Buhari’s right hand man trapped in massive corruption

Sequel to Post-Nigeria’s report, indicting some Federal Government agencies for involving in sharp practices, despite President Muhammadu Buhari’s resolve to stamp out corruption, a fresh investigation has exposed how the ‎Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, Babachir David Lawal, has been enriching himself from appointment ‎fraud, the Sun Newspaper has confirmed.


The report states that N50 million is being collected from candidates seeking appointments into the Boards of Grade A federal agencies and parastatals.

According to the investigation, a lady called Hajia Mohammed (first name withheld), suspected to be a lawyer, coordinates the syndicate on behalf of some top officials working in the SGF’s office that pads lists for Board appointments still being compiled by a presidential committee in the same office.

The syndicate according to news report, has a number of trusted recruiters and canvassers who scout for people with means that want to serve on the Board of some federal agencies.

Some political watchdogs have begun to question the President’s ability to fight corruption, as under his watch, his appointed son and right hand men have been involved in high level corruption.

Report has it that the crime normally takes place in poolside areas of top hotels in Abuja, such as Sheraton Hotel and Transcorp Hilton Hotel, as well as, other negotiated venues where collection of cash deposits for the appointments are done.

‎The Sun investigative reporter, while negotiating with leaders of the syndicate for a membership position at Sheraton Hotel, Abuja recently, discovered that appointment into the Board of Grade A agencies like the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA and Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, among others, will cost a whooping N50 million.

‎In any transaction, the syndicate will not accept a kobo less than N25 million, for appointment into the Boards of other less lucrative agencies.

‎The qualification for the position having met the financial demand, is that such individual must be a card carrying member of the ruling party, the All Progressives Congress, APC‎.

With over 76 names on the list of candidates that have paid as at the 20th of March, the exact amount so far raked in by the syndicate could not be established, because it was difficult to verify how much each of them actually deposited.

‎In one of the meeting two female leaders of the syndicate in March, asked the Sun reporter who acted as an undercover to pay not less than N20 million and issue a post dated cheque of N5 million, which will be cashed when the list of appointment eventually comes out.

‎According to a reliable source who spoke in anonymity, “the practice has been going on since and not something that has just started under the Buhari administration.”

He added, that it was a practice similar to budget padding discovered by President Buhari, during the presentation of the 2016 budget to the National Assembly.

“It’s more or less a normal trend in government, just like you have budget padding or the ghost workers menace on workers payroll”, the source added.

The top source further said, “beyond what you have just discovered, party leaders also sell the slots for their constituencies to the highest bidders, so it is not only a practice within public service, it is equally deep within the ruling political parties, not just about APC, but even more in PDP when they were in power,” the source said.

Recall, that Buhari had on Thursday, July 16, 2015 approved the dissolution of the Governing Boards of Federal Parastatals, Agencies and Institutions, with immediate effect.

It was gathered that most of the names compiled by the syndicate must have been smuggled into the lists of agencies under the Ministries of Education and Agriculture.

Some of them include; National Universities Commission (NUC), Abuja, National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), Kaduna, National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE), Abuja, Universal Basic Education Com­mission (UBEC), Abuja, National Commission for Nomadic Education, (NCNE), Abuja and National Commission for Adult Education Mass Literacy and Non Formal Education (NMEC), Abuja.

Others include; Nigerian Educational Research Development Council (NERDC), Sheda, FCT, Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Bwari, Abuja, West African Examination Council (WAEC), Lagos, National Examination Council (NECO), Minna, National Business and Technical Examination Board (NABTEB), National Institute for Educational Planning & Administration (NIEPA), Ondo, National Teachers Institute (NTI), Kaduna and Nigerian Mathematical Centre (NMC), Sheda, FCT.

Nigerian French Language Village (NFLV) Badagry, Lagos, Nigerian Arabic Language Village (NALV) Ngala, Borno, National Institute for Nigerian Languages (NINLAN) Aba, Abia, Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), Abuja, National Library of Nigeria (NLN), Abuja, Teachers’ Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN), Abuja and Computer Professionals Registration Council of (CPN), Lagos.

Those under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development include Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria (ARCN), National Fadama III Programme, Commercial Agriculture Development Programme (CADP), Agricultural Development Project (ADP), Bank of Agriculture, Nigerian Agricultural Quarantine Service (NAQS).

Nigerian Agricultural Insurance Corporation (NAIC), National Institute for Stored Products Research Institute, Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria (CRIN), Forestry Research Institute of Nigeria (FRIN), Institute of Agricultural Research & Extension Services (IAR) and National Animal Production Research Institute (NAPRI).

National Institute of Freshwater Fisheries Research (NIFFR), National Veterinary Re­search Institute (NVRI), National Cereals Research Institute (NCRI), National Institute for Horticultural Research (NIHORT), Rubber Research Institute of Nigeria (RRIN), National Institute for Oil Palm Research (NIFOR), Lake Chad Research Institute (LCRI), Maiduguri and National Institute for Oceanography and Marine Research (NIOMR).