Bode George, Ogunlewe, others bought FG houses without bidding
From Sufuyan Ojeifo in Abuja, 11.24.2009
Tuesday, November 24, 2009

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Senate Committee on Housing and Urban Development yesterday named former Chairman of the Board of Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA), Olabode George, as one of the notable Nigerians who bought Federal Government houses in Lagos without bidding for them.

http://odili.net/news/source/2009/nov/24/206.html

George was recently sent to jail by a Lagos High Court which found him guilty of corrupt acts of misappropriation and contract splitting running to about N85 billion when he chaired the Board of the NPA under the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

Chairman of the Committee, Senator Ikechukwu Obiorah, announced the names of notable Nigerians who benefitted from the sleazy deal at a one-day public hearing on the sale of Federal Government houses in parts of the country.

Obiorah listed other beneficiaries as former Minister of Foreign Affairs and current Nigeria’s Permanent Representatives at the United Nations (UN), Professor Joy Ogwu; former Minister of Works, Senator Adeseye Ogunlewe; former Chief of Army Staff, General Owoeye Azazi and former Chief of Defence Staff, Admiral Ibrahim Ogoi; Vice Admiral I.I. Ibrahim (rtd); Vice Admiral B. Adeleke (rtd); Gbemisola Adebo; O. O. Olakunrin and Ambassador Baiye Onigbelu.

He said the Committee discovered during its preliminary investigations that they were offered houses to purchase without bidding for them, adding that they individually and severally purchased houses ranging from fully detached buildings to blocks of eight flats.

According to him, “We have decided to invite them to appear before the Committee to explain how they came about the houses.”

The announcement of their names at the public hearing has thus ended months of foot-dragging by the Presidential Implementation Committee (PIC), under the Chairmanship of the Minister of State for Housing and Urban development, Mrs. Grace Ekpiwhere, to confirm the identities of the beneficiaries.

The public hearing, which was recently endorsed by the Senate, followed several failed efforts by the Committee to get the PIC on the sale of Federal Government houses to account.

The Committee is in possession of petitions from aggrieved Nigerians, especially sitting civil servants who were denied their rights of first refusal to buy up the houses in the wake of the implementation of the Federal Government’s monetization policy.

Obiorah had, a few months ago, announced that a whopping N400 billion was realised by the PIC from the sale of the houses while another N15 billion accrued in the form of interest on the deposit of the proceeds in a number of commercial banks.

He had directed that the PIC should attend a meeting to give account. The PIC had shunned the invitation, a development which led the Committee to seek an order of the Senate to conduct a public hearing into the sale of the houses and other activities of the PIC. The committee also issued a bench warrant on the management of Transcorp for what it described as “disrespect and “for failure to appear before it to explain how it transacted the purchase of a house in Lagos.Also yesterday, the Committee issued a warrant of arrest on Transcorp Hilton Hotel for failing to honour summons issues on it by the Committee.Transcorp was to have appeared before the Committee in respect of a property it bought from the PIC for N375 million, which was below the reserved price of N377 million.A member of the committee, Senator George Akume had pleaded with the Committee that Transcorp Hilton Hotel be given more time to appear to offer explanation.But another member, Senator Osita Izunaso disagreed, saying that Transcorp Hilton Hotel had habitually disobeyed and disrespected the invitations of the committee.According to him, “This is not the first time we have invited Transcorp. In fact, this is the third time. Having written to them, they have chosen to write a letter to you (the Chairman of the Committee), seeking to meet with you in your office.“This is unacceptable to us. Mr. Chairman we are not satisfied. We cannot summon them and they choose to write to you t see you privately.”Osita referred to the provisions of Section 89(1) of the 1999 Constitution under the “Power as Matters of Evidence” to issue warrant of arrest on persons or witnesses to compel attendance at an investigative or public hearing.He specifically harped on subsection 2 to ask the Committee to issue a warrant of arrest on Transcorp Hilton Hotel.The subsection reads: “A summons or warrant issued under this section may be served or executed by any member of the Nigeria Police Force or by any person authorized in that behalf by the President of the Senate or the Speaker of the House of Representatives, as the case may require.”The Committee Chairman, Obiorah, ruled in accordance and ordered that Transcorp Hilton Hotel be produced before it within the next week.



