In compliance to his pronouncement to expose corrupt practices in all facets of the Nigerian Society, Senate President, Bukola Saraki, said the Senate has resolved to investigate contractors who collected funds that belong to the TetFund in the past, and have absconded without performing these contracts.
Saraki in a statement published on his official Facebook account stressed that companies found culpable will be handed over to anti-graft agencies.
He added, “In the past, the TetFund has had to award contracts for the benefit of several higher institutions across the country in keeping with the statute that established the Agency.
“However, the Senate has observed that despite the good intention of the TetFund in awarding these contracts, some of the contractors are yet to be identified and some of the contracts are yet to be executed.”
The resolution followed a motion by Jibrin Barau, APC-Kano, who sought an “investigative audit” of the contracts by awarded by TETFund in the past years.
Mr. Jibrin said that contracts for projects to enhance quality of teaching, research and infrastructure in tertiary schools were awarded to contractors, some of whom “allegedly collected project monies and walked away without executing the contracts.”
Such allegedly fraudulent contractors were “yet to be identified,” he said.
There are indications some of officers of the Senate already know the suspected culprits and are actually on a specific-target mission.
The last “grass-cutting” which led to the fall of the suspended Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, started this way last year.
Mr. Jibrin lamented the deficits in the infrastructural needs of the tertiary institutions, worsened by circumstances of absconding with funds for projects.