A prosecution witness has told the Federal High Court in Abuja that a company awarded an N80 million contract to renovate the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) office in Makurdi did not participate in the bidding process.
Testifying as the first prosecution witness, Pedro Torwuese Chellen, an entrepreneur and project manager of Imanil Haq Nigeria Limited, said his firm took part in the advertised tender but later discovered that the winning company was not among the bidders.
Led in evidence by prosecution counsel Sylvanus Tahir (SAN), Chellen told Justice M.A. Hassan that his company petitioned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) after seeking clarification from the NSITF without success. He said documents attached to the petition were admitted in evidence as an exhibit.
According to the witness, information obtained from the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) indicated that the contract was awarded to a firm that did not submit a bid.Under cross-examination by defence counsel, Chellen said his complaint was directed at the NSITF management board. He also alleged that the contract scope was changed from “renovation” to “construction” and that the cost was later increased to N120 million. He added that his observations were based on information available to him and not on participation in any NSITF board meeting. The court adjourned the case to the next sitting for continuation of hearing.
