The House at its plenary session of Tuesday 14, November 2017 mandated its Committees on Defence, Army, Finance, Public Procurement and Financial Crimes to carry out a comprehensive investigation on allegations of an alleged multi million-naira contract scam in the Federal Ministry of Defence.
Leading the debate on the floor of the House, Hon. Yusuf Tajudeen (PDP: Kogi) stated that the media space had been awash with news that some high-ranking appointees and officials in the Ministry of Defence were allegedly involved in a contract scam that was not in line with the current administration’s fight against corruption.
According to the lawmaker, the Federal Ministry of Defence was in charge of a contract for the relocation and refurbishment of a level 2 hospital under the United Nations multidimensional integrated stabilization mission in Mali. He explained that a level 2 hospital is funded by the United Nations and awarded to countries who contribute troops/police to global peace missions and carry out limited surgeries on limb and organs of officers and men on military duties.
Furthermore, he stated that in the said case, the Ministry of Defence had awarded the contract for the refurbishing and relocation of the said hospital in Mali to a contractor who had no experience in the installation of a level 2 hospital. He also accused the Ministry of awarding the contract in the name of another firm after getting Presidential approval and also for breaching procurement guidelines in the later award.
In addition, the lawmaker blamed Nigeria’s loss of the deployment of a level 2 hospital to Rwanda on the misappropriation of funds perpetrated by top functionaries in the Ministry of Defence, following a United Nations directive. He stated that Nigeria had been asked to withdraw its remaining contingent to the United Nations African Mission in Darfur after it failed to meet the August 2017 deadline for the relocation of its level 2 hospital from Timbuktu, Mali.
In his concluding statement, he urged for a prompt investigation of matter on the basis of the high pecuniary cost to the country. He also divulged that Nigeria’s troop contributing global rating had dropped from number one to number five in Africa.