The Committee also heard how the official house of General Chris Abutu Garuba (retd.), located at 7 Bell Avenue Ikoyi, Lagos, was sold to Ikoyi Baptist church for N196 million after the church bid’s of N100 million placed it behind Garuba’s bid of N175 million.Counsel to Garuba, Mrs. Rita Chris Garuba (his wife), while presenting his case before the Committee, said that her husband won the bid at N175 million as published in October 21, 2006 edition of Punch newspapers and had paid the initial deposit of N17.5 million.She, however, said that when her husband sought to pay the balance, the PIC refused to accept his payment, saying his bid was not successful.She told the Committee that they were told that the house was sold to Baptist Church, Ikoyi, consequent upon which her husband and the entire family members were thrown out of the house.The Committee chairman noted that the person (referring to Obasanjo) at the helms of affairs then is a Baptist.He directed a member of the Church Council, Mr. Omoruyi Afe, who attended yesterday’s hearing as an observer, to get the church to furnish the committee with its response to the petition.Obiorah said: “Let us show to the world that the church cannot be caught in a mess. Since you are not seized of the facts of the matter, we give you the next one week to prepare your reply to us.”Meanwhile, the Committee has given the acting Secretary of the PIC, Mr. Kola Adeyemi time to enable him sort out the records of the PIC.Adeyemi has just stepped in the saddle following the death on November 6, this year, of the PIC Secretary, Mr. Mohammed Dahiru.

[size=14pt]How Obasanjo sold FG’s house to Baptist Church – Senate • Bode George named in deal[/size]
By Adetutu Folasade-Koyi, Assistant Editor, Abuja

Senators heard on Monday how former President Olusegun Obasanjo facilitated the sale of a Federal Government house to Ikoyi Baptist Church even after Chris Garuba, a retired General, had paid 10 per cent of the price.




http://odili.net/news/source/2009/nov/24/401.html


Obasanjo is a member of the Baptist Church.

Senate Housing and Urban Development Committee Chairman, Ikechukwu Obiorah, released the list of beneficiaries at a public hearing in Abuja.

Among them also is Bode George, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who was jailed for 28 years on October 26 over contract scam when he chaired the board of the Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA) between 2001 and 2003.

The Committee has summoned George to explain how he got his own allocation without a bid.

George will appear along with two former Ministers, Adeseye Ogunlewe (Works) and Joy Ugwu (Foreign Affairs), as well as former Chief of Army Staff, Owoye Azazi, and former Chief of Defence Staff, Ibrahim Ogohi.

Others to appear are I.I. Ibrahim, B. Adeleke, Ghemisola Adebo, O. O. Olakunrin, and two others.

Obiora said the Committee realised that, “Some persons have been given houses without bidding for them, and we have decided to invite them to explain how they came about the houses.”

The Committee issued a bench warrant on the management of Transcorp for “disrespect” and failure to appear to explain how it bought a property in Lagos.

Obiora said Transcorp is to explain how it bought the house for N377 million when the Presidential Implementation Committee (PIC) sold it for N375 million.

The Committee heard how Garuba’s official residence at 7 Bell Avenue Ikoyi, Lagos was sold to the Baptist Church for N196 million after it bid N100 million.

Rita, Garuba’s wife, who appeared on behalf of her husband, told the Committee that he offered N175 million for the house and paid 10 per cent of it, but when he went to pay the balance it was discovered that the house had been sold to the church.

The Senate on July 21 mandated the Committee to investigate the sale of government houses nationwide as well as the proceeds.

The decision was based on a motion sponsored by Obiora and 15 of his colleagues.

Obiora drew attention “to the fact that the Senate has been inundated with petitions and appeals from many Nigerians, especially legally sitting tenants, who were either deprived of their rights of first refusal or were evicted from their houses in spite of restraining orders of courts of competent jurisdiction.

“It should also be observed that the implementation process appears to have been characterised by racketeering and underhand deals in breach of due process, and the guidelines appear to be marred by spending of proceeds, accruing interests, and service charges without requisite appropriation by the National Assembly.”

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