By Emmanuel Elebeke

The probe panel set by Federal Government to investigate the alleged breach of the public Procurement Act has submitted its report.

Vanguard yesterday confirmed that the committee’s report is now in with the Minister of Communications for further procedure and directives.

Recall that the Nigerian government through the Minister of Communications had set up a ministerial committee headed by the Director, Research and Statistics in the ministry to probe the matter.

The terms of reference was to probe the alleged breach of the Public Procurement Act 2007 and financial abuse in the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and submit its report this week.

According to a reliable source in the Ministry, federal government was not impressed by what it called the non-compliance to a letter of August 14, 2015, by a former Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Dr. Tunji Olaopa, who queried alleged breach of rules by the Director-General of NITDA, Mr. Peter Jack.
It was gathered that the DG was alleged to have mismanaged state funds running into hundreds of millions of Naira and breached civil service rules.

The source, who confirmed the submission of the report, told Vanguard that the a petition from Information Technology Law Practitioners Association of Nigeria, signed by its President, Fredrick Uyabeme and Secretary Olumide Aboyade-Cole, accused the director-general of fraud and administrative impunity in its six-page memorandum on NITDA and annexure attached as exhibits 1-12 and copied to the anti-graft agencies.

The query to the NITDA boss entitled “Reported Breaches in NITDA”, reads: “It has come to my attention that there are several anomalies in your agency, which touch on the following: breach of public service rules pertaining to recruitment and secondment of staff; breaches of the Public Procurement Act 2007 and non-implementation of board directives as well as failure to seek approval of the ministry in absence of a board.

“I have also been inundated with news of your invitation to answer to sundry queries for breaches, yet you have not deemed it fit to update me on issues so I can appraise our principal as required. Notwithstanding the foregoing, I am directing that you reverse all recruitment and secondment implemented without the approval of your board.

“You are to also ensure that all procurement processes are implemented with strict adherence to the Public Procurement Act 2007; and furthermore, I am reminding you that the absence of a board does not confer the liberty to breach the NITDA Act nor the Public Service rules.

“You are required to comply with the letters and spirit of the circular of July 16, 2015, on matters that would normally require the attention of the NITDA board.”