Bala Mohammed, formal Minister of the Federal Capital Territory and current governor of Bauchi State has allegedly awarded a contract of N3.6 billion to a company which belongs to himself.
This was disclosed in an exclusive report by PREMIUM TIMES on Sunday, February 23, 2020, in which it reported that the governor awarded the contract to Adda Nigeria Limited, a company in which the governor owns 20 percent stake.
According to the report, one of the first moves of Bala Mohammed as governor was to award the controversial N3.6 billion contract for the supply of 105 official vehicles for the use of the governor and other government officials.
The report alleged that he ignored the necessary procedures in awarding the contract such as constituting a standard competitive bidding process, as PREMIUM TIMES confirms that the paper works for the contract was processed hastily after the contract had been awarded.
Governor Mohammed’s action allegedly contradicts with the provision of federal code of conduct laws as well as the Bauchi State Public Procurement Laws which prohibits public officials from partaking in contract bidding or cooperation with bidders.
Bala Mohamed has been facing corruption charges since 2017 two years after he served as the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had filed a six-count charge against him at the FCT Hight Court in 2017, accusing him of abuse of office and land racketeering, with an amended charge in 2019 which further accused him of receiving a house valued at N550 million in gratification, failure to disclose ownership of some of his properties amongst other things.
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However, in line with the public office holder’s immunity provided for by the constitution, the proceedings against Mohammed were put to a pause immediately he was sworn in as the governor of Bauchi State.
The Herald also gathered from a source that the EFCC was lackadaisical in prosecuting case against Bala Mohammed, which according to the source was shabby and lacked definite proof.