Chuks Okocha
9 January 2009
Abuja — A sponsorship deal valued at N11,743,000 by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) for the students body's maiden Leadership Training Workshop in Abuja last year is raising posers.
NANS had on November 3, 2008 written to INEC requesting sponsorship of N18 million for its inaugural leadership training series. The letter was jointly signed by Comrade Bashir Baballe and Comrade Martin Igwe, President and Secretary of the association respectively. It had also on July 7, 2008 written to INEC Chairman, Prof Maurice Iwu nominating him as a Patron of the association.
NANS gave the breakdown of the cost of hosting the event as follows: N280,000 for the renting of the Shehu Yar'Adua Centre, N175,000 for Public Address System, N650,000 for pre-event, while printing of invitation cards was expected to cost N500,000.
Other costs included Media Announcements (N1,158,000) Event Proper (N1,230,000), Honouria (N300,000), Accommodation and Logistics (N210,000), Feeding Allowance (N78,000) and Coffee Breaks (N800,000) Lunch (N2,000,000) and Dinner (N1,500,000).
INEC at its meeting of December 3, 2008 approved the request for NANS sponsorship at the sum of N11,743,000. A memorandum to that effect signed by Mr. E. A. Johnson directed the HOD, Finance & Accounts and Head, INEC/Civil Society Desk to facilitate payment. The sum of N11, 743,000 was duly paid to the NANS recommended consulting firm, Xavier Communications Ltd. of Suite 31 Garki 11 Shopping Plaza.
INEC National Commissioner in Charge of Information and Publicity, Mr. Philip Umeadi confirmed that INEC sponsored NANS leadership training workshop to the tune of N11,743,000.
"Some students wrote a memo with the letter headed papers of NANS requesting for sponsorship of a leadership training workshop. The commission approved N11.7 million for them," he said.
Curiously, the INEC payment voucher number 2008/5430 for the amount of N11,743,000 was not signed by an official of Xavier Communications Ltd.
THISDAY investigations at the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) in Abuja revealed that there are two registered companies bearing the name of Xavier Communications Ltd. The first one registered October 10, 1998 has as its registration number 344267 while the second registered October 10, 2000 has as its registration number 390728. However, that is where the similarity between both registrations ends. The two firms have the same registered address (Block 12, Flat 3, Cross River Street, Area 3, Section 2, Garki, Abuja), the same directors/shareholders and the same objective. The directors/shareholders of the two firms were listed as Nick U. Hayes (Mrs.), U. Queendy Hayes (Mrs), U. Richard Hayes and Stella O. Austen.
A senior official of CAC, who pleaded anonymity said that multiple registrations of company names were prevalent prior to the computerisation of the commission's registration process. He said that the current management has set up a committee to deal with cases of multiple registrations, adding that when such come to the notice of CAC, the names of such firms are delisted from the register. While attributing the lapses to the manual registration that was in existence before now, the CAC assured that it was working towards eliminating such duplications in company registration.
NANS had December 18 last year planned to honour INEC Chairman, Prof Maurice Iwu as its 'Man of the Year' for 2008. However, the event, which was preceded by the NANS leadership training workshop, was disrupted by a faction of the students' body forcing all the invited guests including the Senate President, David Mark, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Dimeji Bankole, Governor Bukola Saraki and Iwu to stay away.
Contacted Chief Press Secretary to Iwu, Mr. Andy Ezeani distanced INEC from the controversy saying that the commission acted in line with the policy of partnering with NGOs and civil society groups in "deepening democracy."
Ezeani said that INEC had in approving the sponsorship "viewed the NANS programme as one of the enlightenment and consciousness-building programmes by an NGO or Civil Society group or a professional association." He stressed that the approval for the workshop was done by the commission after due deliberation and not simply an executive approval by the Chairman.
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