N1.2 BILLION ALLEGED PROCUREMENT FRAUD: CONTRACTS AWARDED BY EMEFIELE DIDN’T GO THROUGH TENDER COMMITTEE - WITNESS
In the trial of Godwin Emefiele, former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, on Tuesday, November 28, 2023, the Third Prosecution Witness, PW3, informed a High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, presided over by Justice Hamza Muazu, that all forty-five (45) contracts awarded by the erstwhile governor did not go through the bank's Contract Tender Committee.
Owoeye, Head of the Secretariat of the Major Contract Tender Committee, revealed that any contract exceeding N10 million should go through MCTC. However, despite falling within the threshold, the contracts were not processed through the Committee.
The witness further explained that the Committee is responsible for vetting companies when contractors submit bids, ensuring disclosure of directors' particulars to the bank. This is done to prevent contracts from being awarded to companies with CBN staff as directors. These necessary procedures were circumvented as the contracts bypassed the Committee.
The EFCC arraigned Emefiele on Friday, November 17, 2023, on six count charges related to procurement fraud. During Tuesday's proceedings, the prosecuting counsel for the EFCC, Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, called three witnesses, including Owoeye, Samsideen Romanus from the Corporate Affairs Commission, and Remigious Ugwu, a compliance officer with a commercial bank. All three witnesses provided their testimonies, and Owoeye's disclosures were admitted as exhibits F1 to F45 by the court.
Subsequently, Justice Muazu adjourned proceedings to January 18 and 19, 2024.
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