A review of government payment records has revealed that the Federal College of Agriculture, Ishiagu, Ebonyi State, disbursed N890.8 million in a single day as mobilisation payments to several companies for projects unrelated to its statutory mandate.
FIJ found on Govspend, an accountability tool created to show government payments as documented on the Open Treasury, that the institution paid eight companies through 13 payment entries on May 9 for a range of projects.
The project descriptions cover road construction, electricity infrastructure, town halls, medical supplies, ambulances, school materials and university furnishing across several states.
Given the mandate of the institution is to provide training in agriculture, agricultural extension and related technical fields, these projects raise questions about the relationship between the expenditure and the college’s statutory mandate.
Among the payments made on the day being reviewed, Dezetz Engineering and Gozzy Toplyners each received two payments of N118,830,585.97, giving each company a combined total of N237.66 million.
The Federal College of Agriculture, Ishiagu, paid Dezetz Engineering Limited N237.6 million as 30 per cent mobilisation for the construction of “the link road” in Imo State. This was the same description noted for Gozzy Toplyners.
Dobank Global Concepts Limited, another company, received N184.6 million, which is a total of three separate payments for projects in Osun State and Ekiti State.
The agricultural college also paid Fodavic Global Concept Ltd N105.5 million in two payments for “30 per cent mobilisation for construction of a civic hall at Ilawe-Ekiti, Ekiti South-West Local Government Area, Ekiti State” and another 30 per cent “mobilisation for construction of two community town halls in Osun Central, Osun State”.
The college also paid N39.5 million to Dasir Nigeria Limited for “30 per cent mobilisation for the provision of ambulances to hospitals in selected locations in the South-West, Lot 1”.
Vicdaf Standard Concept Limited got N26.3 million for furnishing and equipping the Open University in Oke-Ila and Erin, Osun Central, Osun State.
Similarly, the agricultural college paid N21 million to Klinker Interbiz Limited for the provision of medical supplies, drugs and equipment for selected hospitals and healthcare centres in Ogun State.
Although one could argue that these payments are for good causes but they appear largely outside FCA Ishiagu’s core statutory mandate, because the college’s primary concerns are agricultural education, training, production, research and extension. It isn’t the college’s duty to offer general constituency roads, hospitals, town halls, prepaid meters or school construction in other states.
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