Ekiti SUBEB N4bn Contracts Scam: EFCC Interrogates State Dep. Accountant General, Others …Bank Account Remains Frozen

The over N4 billion contracts scam currently rocking the Ekiti State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) has taken another dimension as operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) were said to have interrogated one of the State’s Deputy Accountant General a few days ago.

Apart from the deputy accountant general, some staff of the agency were said to have been invited by the EFCC, but the State Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi has instructed them not to honour the invitation.

Also, bank account of Ekiti SUBEB still remained flagged, close to two months that the account in Wema Bank was frozen while the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) has insisted that all ongoing projects must be completed before Ekiti State can access further grant from the commission.

An attempt by the Chairman, Prof Francisca Aladejana to expose what she thought was contracts scam perpetrated by the immediate past administration of Mr. Ayodele Fayose had boomerang, leading to invitation of top officials of the agency to Abuja.

Sources in the known confided in WazobiaReporters that the SUBEB chairman, had discovered when she assumed office that contracts worth more than N4 billion was hurriedly awarded, with B-JEG, a company allegedly used to front for two top officials of the Fayemi-led government getting more than 30 of the jobs.

The contracts were allegedly sold to third parties at exorbitant rate of 35 percent making execution of the jobs difficult.

“Those who bought the contracts paid 35 percent of the contracts sum to the account of a single company (name withheld), which was used as front for two top officials of the State Government,” the source said.

Prof Aladejana had petitioned the UBEC in Abuja and also copied the EFCC, with the mindset that cronies of Fayose, in the civil service awarded the contracts.

“The chairman had petitioned UBEC in Abuja before she realised that the contracts were awarded with the full participation of Governor Kayode Fayemi’s men, especially the Chief of Staff, Biodun Omoleye.

“When Governor Fayemi got to know about the steps taken by Prof Aladejana, the governor was so livid that he threatened to sack the chairman if not for prompt intervention of his wife, Erelu Bisi Fayemi,” a source said.

On August 21, 2019, armed policemen took over Ekiti SUBEB office to prevent angry contractors from protesting.

One of the two entrances to SUBEB office in Ado Ekiti was locked while those entering through the entrance left opened were thoroughly screened to prevent the angry contractors from gaining access.

It should be recalled that the SUBEB in Ekiti State ran into trouble waters during the first tenure of Governor Fayemi, when counterpart fund of N850 million paid into the Access Bank account of the agency was diverted.

Then, Fayemi’s administration had hoodwinked the Federal Government into paying its own matching grant by obtaining N852, 936,783.12 loan from Access Bank on November 25, 2013 without perfecting documentation in respect of the loan, thereby flouting the provisions of Section 11(2) of the UBEC Act, 2004.

UBEC, in a letter dated April 16, 2015, with Reference Number; UBEC/FA/SUBEB/EK/183/Vol.II/162 described the withdrawal as a criminal act that violated Section 11(2) of UBE Act 2004 and conveyed its suspension of Ekiti State from accessing any further FGN-UBE Intervention Fund.