Olumide Bajulaiye and Adelanwa Bamgboye
9 August 2008
Lagos — Barely 24 hours after he was arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the former Deputy National Chairman of the PDP (South West) and Chairman Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA) Board of Directors, Chief Olabode George and five others including the former Managing Director of the NPA, Aminu Dabo were on Friday slammed with a 163 criminal count charge before Justice Olubunmi Oyewole sitting at an Ikeja High Court.
Others standing joint trial along with Bode George and Aminu Dabo are Captain Abidoye, the Managing Director of Greenview Development Limited, Alhaji Abdullahi Tafida and Alhaji Zana Madaribe over a N84 billion fraud at the NPA in 2002.
The accused men were said to have committed the crime during their tenure as members of the board of the NPA and their offences included conspiracy to disobey lawful order, disobedience to lawful order and abuse of office. They however pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
George and other accused persons were brought to court as early as 10:00 am by the EFCC but the Commission could not arraign them till about 2:45 pm as the State Chief Judge, Justice Adetula Alabi who was to assign the case file to a trial Judge, was said not to be around.
Hundreds of the PDP chieftain's supporters stormed the court in spite of an early morning downpour; they included Oyo State Commissioner for Environment, Chief Aborode, Wahab Owokoniran, Former Lagos PDP Chairman, Dr. Abayomi Finnih, Honorable Tunde Salawu, and Professor Femi Otubanjo, a Political Adviser to Chief George .
Upon arrival in the court premises, Chief George was mobbed by his supporters who were all trying to touch him; shout of "Baba O, Baba O" pervaded. It took the intervention of security officials to calm the crowd.
The accused persons were alleged to have disobeyed lawful order issued by constituted authority to wit the Federal Government of Nigeria through the Federal Ministry of Finance, in circular No. f15775, dated 27th June, 2001 on policy guidelines for procurement and award of contract in government ministries and parastatals.
They were also alleged to on the 18th of October, 2002 with the intent to defraud the government by awarding a contract of N40 million to Danjuma Kibo Company Nigeria Limited, for the supply of five remote sensing satellite imageries to the NPA.
George and others were also said to have approved a contract of N13, 537, 500 million to Dockyard Maritime Limited, for the supply of three Cylindrical Rubber Fenders size 1000/500 x 1500mm to the NPA which was beyond their approved limit as contained in the said circular.
The charge read further: "While being employed in the publc service of the Federation of Nigeria as Board Members of NPA abused the authority of your office regarding award of contracts by splitting one contract in the sum of N472, 500. 00 into two separate contracts an act which was arbitrary and prejudicial to the right of the Federal Minister of Transportation, being the appropriate authority to award contract in excess of N20 million.
"With intent to defraud, disobeyed lawful order by approving an award of contract for N49, 595, 448 million to Alliance Tech. Limited for the supply and installation of HT panel and Accessories for Federal lighter Terminal Onne to the NPA which was beyond your approved limit.
They were also alleged to have awarded contracts to the tune of N35, 348, 166 million, N48, 890, 803.50, $294, 601. 65 million, among others to different companies, all amount beyond their approved limit.
According to the EFCC the offences are contrary to sections 203, 517, and 104 of the Criminal Code Cap C.17 Vol.2, Laws of Lagos State 2003.
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For the chairman of a corporation to be charged by the EFCC to court for the very SUBJECTIVE offence as 'DISOBEDIENCE TO ORDERS' is so preposterous and ridiculous that it is very obvious that the present administration of the country is ironically, using the EFCC to harass those patriotic Nigerians that served the country honourably without stealing one kobo. Seemingly, the objective of the present administration is not only to destroy the economic foundation bases painfully built up by the last administration following the wanton damage done by the Abacha regime but, as revealed by the world bank , to use pure deception to raise the hope of the people of the country into believing in the ABSOLUTELY IMPOSSIBLE fit of bringing the country to one of the 20 most developed in the world by 2020. With the performance of the present administration, which is about worse than any other so far, the prediction by the US that Nigeria may not last beyong 2015 is worth considering. HOW WILL THIS SHAMEFUL CONDITION END?