By JACOB KUBEKA
The Governing Board of the Nigeria’s professional examinations boy, the National Business and Technical Examinations Board (NABTEB), has suspended the agency’s Registrar/Chief Executive, Professor Ifeoma Isiugo-Abanihe and four Directors over alleged financial impropriety and other irregularities.
The Governing Board, which took the decision during its first regular Board meeting on held at the NABTED national headquarter in Benin City, Edo State, South-South Nigeria on June 19, 2018 also constituted a six-member panel to investigate the charges leveled against the suspended management staff of the examinations body.
Suspended along with the Registrar are: Mr. Nnasia Ndarake Asanga (Director, Finance & Accounts), Dr. Obinna M. Opara (Director, Examination Administration), Alhaji Jimoh Adewola Kasali (Director, Examinations Development) and Engr. Edwin Osamo (the Procurement Officer).
The decision came after the Governing Board considered the report of a special committee it set up in May 2018 to review the Registrar’s response to queries raised by the Chairman over the way and manner she was running of the agency.
The five-member Special Committee headed by Hon Charles Osahon Imaru, discovered that the management under Professor Isiugo-Obanihe flagrantly abused the limits of their authority in the awards of contracts and execution of projects, recruitment of staff between January and May 2018 among other infractions.
One of the charges, which the Imaru-led committee found the Registrar guilty, was her alleged refusal “to release to the Governing Board details of contract awards for printing and supply of security materials (question papers) for the May/June, 2018 examinations.”
It also found the Registrar/Chief Executive guilty of Violation of Procurement Process, pointing out that a scrutiny of the contract she awarded between 21st February and 14th March, 2018 showed that 42 contracts amounting to N154,813,432.00 were split into (a)15 separate contracts for printing (b) 14 separate contracts for supply of HP LaserJet Toner and (c) the rest were split among supply of printers, hard-drives, DDR Roms, office flat files, envelops, kalamazoo binders, photocopying machines and Risograph machines, etc.
White the committee noted that there were no units specified and that it was not possible to determine unit cost nor quantity of all items, it found out that the contracts did not go through due process. “The awarding authority in this respect was the Management Tenders Board. The contracts were hurriedly awarded, split into units and were not given to the President through the Ministry of Education for approval as the amount involved was beyond the powers of the Management Tenders Board.”
The committee further reported that the Registrar violated Paragraph 6, page 3 of the Administrative Guideline regulating relationship between parastatals/government owned companies and the government which stipulates that government will ensure that there is always a board for every parastatal that has a statutory provision for such a body. Where, however, a board is dissolved and is not immediately possible to reconstitute the board, the President shall, on the recommendation of the supervisory ministry constitute an interim board, pending the reconstitution of such a board, all matters which normally require the approval of the board, shall be referred, by ministry, to the President for approval.
“As at the time these contracts were awarded, the date of inauguration of the Board which took place on the 22nd of March, 2018 has already been announced,” it submitted.
According to the committee, “the Registrar is guilty of Contract splitting without obtaining approval from the supervisory ministry as stipulated in NABTEB Standing Order 18 and 19 N. Section 18 which states that “all services and goods (e.g. printing, supplies or purchases) contracts above N2.5 million, and all works (e.g. contracts from N5 million and above shall receive the final approval of the Governing Board. And there shall be no splitting of contract for the same services or goods (e.g. printing, supplies or purchases) contract the sum worth of whose splits is above N2.5 million, and for the same works (e.g. construction, renovation or refurbishing projects) contract the sum worth of whose splits is N5 million or more without the approval of the Governing Board.
Besides, it said “all contractors of NABTEB have not performed satisfactorily. This is glaring as the NABTEB has accumulated debt of over N400 million as a result of shoddy contract deals and mismanagement. Therefore, the contractors should not be patronized further by the Board.”
The Governing Board which adopted the report of the special committee said “in view of the fact that germane matters of NABTEB under consideration and further investigations, there was the need to suspend the officers whose presence in their offices could impede such investigations”.
The investigation panel set up to conduct full investigation of the allegations against the Registrar and the Directors is made up of: i) Dr. Momodu Sanusi Jimah (Representative of Polytechnics) as Chairman; ii) Mrs. Tina Eyaru (Representative of Federal Ministry of Education); iii) Chief Dr. Chris Biriowu; iv) Dr. Rachel Bassey Akpabio; v) Alhaji Yusuf Dauda (Representative of NECO) secretary and; vi) Chief Legal Officer of NABTEB.
The Governing Board further approved acting appointments to head the various departments whose directors were suspended.
Those appointed are: i) Edward James Pamni,Director Administration as co-ordinator of interim management; ii) Felicitas Akhere IKuenobe, a deputy Director as acting Head, Examinations Administration; iii) Matilda Chiwe Ubboe, a deputy Director as acting Head, Examination Development; iv) Betty Osayemwenre Igbineweka, a deputy director, acting head, Finance and Accounts; v) Michael A. Omorogieva, acting procurement officer.
A copy of the letter dated June 211st 2018 with NABTEB/GB/CH/RCE/S001 conveying the suspension notice to the Registrar/Chief Executive and signed by the Board Chairman, Professor Leonard Shilgba, was obtained by the newspaper.
According to the letter, after deliberation on the report, Professor Ifeoma M. Isuigo-Abanihe, was asked to respond to the findings of the committee. “Unfortunately, your shocking defence was, “I apologize,” which is not an admissible defence expected of a public officer under the Public Service Rule.”
“Accordingly, the Governing Board unanimously approved your suspension as Registrar/Chief Executive of NABTEB, having regard to Rules 030301, 030302, 030304, 030305, 160501, and 160502 of the Public Service Rule (PSR), and recommended accordingly to the Honourable Minister of Education for further necessary action (s), who has since been informed (together with the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education).
“This action is considered necessary in order to facilitate due investigations by the Governing Board and other germane federal authorities, and allow unfettered access to relevant documents that until now have been withheld in spite of official requests by the Chairman of the Board and the Special Committee appointed by the Governing Board on May 16, 2018, so that financial and other damages to the Federal Government shall be curtailed.”
