A witness for the Financial and Monetary Crimes Fee (EFCC) has advised the Kwara State Excessive Courtroom in Ilorin that Common Primary Training Fee (UBEC) contracts have been allegedly by no means awarded to contractors through the tenure of former Kwara State Governor, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed.
The EFCC’s third witness, Engineer Abdulsalam Olarewaju Sirajudeen, made this allegation through the ongoing trial in regards to the alleged misappropriation of N5.78 billion in UBEC funds by the ex-governor and his Commissioner for Finance, Ademola Banu, based on an EFCC assertion on Thursday.
Ahmed served as Kwara governor from Could 29, 2011, to Could 29, 2019.
The duo is accused of conspiring “to steal cash meant for the fee of lecturers’ salaries below the Kwara State Common Primary Training Board (SUBEB), in addition to funds designated for safety and infrastructural improvement within the state.”
They have been arraigned on October 21, 2024, by the Ilorin Zonal Directorate of the EFCC.
Each pleaded not responsible to the fees in open courtroom, paving the way in which for trial.
What Transpired in Courtroom
- Testifying earlier than the courtroom, Sirajudeen, who was a undertaking supervisor with SUBEB and later the Director of Bodily Planning in 2017, defined that there have been stipulated procedures for executing initiatives in major and junior secondary colleges utilizing UBEC’s Matching Grants and Counterpart Funds.
- He acknowledged that these procedures included visiting colleges throughout Kwara’s 16 native authorities areas to evaluate their wants, conducting surveys, documenting findings, and submitting reviews to UBEC for approval and funding.
“The Bodily Planning Division prepares the motion plans primarily based on pointers offered by UBEC.”
“UBEC then invitations us to Abuja for discussions on the motion plan,” he stated.
- Led in proof by EFCC counsel Rotimi Jacobs, SAN, Sirajudeen acknowledged that an motion plan for 2013 was ready and despatched to UBEC for overview and approval.
“After approval, an commercial is positioned, inviting certified contractors to bid. After 4 weeks, bidding takes place within the presence of all stakeholders, together with UBEC representatives. Contractors who win the bids are then mobilized to undertaking websites,” he added.
- In response to the witness, related motion plans have been ready for 2014 and 2015 and submitted to UBEC for approval.
- Nevertheless, he famous that “whereas bidders have been invited, the [UBEC] initiatives have been by no means awarded to contractors.”
- Throughout cross-examination by protection counsel, led by Jimoh Mumini, SAN, and Gboyega Oyewole, SAN, Sirajudeen confirmed that neither Ahmed nor Banu was a signatory to SUBEB accounts, although SUBEB was below the purview of the state authorities.
- The decide subsequently adjourned the matter to April 10 and 11, 2025, for additional hearings.
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