The Presidential Initiative for the North East, PINE, became a centre of misery entrepreneurship under the suspended Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, with companies raking in, through fraudulent procurement process, billions of Naira and paying kickbacks to the embattled cabinet secretary, according to bank documents and the report of the Senate Committee on the Mounting Humanitarian Crisis in the North East. PREMIUM TIMES has had a rare access to the report which sums up the evidence the Senate submitted to the Yemi Osinbajo-led presidential investigative committee probing allegations of contract fraud and breach of due process against Mr. Lawal. The report is due for presentation before the Senate this week. PINE was established to help coordinate and lead efforts at rebuilding infrastructure and rehabilitate millions of victims of Boko Haram insurgency that has devastated Nigeria’s North East. About 100,000 people have died since the insurgency began in 2009 according to official figures. As shown in the Senate report – with evidences of bank transactions as well as Central Bank of Nigeria, Corporate Affairs Commission and Bureau of Public Procurement documents – Mr. Lawal superintended the conversion of the agency to a criminal, and bizarre money making enterprise, awarding contracts to cronies whose firms did not pass the requirements set by the law. Some of the beneficiaries paid parts of the proceeds of the contracts to Mr. Lawal’s company and his private account in tranches. After receiving payments from PINE, at least five companies separately paid about N450 million to the Eco Bank account (182001809) of Rholavision Engineering Limited owned by Mr. Lawal according to CAC and self-admission, and his private account (0003004417) with Diamond Bank, bank statements showed. According to a CBN confirmation attached to the report, Mr. Lawal was still the signatory to the account of Rholavision until February 15, 2017 which shares same BVN with his personal account and 13 other accounts in commercial banks. Between March 29, 2016 and April 20, 2016, Josmon Technologies Limited transferred a sum N317 million to Rholavision, belonging to Mr. Lawal, after receiving two “grass-cutting” contracts worth N530.6 million for the removal of invasive plant species in Yobe State. The transfers were made in tranches, mostly N10 million per transaction, and N47 million on the last day. For the “grass-cutting” contract, Mr. Lawal’s Rholavision was awarded the consultancy contract on March 8, 2016, while the owner was in the service of the government as the federal cabinet secretary in breach of Nigeria’s code of conduct for public officers and the Public Procurement Act. But apart from that contract which formed the basis of the call by the Senate that Mr. Lawal be removed and prosecuted by President Muhammadu Buhari last December, the suspended SGF was into other fraudulent deals with companies using PINE as conduit pipe. For instance, on August 8, 2016, JMT Global Technologies Ltd transferred N30 million from its Zenith Bank account 114357188 to Rholavision. Then, JMT had just got eight contracts for “rehabilitations/renovations in Adamawa” State for the sum of N199.4 million. Also Messrs Adamawa Boreholes and Drilling Companies Ltd transferred N18
million to Mr. Lawal’s company, after clinching N54.8 million contract to renovate seven classrooms at Yeskule Girls Secondary School, Michika Adamawa State.

osinbanjoisaliar:
so it is in buhari's govt that boko haram turned cash cow for members of the govt. APC, i fear una o!

TonyeBarcanista:
What about the $50m?
We cannot be distracted by shifting all attention to SGF. We want to know about the main issue, which is the $50m allegedly discovered by Magu and his boys.

Also, who will receive the report from the VeePee? I hope it's not some appointee of the President?

TonyeBarcanista:
What about the $50m?
We cannot be distracted by shifting all attention to SGF. We want to know about the main issue, which is the $50m allegedly discovered by Magu and his boys.

Also, who will receive the report from the VeePee? I hope it's not some appointee of the President?

CharlotteFlair:
Posters above crucifying the SGF are on a long thing!! Lawal is fronting for buhari and now he has to take the fall.

dannytoe:
I knew osinbajo's led panel will be very fare, as he wont want to stain his hands with corrupt practices.........................meanwhile as for the grasscutter lawal, he should just know that Nnamdi kanu's room in kuje prison is still vacant....................i see buhari very angry and kuje loading.

MDCCCXXXII:
Funny, we didn't read you raise this pathetic noise when Sanusi Lamido made mention of $20 million missing?

TonyeBarcanista:
What about the $50m?
We cannot be distracted by shifting all attention to SGF. We want to know about the main issue, which is the $50m allegedly discovered by Magu and his boys.

Also, who will receive the report from the VeePee? I hope it's not some appointee of the President?

DamiBukola:

shameless dude, Jonathan Government was corrupt that is why we kicked him out so stop this your back and forward complain of Jonathan's government.

Buhari brought in saints and this was the man that said "corruption was fighting back", whereas he was the corruption itself.