Corruption in Nigeria is gaining unprecedented momentum with public servants in a rat race for illicit wealth at the detriment of service delivery.
Most if not all of those involved in sharp corrupt practices and stealing of public funds, were trained with public funds to have attained their touted educational status. The most corrupt of all, are those from wretched backgrounds without moral and home disciplines. They are the off-springs of poverty and immorality at variance with public trust.
How can a responsible and educated person trained with public funds be so heartless and callous in depriving the larger society benefits of their wealth? Let’s revisit the case of Criminal Ahmed Idris who stole N109billion as an Accountant-General of the Federation.
Another suspected vandal in crime is one Yusuf Maina Bukar, supposedly, a doctorate degree holder who was rescued from idleness, pitied and offered the office of the managing director of National Agency for Greater Green Wall (NAGGW). The itchy-fingered rogue within his few months in office, swindled N81.2billion under the guise of purchase and distribution of 21million trees to 11 states against desertification and other environmental hazards.
The fraud was blown open by the House of Representatives Ad-hoc committee. Since then, the record breaking scandal has attracted condemnation and calls for thorough probe of NAGGW to unearth other hidden scandals.
Disturbed by the scandal, some groups noted that the agency’s Yusuf Maina Bukar, must submit himself to the EFCC in three days for probe or face mass mobilisation of Nigerians against his crime.
Civic groups, the Societal Safety Network (SSN) and the Nigeria Citizens Action Group (NCAG) have asked the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to look into how the Agency allegedly spent N81.2 billion on planting of 21 million trees across 11 front-line states.
The House of Representatives ad-hoc committee had on August 30 uncovered documents on how the Agency allegedly spent N81.2 billion on planting of 21 million trees across Kebbi, Sokoto, Zamfara, Katsina, Kano, Jigawa, Bauchi, Gombe, Adamawa, Yobe and Borno.
An investigation visit to the listed states, showed the opposite of what was claimed. Out of the 11 listed states, there was none of them that benefitted from the claimed supplied trees. So, where went the N81.2billion claimed by Yusuf Maina Bukar and his fellow collaborators? Efcc has a duty to dig deep down and retrieve what was stolen.
The lawmakers who spoke during the investigative hearing into the “Utilisation of ecological funds released to National Great Green Wall from 2015 to date,” expressed displeasure over the conflicting financial reports submitted by the Central Bank of Nigeria, Office of the Accountant General of the Federation and the Agency, queried some of the expenditures carried out during the period under review.
According to the lawmakers who spoke after scrutinizing the documents submitted to the Ad-hoc Committee, the sum of N697.372million and an additional sum of N500million, as well as N480.657million, spent on renovation of office accommodation; and N11.28billion on capital projects. These expenditures are fraudulent and criminal if further investigated.
In a joint release signed by the director, Muhammad Lukman, the civic groups said, “Our organizations have followed with keen interest, the above subject as opened by the National Assembly. We have reviewed the report of investigation activities so far on this weighty allegations by National Assembly ad hoc committee, it’s so unprecedented and extremely suicidal corruption practice at National Agency for Great Green Wall (NAGGW) if this is allowed to be swept under carpet like others.
“With evidence gathered so far, it’s only right the Managing Director voluntarily resigns for a full-launched investigation by anti-graft agencies such as the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC).”
In another petition made available to this medium by a Lagos based anti-corruption group, it was alleged that there is a glaring case of diversion of public funds through a ‘fictitious’ tree planting exercise at the whooping sum of N81.2billion.
Going by reports from an in-depth investigation of the House of Representatives Ad-hoc committee that made the discovery of the scam, it is clear beyond any iota of doubt that the Agency had as allegedly squandered the whooping amount on non-existing trees for a fictitious fight against drought, afforestation and reforestation activities in Nigeria’s dry lands and ecological funding for Greater Green Wall activities.
According to the petitioner, a visit to most of the states mentioned as beneficiaries of the tree planting intervention to locate sites of the project was a herculean task that can only be located in the imagination of NAGGW.
For instance, the petitioners alleged that those locations in Bauchi, Jigawa, Kano, Gombe and Adamawa states could not be found anywhere after several efforts including contacts with relevant ‘benefiting’ state government ministries.
The petitioners added that part of their allegations were sourced from the report of the House of Representatives Ad-hoc committee that investigated the utilization of allocated funds to the agency since it was established in 2015 by Act of Parliament.
A breakdown of expenditure from NAGGW suspected to have been diverted include;-
The whopping sums of N697.372million, N500million and N480.657million separately expended on claimed renovation of office accommodation (number of offices renovated not stated)
The sum of N11.28billion expended on imaginary capital projects (projects not stated)
Huge unspecified amount of public monies expended by the Agency on claimed capacity building and other sub-heads not within the mandate of the Agency as specified in the Establishment Act 2015 that need further investigation
Since 2015, the Agency has woefully failed or ignored to undertake any Audit of its Accounts which gives room for suspicion of certain hidden scandals
With these development and several others that must have been swept under the carpet, the anti-corruption group is calling on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to dismiss the management of the agency under Yusufu Maina Bukar who was appointed in April 2022 to the exalted position and direct the Efcc to commence full investigation to expose other cases of corruption and malfeasance for subsequent action.
