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Panel indicts Adefarati, others for alleged misuse of N18.8b
- Ex-governor's aide faults report
From Niyi Bello, Akure
A JUDICIAL Commission of Inquiry has indicted erstwhile Governor Adebayo Adefarati of Ondo State and other ex-officials for allegedly spending N18.8 billion on fraudulent contracts.
The panel, which was set up by Adefarati's successor, Dr. Olusegun Agagu, cited the N17.5 billion Igbokoda-Ayetoro coastal road as the most prominent of the alleged questionable projects.
But a former commissioner in the government of Adefarati faulted the panel's report, insisting that it was meant to witch-hunt the erstwhile officials of the state.
The former governor who was ordered to refund N505 million, being the amount said to have been spent without appropriation in the twilight of his regime to government coffers, was also recommended for criminal prosecution by the five-member judicial commission headed by Williams Akinrotoye, a serving judge of the state High Court.
Also indicted and recommended for prosecution is the former Commissioner for Works and Transport, Chief Erastus Akeju, who was ordered by the commission to refund N60 million which he was said to have spent without accountability.
In the White Paper on the findings and recommendations of the commission which was released to the public by the state government yesterday, three contractors, Messrs Gomet Nig. Ltd, Messrs Kariserve Nig. Ltd and J& P Nig. Ltd, were blacklisted and ordered to refund N162.1 million, N156.4 million and N157.6 million respectively to government coffers.
Claiming that the various sums were collected for contracts not executed, the report also directed the state Ministry of Justice to institute legal processes for the recovery of the said amounts from the indicted contractors.
And for failing to exhibit competence and professionalism as required by their positions as civil servants, three permanent secretaries, Messrs M.A.Imoru, Olaseinde Akinbuwa and Ajose Kudehinbu as well as Benson Otegbeye, Director of Civil Engineering, were recommended for punishment while Gray Eshiofonie was ordered to refund N456,000 being an amount said to have been over-spent on the clearing of a project site.
On Adefarati's indictment, the commission in its recommendation stated: "Although we concede that as the governor of the state at the time, he was the chief security officer of the state and had the responsibility to ensure that the state was secured, it was incumbent on him to ensure that his actions were in accordance with the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999) and other laws.
"The constitution provides that all expenditures from the Consolidated Revenue of the state must be appropriated by way of Bills passed by the state House of Assembly as contained in section 120-123 of the constitution.
"Since there was no appropriation of the stated sums that were actually spent and there was evidence that Chief Adebayo Adefarati received the sums, then he had spent government funds unconstitutionally. Government should therefore take appropriate measures to make him account for the money."
Accepting the recommendation on the former governor, the government directed that Adefarati should refund N505 million, being public fund spent without appropriation while he and Chief Erastus Akeju should be prosecuted accordingly.
But speaking through Chief Sola Ebiseni, Commissioner for Environment and Mineral Resources in the former governor's cabinet, the Adefarati's camp described the white paper as "a nullity because it has no foundation in law."
According to Ebiseni who spoke to The Guardian in Akure yesterday, the decision of the state government to prosecute Adefarati and his Commissioner for Works was wrong because "as far as we are concerned, there is nothing to prosecute because the whole thing is an exercise in political witch-hunting."
He questioned the legal standing of the commission to issue any white paper saying: "Adefarati and Akeju went before the court in this state to challenge the constitutionality of the commission on the basis of its composition which is mainly of known PDP members and contractors who themselves had earlier on shown interest during our administration, in the same projects under probe.
"We have also challenged the commission and the government that set it up on the terms of reference which are matters that are beyond the power of the commission.
"And notwithstanding the action in court and the fact that the government had been participating in the legal process through the office of the Attorney-General, the commission which is headed by a judge went on in defiance of the legal reality that once a case is in court, no party should do anything that will prejudice the fair hearing and adjudication, and submitted the report illegally."
The former commissioner also chided the Executive arm of Ondo State government "for undermining the judicial arm by trampling upon the right to fair hearing."
The Justice Akinrotoye Commission of Inquiry was set up by Agagu in exercise of his powers under Section 2 of the Commission of Inquiry Law Cap 25 Volume 1, Laws of Ondo State of Nigeria 1978 on July 6, this year.
The commission was told to inquire into:
- the N466 million Riverine Electricity Project awarded to Messrs Kariserve Limited of Plot 285, Akin Olugbade Street. Victoria Island, Lagos;
- the N206 million New Stadium Complex consultancy contract awarded to Messrs Gomet Consortium Nig. Ltd of 250, Ikorodu Road, Lagos;
- the N17.589 billion Igbokoda-Ayetoro road contract awarded to J& P Nig. Ltd; and
- the circumstances surrounding the expenditure of N560 million public fund between April 2002 and May 2003 without budgeting provision and purposes.
Apart from determining the regularity or otherwise of the process of award of the contracts, the commission was told in its terms of reference to recover from any indicted individuals any sum of public funds found not to have been legally earned and recommend sanctions.
Similar probes of past administrations were carried out by the Adefarati government including the one headed by Justice Rasheed Fawehinmi which was instituted to investigate capital projects execution of the four military regimes prior to his administration.
The former governor has also at various times expressed the readiness of his administration for a probe after leaving office.`
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