The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) have remained
EFCC, ICPC silent after BusinessDay exposé on Umahi’s N60.1bn contract to loyalist

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) have remained silent days after BusinessDay Investigations’ exposé on how a company owned by a political associate of David Umahi, Minister of Works, received N60.1 billion in payments from the ministry.

The BusinessDay investigation, published on September 25, found that Reinforced Global Resources Limited, owned by Joshua Okoro, had no traceable federal contracts before Umahi became Minister of Works, and received the N60.1 billion through 27 payments.

The report revealed how Okoro campaigned for Umahi during the 2023 election and how the minister violated the Public Procurement Act 2007 in awarding federal contracts to his political associate.

Reacting to BusinessDay’s publication, several Nigerians took to X (formerly Twitter) to protest irregularities in contract awards under Umahi at the Ministry of Works.

They called on the two anti-corruption agencies to examine the contracts and the relationship between Umahi and Okoro, among other issues raised in the report.

An X account identified as Bia Pulse described the N60.1 billion in payments as public funds that require clear answers from the authorities involved in the disbursement.

“Something is seriously wrong when billions of naira in public contracts raise questions about the relationship between those receiving the contracts and those in government,” the user wrote.

Another X account, JSK | Ops & Markets, called for the publication of records relating to the tender process, including evaluation scores and conflict-of-interest checks.

Similarly, Onyedika Jo Amadi called on the EFCC and ICPC to investigate the relationship and prosecute anyone culpable in the scandal.

He wrote, “@officialEFCC and @icpcnigeria, I hope you will take this up, thoroughly investigate, and prosecute anyone found wanting in accordance with the law. Nigerians are watching.”

Also, one X user, ‘The Field Marshall’, questioned whether the findings warranted inviting Umahi for questioning.

He also criticised what he described as unequal scrutiny of politically exposed persons and suspected internet fraudsters by the EFCC.

Following the reactions, BusinessDay contacted the ICPC to establish whether the commission was reviewing the findings.

John Odey, its spokesperson, said he was unaware of the investigation and had not received a petition concerning it.

Odey asked that the investigation be shared with him for onward transmission to his “boss”.

BusinessDay subsequently sent the report to him on September 30. As of the time of filing this report, the ICPC had not publicly announced an investigation or other action over the findings.

BusinessDay also contacted the EFCC to establish whether it was investigating the contracts. Calls and messages sent via SMS and WhatsApp received no response.

The EFCC had also not publicly announced an investigation into the issues raised by BusinessDay as of the time of filing this report.

Meanwhile, BusinessDay contacted Umahi, the Federal Ministry of Works, and Okoro for their responses before publishing the investigation, but none responded.