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MULTI MILLION NAIRA FRAUD: FAAN MD, ENGR. SALEH DUNOMA ON THE HORN OF DILEMMA

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6 years ago

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Embattled Managing Director of Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, Engr Saleh Dunoma, who has been on the horns of dilemma in the past weeks for alleged misappropriation of public funds is now very sick and hospitalized in an Abuja hospital.
We can authoritatively report that Dunoma, who was already due for retirement, was caught unawares as records were opened at the sundown of his career to unravel shady financial deals he was alleged to be involved in during his tenure as helmsman of FAAN.
The shock that followed the invitation of Dunoma who was already looking forward for a peaceful retirement was said to have downed his health state, leading to a collapse of system and his eventual being bed ridden.
A senior staff of the agency, who spoke on condition of anonymity, disclosed to our reporter that Dunoma who was rushed to the Abuja hospital in a critical condition, is already responding to treatment.
Series of financial scam ranging from contracts padding to over invoicing was said to have been the order of day under Dunoma leadership as the FAAN boss since March 2014, a development which was said to have constituted a lethal therapy for the healthy operation of the once fledgling federal parastatal.
The recent shift of government’s searchlight to the aviation industry and eventually FAAN was said to have thrown many senior and junior staff of the agency, who have been secretly cutting corners, off balance, with some of them even attempting to escape out of the country.
Operatives of the EFCC have recently invited all the top management staff of FAAN to Abuja for questioning over alleged complicity in a N70 million fraud recently discovered at the agency.
As part of the investigation, the anti-graft agency had collected the top management staff’s Bank Verification Numbers (BVN) to ensure a thorough investigation into the fraud.
Christy Olabode, a Grade 6 staff who is the major suspect in the N70 million fraud, was held and detained by the EFCC when she showed up at the agency’s headquarters.
A source close to FAAN disclosed that the younger brother to Ms. Olabode, Abdul-Shehu Obaze, a staff at the Commercial Department of FAAN in Ilorin, Kwara State, had confessed that he and his sister were not the only ones involved in the manipulation of furniture allowances between 2013 and 2016.
Obaze was said to have allegedly confessed that he had been funneling the sum of N2.5 million monthly to one of the top management staff in the agency in the past one year. He reportedly said the payoff came from the N70 million scam.
It was further gathered that some of the directors whose BVNs details were collected included the Director of Administration, Ikechi Uko, Director of Operations, Captain Henry Omeogu, Director of Human Resources, Hajia Salamatu Umar-Eluma, and Director of Maintenance and Engineering, Olufemi Ogunode.
Our source said that the anti-grant agency collected the BVNs of the directors in order to determine whether there had been any financial transactions between the top management staff and the suspects.
An EFCC source confided that Ms. Olabode had provided anti-graft investigators with some useful information. The source said the woman may not be released until she has provided more useful information to facilitate a thorough investigation into a number of frauds at the aviation agency.
She is alleged to have diverted at least N70 million by inserting names of non-FAAN staff into the agency’s payroll.

 

Culled from: OrijoReporters

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House Of Representatives Issues Warrant Of Arrest On Central Bank Governor, Cardoso, Accountant-General, 17 Others

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3 days ago

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December 6, 2023

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The House of Representatives’ Committee on Public Petitions has asked for a warrant of arrest to be issued on the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Olayemi Cardoso, the Accountant-General of the Federation (AGF), Oluwatoyin Madein, and 17 others over refusal to appear before it to answer questions on their operations.

It was gathered that the issuance of the arrest warrant was sequel to the adoption of a motion moved by Fred Agbedi, representing Ekeremo/Sagbama Federal Constituency of Bayelsa State on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at the committee’s hearing on Tuesday.

Agbedi, while moving the motion, said that the arrest warrant had become imperative following the attitude of the invitees, adding that the parliament worked with time and the CEOs had been invited four times but failed to respond to the invitations.

Agbedi said that the CBN Governor, the AGF and the rest of the invitees should be brought to appear before the committee by the Inspector General of Police through a warrant of arrest after due diligence by the House Speaker, Rep Tajudeen Abbas.

The Chairman of the Committee, Micheal Irom (APC-Cross River), in his ruling said that the Inspector-General of Police should ensure the invitees were brought before the committee on December 14.
It was gathered that the petitioner, Fidelis Uzowanem, had earlier said that the petition was anchored on the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) 2021 report.

Irom said, “We took up the challenge to examine the report and discovered that what NEITI put together as a report is only consolidation of fraud that has been going on in the oil and gas industry.

“It dates back to 2016 because we have been following and we put up a petition to this committee to examine what has happened.

“The 2024 budget of 27.5 trillion that has been proposed can be confidently funded from the recoverable amount that we identified in the NEITI report.

“It is basically a concealment of illegal transactions that took place in NNPCL; they have been in a sink with some oil companies where some companies that did not produce crude were paid cash core, an amount paid for crude oil production.”

 

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FCTA uncovers illegal oil refining warehouse in Abuja

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1 week ago

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December 2, 2023

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In continuation of the city cleaning exercise, Authorities of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) with operatives of security personnel have uncovered an illegal oil refining warehouse in Mabushi, opposite Mobile filling station on Ahmadu Bello way in Abuja.

 

The Director, Department of Development Control, FCTA, Mukhtar Galadima after the operation on Thursday, said the illegal refining site was discovered during the continuation of the city cleaning exercise.

 

According to him, about three to four plot of lands designated for commercial purposes have been converted to an area where oil and diesel are being adulterated and circulated to other parts of the city.

 

Galadima explained that the city sanitation task force will look into the provision of the law and make necessary recommendations to the FCT Administration for further actions on the plots used for the activity.

 

He said there was no arrest but the items used in carrying out the illegal refining have been impounded.

 

Galadima said, “During the continuation of our city sanitation exercise in Mabushi opposite Mobile filling station on Ahmadu way, we discovered an illegal refining site where oil and diesel are being adulterated, we have done the needful by moving the items to Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps.

 

“From what we have seen so far, about three or four pilot of lands designated for commercial purposes have been converted to unapproved activities, which we believe the owners are fully aware, there will be consequences.

 

“We are going to look at the provision of the law and make necessary recommendations to the FCT Administration”

 

He said the administration will continue to go tough on activities being carried out without government approval,  especially revocation of the titles.

 

Collaborating, Head, operations FCT Directorate of Road Traffic Service (DRTS), Deborah Osho said the city management team during the exercise also discovered that most of the areas in the Nation’s capital have been converted to illegal car mart and motor parks.

 

She disclosed that fifteen vehicles have so far been impounded since the operation commenced about two days.

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Central Bank To Freeze Accounts Without BVN, NIN From April 2024

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1 week ago

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December 2, 2023

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The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said on Friday that it will freeze accounts without a Bank Verification Number (BVN) or National Identification Number (NIN) from April 2024.

This is according to a Friday circular by the apex bank which said a BVN or NIN verification will be “conducted shortly”.

It also said all BVN or NIN attached to accounts/wallets must be electronically revalidated by January 31, 2024, according to the circular by the CBN Director of Payments System Management Department Chibuzo Efobi, and the Director of Financial Policy and Regulation Department Haruna Mustapha.

More details later….

 

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