DESPITE YOUR DILIGENT INVESTIGATIONS, WE HAVE NOT SEEN RESULTS – ENetSuD TELLS EFCC

Elites Network for Sustainable Development (ENetSuD), a Kwara-based Civil Society Organizations known for its #FollowKwaraMoney activities, has charged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to step up its game in the fight against corruption in Kwara state, especially on handling petitions it has been receiving on how Federal Government Constituency projects were executed in 2017.

In a letter signed by its Coordinator (Dr. Alagbonsi Abdullateef) and submitted to the Ilorin Zonal Head of EFCC on 24th February, 2020, ENetSuD appreciated EFCC for its meticulous investigation of its petitions but expressed concerns that the investigations have not yielded the desired result of completing the projects according to specifications in the public interest. ENetSuD added that despite the diligence and meticulousness of EFCC in the investigation of its petitions, the concerned Ministries and contractors have not fully complied with the alleged directives by EFCC to return to the site, a situation that ENetSuD found unacceptable as the petitioner with the greatest interest. The latest ENetSuD’s letter to the EFCC is to request the commission to urgently enforce the return of the contractors to the site to complete the abandoned works according to the approved specifications.

Read the letter below:

You may wish to recall that ENetSuD has been a consistent collaborator of the EFCC in the fight against corruption in Kwara State, especially in the area of project execution appropriated and funded by the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN). Our support for the anti-corruption fight (which is a core mandate of EFCC) is due to our belief that EFCC needs help and cannot fight corruption alone without the support of citizens and Civil Society Organizations like ours, and is part of the core objectives of ENetSuD.

As part of our support for EFCC, we have forwarded six (6) petitions concerning mismanagement and diversion of public funds released by FGN to various Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) for the execution of constituency projects in Kwara State. In addition to our petitions, we have always provided convincing and classical documents, information, and expert advice to the EFCC that we strongly believe would be helpful in its investigation towards ensuring that the public funds work for the public. All the petitions and information that ENetSuD has graciously provided to EFCC have costed us very huge resources that are sourced from our pocket.

The EFCC has been a very responsive and worthy anti-graft agency that has been commendably attending to all our petitions (except the one written against SMEDAN). We have also enjoyed a very cordial relationship that the EFCC investigators have created with us, which gives us the opportunity of timely feedback on the investigations concerning our petitions.

While we appreciate all the previous information provided to us by EFCC on our petitions, we also feel that the investigations have not yielded the desired result in the public interest. Moreover, we are concerned that despite the diligence and meticulousness of EFCC in the investigation of Barakat Community, Abata Sunkere, and Oja Gboro drainage projects, the other parties that we wrote petitions against (Ministries and Contractors) have not fully complied with the alleged directives by EFCC, which is unacceptable to us as the petitioner with the greatest interest.

We will like to be specific as follow:

1. EFCC reportedly concluded investigation on Abata Sunkere drainage and planned to prosecute offenders, but we are not aware that the prosecution has commenced to date.
2. EFCC had reportedly directed the contractor handling Barakat community drainage to the site so as to complete the work according to the Bill of Engineering Measurement and Evaluation (BEME). However, the contractor only returned to demolish some parts to be corrected and commenced the correction but did not complete the expected corrections. He has abandoned the corrections since September, 2019.
3. EFCC reportedly directed the contractor handling Oja Gboro drainage project to the site to complete the work according to the BEME, but he has not fully complied with the directive. He only reported to the site to construct just one of the access slabs on 14th January, 2020 without doing anything on the remaining pending works till date.
4. All the concerned communities are aware of the works being expected from the contractor after our petitions and they are anxiously waiting for EFCC to ensure that contractors return to the site to do proper work in compliance with the BEME that we have educated them on.

In conclusion, we are requesting the EFCC to kindly consider the following prayers:

1. Our petition against SMEDAN submitted to the Chairman’s office in Abuja should be attended to.
2. Inform us about the progress made on the prosecution concerning Abata Sunkere project.
3. Ensure that contractors handling Barakat drainage and Oja Gboro drainage are returned to the site to complete their works as per the missing items highlighted in the petition and in compliance with the BEME.

END