100 per cent. “So why will they owe us? They told us that by 2019 they will pay. The appropriation for 2019 was funded and paid and they advertised for 2020 but yet they owe contractors for 2018.
“Their (FMARD) tradition is that they have a two-year procurement process. If you execute your job in 2017 and they were not able to pay, by the first quarter of 2018 they would clear the backlog and continue. That has always been their practice.
“The ministry entered into agreement with us, we went and did our jobs, generated certificates 100 per cent; so why the delay?
“We’ve met them more than six times; in fact, at a time, the meeting involved all the directors with the outgone director of finance and even the present director of finance,” he said.
Where did the money go?
The contractors believe their money was released, prompting the question: Where did the money go? The answer is not straightforward but last week the Federal Government queried the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Science and Technology, Dr Mohammed Bello, for allegedly mismanaging funds while he was the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. The contractors being owed completed their jobs while Bello was the permanent secretary.
The Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Dr Folasade Yemi-Esan, in a leaked query issued to the permanent secretary on May 11, accused him of “acts of serious misconduct in your former post of permanent secretary in the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development”.
Yemi-Esan said she issued the query on the order of President Muhammadu Buhari, who she said had been briefed about Bello’s conducts.
The HoSF document had alleged mismanagement of N48 billion out of the over N98 billion released to the ministry in 2018, representing 99.4 per cent of the year’s appropriation. She gave Bello a 72-hour ultimatum to respond to the allegations.
The query reads: “The attention of Mr President has been drawn to the acts of serious misconduct against you in your former post as the Permanent Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development on which he has given further directive.
“Specifically, it was alleged that: (a) in spite of the budgetary release of the N98,405,763,678.68 in 2018 (which represents 99.44 of 2018 appropriation), you did not take necessary action to pay the eligible contractors which led to the ministry having an outstanding contractual liability in the sum of N48.429,543,895.722.
“(b) under your leadership as the accounting officer, the ministry utilised the entire 2019 first quarter release of N7,737,208, 135.18 to pay for the 2018 contracts that were fully funded in 2018 which constitutes virement without authority:
“(c) as accounting officer, you oversaw a transaction for the purchase of a building for the use of the ministry at the sum of N7,044,746,264.06 without the conduct of the mandatory statutory structural and mechanical integrity tests: and prior approval of the FCDA Public Building Department: the building was eventually found to be an uncompleted carcass requiring billions of naira to complete and make safe for occupation;
“(f) under your watch as the accounting officer, the ministry procured seven deep drilling rigs for borehole at an average cost of N300,000,000. 00 without recourse to the Federal Executive Council;
“(e) and in April, 2019, you gave out the seven rigs procured at over NI .3 billion to some individuals under fraudulent arrangements, without the approval of the minister; and one of the rigs linked to you is yet to be returned despite several written reminders; and
“(f) you misapplied the intervention funds approved for the purchase of strategic grains and the establishment of the Rural Grazing Area Settlements in violation of extent Financial Regulations; two of such misapplications are:
“i. the use of N2.026,838,775.25 to pay contractors and execute programmes from the funds released for emergency procurement of strategic grains which is unrelated to the purpose of the funds.
“ii. the use of N3,527, 300, 419.06 for the payment of questionable contracts awarded under the 2018 appropriation from the rural grazing area settlement scheme which is not related to the purpose of the funds.”
The reply
In his reply, Bello described the allegations as “mere concoctions based on malice for whatever reason best known to the perpetrators”.
He added: “Having served in the Federal Civil Service for over 35 years, I was never queried or found wanting, but earned various commendation awards and many indelible contributions to nation building.”
The key points
All the contractors picketing the Ministry are from the 2018 budgetary year. The period in question falls squarely under the tenure of Dr. Bello, who is now facing a probe for his actions during this period.
The ministry, it was learnt, is working with the Ministry of Finance to explore the possibility of advancing payment to contractors whose contracts were duly awarded and completed.
“The ministry feels their pain and frustration, but the fact of the matter is that the ministry does not have the money and has to resort to the Finance Minister for assistance.
Contractors under the 2019/2020 budget cycle are being handled within the confines of the limited resources available to the ministry,” a ministry source said.
The Director of Information in the ministry, Theodore Ogaziechi, confirmed what the source said.
In a statement, Ogaziechi said: “On behalf of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, I would like to state that the ministry is not unmindful of the outstanding liabilities to contractors and to also affirm that the ministers, the permanent secretary and the management team share in the agony of the contractors which has informed their agitations.
“The ministers and permanent secretary inherited these liabilities and are in the process of compiling and verifying all outstanding contract liabilities.
“While this process is on-going, the ministry is appealing for the patience, understanding and cooperation of the contractors to enable her complete this process and forward the outcome to the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning for further action.”