As the embattled acting chairman of the EFCC, Ibrahim Magu struggles to clear himself of allegations of corruption levelled against him, media sources are reporting that he is innocent of the alleged misconduct.
The Vanguard and Sahara Reporters both came out with reports proving the innocence of the EFCC boss this weekend. According to Vanguard, some documents emerged last night to prove that the security agency lied in many respects against Magu. Documents obtained by Vanguard show that contrary to the DSS report that a businessman, Umar Mohammed, a retired air force officer, paid and furnished Magu’s mansion, the acting EFCC chairman, actually lives in a rented apartment officially paid and furnished by the Federal Capital Territory Administration, FCTA, which is statutorily mandated to do so for all senior government officials, including those of the Senate and the House of Representatives.
According to Vanguard, most top government functionaries, including the NASS, had also been given similar accommodation by the agency while others who are staying in their personal houses, had demanded and collected cash in respect of rent and furniture. Findings shows that the Abuja Metropolitan Management Council (AMMC) awarded the contract for the two-year rent and furnishing of the house to an Abuja-based company, Valcour SA Nigeria Limited on March 30, 2016 at the total cost of N43.8 million with a six-week period to complete the job. Out of the amount, N28 million was meant for two years’ rent (N14m per annum) while the balance of N15.8 was meant for furnishing.
The offer letter with ref. No. AMMC/Adm/907 and dated March 30, 2016, was signed by Ibrahim Ibrahim Gusau, the Secretary of the Tenders Board with the caption:
“Provisional Award of contract for rent of residential accommodation and furnishing for security operatives”.
It was addressed to M/S Valcour SA Ltd, 8, Kainji Street, Maitama, Abuja.
The AMMC said in the offer letter, “I am directed to inform you that provisional approval has been given for an emergency award of contract to your company in line with PPA Section 42 (1b and1f) for rent of residential accommodation for security operatives (EFCC) for two years and furnishing of same at the total contract sum of N43,800,000 with a completion period of six weeks for furnishing.”
Furthermore, the letter stated, “You are to proceed with the service and note that the notification of the provisional award is subject to ratification by the FCTA Tenders Board. Accordingly, I am directed to inform you also that the contract or any part thereof shall not be transferred, sublet or assigned to any person/body in any way.
You are requested to indicate in writing your acceptance or otherwise of the award and thereafter report to the Coordinator of the AMMC for further instructions”
Vanguard further reports that based on the award letter, the management of Valcour SA Ltd, on March 31, 2016, wrote back to the AMMC, accepting the offer of the award, saying, “With great pleasure, we accept your award of contract for rent of residential accommodation and furnishing for security operatives dated March 30, 2016.”
The acceptance letter was signed by Allen Kezie, the Director of Finance and Admin of Valcour SA Ltd.
Documents with Vanguard also show that based on the award, the FCTA released a mandate to the Central Bank of Nigeria dated March 31, 2016 to credit Valcour with the sum of N39.6 million. The payment was made from FCTA account with No. 3000054355 domiciled with Zenith Bank while the mandate was jointly signed by Isiyaku Ismaila and Zanna A. Hamza who are the authorised signatories to the account.
This development is in sharp contrast to the DSS memo that claimed that the cost of the rented apartment was N40 million at N20 million per annum. The documents further debunked the DSS memo that the furnishing of the residence was awarded to a firm owned by the ex -Air Chief, Africa Energy – at the cost of N43 million as it was only M/S Valcour SA Nigeria Ltd that handled the property.
The Senate had last week Thursday declined Magu’s confirmation on the grounds of what it called security report from the DSS, about six months after President Muhammadu Buhari forwarded his name to the upper chamber for confirmation. The Senate did not screen Magu on the basis of alleged failure to pass what it called “integrity test” arising from the said ‘security report’.
Vanguard gathered that the property located in the Maitama District, where senior government officials and diplomats reside because of its urbane nature, is an official quarters and not a gift as stated in the leaked DSS memo and is known in FCTA’s parlance as ‘Safe House’ because of the security nature of Magu’s job.
According to an official of the FCTA, who sought anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the matter, such property is usually secured for very important personalities like the Senate President, Speaker of the House of Representatives, service chiefs, ministers and other top government officials.
According to media sources, the rejection of Magu has sparked serious tension in the Presidency, with major camps defending their actions that caused Buhari such a public embarrassment before the world and putting a big question mark on his anti-corruption war.