TCN MD Allegedly Bribes Minister Of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, With N230m Worth 2023 Lexus LX 600 To Keep
THE Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), Abdulaziz Ahmed Sule, has reportedly bought a 2023 Lexus LX 600 model for the Minister of Power, Mr Adebayo Adelabu, SaharaReporters has learnt.
The SUV was procured for Two Hundred and Ninety-Eight Million, Four Hundred and Forty-Four Thousand, One Hundred and Eight-Seven Naira, Fifty Kobo (N298,444,187.50).
Sources told SaharaReporters that Sule bought the vehicle from the internally generated revenue of the company to bribe the minister to ensure that President Bola Tinubu does not remove him from office.
Documents exclusively obtained by SaharaReporters show the vehicle with Chassis No. JTJPBACX6P4026917 was procured from Kaura Motors Nigeria Limited through a contract agreement dated 17 January 2024, under the heading “Procurement Of Vehicles For Management Staff (Lot 1&2)”.
A payment document with the heading “Payment Advice” shows that N261,103,961.25k was paid to Kaura Motors Nigeria Limited account domicile with Fidelity Bank from TCN account through the Central Bank of Nigeria on 20 February 2024, at exactly 09:05 am and with Ref No: 997617729.
The Batch Number is 15161 and the detailed description reads, “Payment for the supply and delivery of 1 No Lexus LX 600 2023 Model for management staff lot 1 and 2.”
A letter from Kaura Motors to the Managing Director of TCN dated 22 January 2024 and with reference number KMNL/TCN/22012024/AI is titled: “Re: Procurement Of Vehicles For Management Staff (Lot 1&2). Payment request.”
The letter signed by one Suleiman Umar the Managing Director of Kaura Motors Nigeria Limited, reads, “We refer to your contract agreement dated 17th January 2024 for the Procurement of Vehicles for Management Staff (Lot 1&2) with a total contract value of N298,444,187.50k only.
“Find below our account details for payment as we have successfully supplied.”
Meanwhile, sources told SaharaReporters that the vehicle was bought by the TCN Managing Director and CEO, Sule for Mr Adelabu as a bribe to ensure his position was safe.
“The MD/CEO of TCN Engr. Abdulaziz Ahmed Sule bought the vehicle from the internally generated revenue of TCN to bribe the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu to ensure that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu did not remove him from office.
“That was why when new Executive Directors were appointed for TCN by the president, the MD/CEO of TCN was not touched. This is pure corruption,” a source said.
When Saharareporters contacted the communication manager of TCN, Mrs Ndidi Mbah, after listening to our inquiry, she asked for some time to get to her office. However, she did not answer subsequent calls from our reporter. Instead, a media consultant who gave his name as Oyofo Sule called on behalf of the company.
He admitted that the TCN managing director bought the vehicle for the minister but denied that it was a bribe.
He said, “Yes, he bought the vehicle for the minister. It is a normal thing and all the agencies and parastatals do it. There is nothing like bribery in the procurement. Other agencies buy vehicles for ministers and members of the National Assembly committee chairmen.”
In January, SaharaReporters reported that a document obtained from sources in the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) revealed that TCN MD/CEO, Sule, violated the Public Procurement Act, 2007 in N5,677,692,943.26 worth of contract award.
Also in November 2023, it was reported that Abdulaziz had allegedly been involved in violation of the provisions of the Public Procurement Act, 2007 in the award of contracts running into billions of Naira, including contract splitting.
Sources had told SaharaReporters that most of the contracts the MD awarded under emergency procurement were not emergency in nature and that he awarded most of the contracts to his friends who pulled out the funds and remitted such to him.
Source: SaharaReporters
Eighteen-Eleven Media
