A petition submitted by a civil society at the National Assembly, has unravelled how the recently dissolved National Steel Council board wrecked the organisation and the nation.
LEADERSHIP reports that despite the that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had earlier dissolved all boards of the federal government agencies and parastatals, that of the National Steel Council breached the Presidential order and was still operating until the Senate, through a motion and the House of Representatives, committee on Steel Development asked that the council should be dissolved.
The Senate’s resolution followed a civil society organisation (CSO), Alliance for Credible Legislative Conducts (ACLC) called on the National Assembly to investigate the National Steel Council (NSC) for disregarding President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s order for dissolution which the Board feigned ignorance that they were not affected.
Before they were dissolved, the NSC board informed the minister of Steel Development, Shuaibu Abubakar Audu, of an alleged N1 billion fraud that it linked to its executive secretary, Abdulqadir Musafari.
The council, in a March 15, 2024 letter, told the minister that Musafari had allegedly “failed, refused and/or neglected to avail the council of any information concerning his activities on behalf of the council, if duly authorised.”
But revelations have emerged that the dissolved council approved finance for themselves above the threshold stipulated by Bureau for Public Enterprises (BPP) and when the Executive Secretary rejected their offer, hence the allegations of administrative and financial infractions in the council.
It was gathered that upon inauguration, the council took over the administrative process of making a request to the Minister to supply office requirements, procure vehicles, appoint legal counsel/consultant without budgetary provisions and due process, a matter which requires the input of the Attorney General of the Federation.
Also, it was gathered that the council misrepresented their mandate and allocated N75 million for their chairman while council members were allocated N50 million.
It was gathered that the executive secretary who is to run the administrative and financial aspects of the council was only allocated N25 million.
Documents showed that the council rented two offices without budgetary allocation and paid a deposit N50 million for an office it never occupied and was later collected back by one of the council members because the council could not afford a 5 year lease which is contrary to financial regulations.
In their quest to perform beyond a supervisory role, the dissolved council made attempts to open an account in a commercial bank which is against the TSA policy of the federal government.
Facts also revealed that the fact finding committee appointed by the minister of Steel Development in a letter requested for about N10 million as its allowance in a letter to the Chairman of the dissolved council.
This, according to the Civil Society organisation “puts a question of credibility and objectivity to the report submitted by that kind of committee”.
To this end, a civil society organisation (CSO), Alliance for Credible Legislative Conducts (ACLC) has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu through the anti corruption agencies to investigate the dissolved council and ensure that anything taken illegally is returned.