It was further understood that the managing director who allegedly mortgaged his conscience for sharp corrupt practices despite his claimed educational status, must have been bragging of operating under the executive cover of some influential federal government functionaries that are suspected to be the brains behind the ongoing scandals in the agency.
The petitioners further added that just within one year of his appointment, he had squandered such a humongous amount of public funds on fictitious projects that have no direct bearing on the lives of Nigerians
“At the House Ad-hoc committee session, the managing director shamelessly said the agency had planted trees in Borno, Yobe and other states with N2.4billion in the first phase and N7.3billion in the second phase but failed to name locations where the trees were planted for ease of verification
“May be those trees allocated to Borno State were planted in Sambisa or Firgitsi forests but definitely not within Maiduguri metropolis or any of the local governments visited to authenticate the truth”.
With this development, the National Agency for Greater Green Wall has joined the league of the most corrupt federal government establishments under Yusuf Maina Bukar that should either be scrapped or the entire management held responsible for such a heinous scandal similar to those of Diezani Alli-son Madueke (former Petroleum Resources Minister), AbdulRasheed Maina (Pension Scheme), Godwin Emefiele (CBN) Ahmed Idris (former Accountant-General of the Federation), Bello Maigari (National Lottery Trust Fund), AbdulHameed Aliyu (NIRSAL) and several other crooks that presided and butchered public resources under the guise of service to Nigerians. National Lottery
Another cesspool of corruption with authority and pride is the National Lottery Trust Fund (NLTF) where one Bello Maigari, supposedly an educated Nigerian and possibly from Gombe states was appointed as the executive secretary/chief executive of the Fund through intensive lobbying and sycophancy. How did Maigari qualify for such a plum position and able to survive the anti-corruption war of former president Buhari? Definitely, there no searchlight zoomed on the operations of the Fund he proudly butchered to point of death. From his past managerial antecedents of the Fund, the man is incompetent for such high profile job. He occupies the exalted position for his personal interest and those of his family and friends. Financial transactions of the Fund should be visited by forensic auditing experts to unearth other hidden scandals with Maigari returned to idleness to rescue the ailing agency from further financial catastrophe.
The National Lottery Trust Fund was established, positioned and funded by the federal government, to generate revenue, remit same to government pool for support to other laudable programmes of development.
But not satisfied with government effort, the Fund under Bello Maigari generated over N2.5billion from statutory remittances from licenses and permit holders in 2023 as well as N6.8billion it generated in 2022 from same source of generation but hurriedly squandered by Maigari without remitting a dime to the federal government treasury for other developmental purposes.
Maigari was timely caught by nemesis before the House of Representatives Finance Committee penultimate Monday during the 2024-26 Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper Interactive Session with Federal ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs).
His response to questions on the Fund’s activities was a bundle of disappointment and disgrace to educated Nigerians holding public office on trust. Disappointed to the point of provocation, the House Committee opted to place the Fund on Status Enquiry for squandering all its internally generated revenue without authority and against laid down rules and regulations.
Confidently, Maigari without a second thought told the House Committee that the generated revenues were expended on various critical sector interventions, including education, sports development, social services, public welfare and disaster management across Nigeria. This was the only story he could concoct and tell the committee to be further trusted.
Not satisfy with his folktale he was entertaining his audience with, Maigari revealed that the treasury of the Fund under his management was clean swept without a dime, and had a deficit of about N255billion in 2022 because of a carryover of liabilities in 2021.
Still living in a fool’s paradise and believing he was impressing, the committee with his bogus claims, Maigari arrogantly said the Fund was expected to pay emoluments, allowances, and benefits of members of its board, as well as salaries and allowances.
While acting his drama play before the committee, Maigari forgot that the federal government funds the agency he manages and butchers. He failed to understand that funds allocated by the federal government are to address issues of salaries, allowances and other fringe benefits of board members etc.
Let the embattled Maigari tell Nigerians the naked truth on whether or not the Fund has a mandate of establishment to intervene in those critical sectors he claimed and the locations of the said interventions including costs involved. Was the National Lottery Trust Fund mandated to intervene in the education, sports development etc sectors as he foolishly claimed? If yes, on whose authority did he squander over N2billion of the internally generated revenue? There may be many more revealing stories of scandals under the feet of Bello Maigari (Wakilin Ilimi Na Farko).
While President Tinubu is systematically launching a full scale war against corrupt practices, the likes of Bello Maigari are there supporting corrupt practices to flourish through stealing, diversion and praise singing.
Efcc should strive to visit the financial books of the National Lottery Trust Fund which will reveal volumes of other sharp corrupt practices bedeviling the federal government-owned agency that should be rescued from the itchy-fingers of the likes of Bello Maigari
