The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) yesterday quizzed Abubakar Ahmad Sirika, the brother of the immediate past Minister of Aviation Hadi Sirika over an alleged N8.06 billion contract fraud in the Federal Ministry of Aviation. The former Minister of Aviation was believed to have awarded the contracts his sibling.
The EFCC arrested Abubakar Sirika as part of an ongoing probe into alleged fraudulent practices in the Ministry of Aviation during the tenure of the former Minister of Aviation. EFCC is investigating allegations of conspiracy, abuse of office, diversion of public funds, contract inflation, criminal breach of trust and money laundering.
So far, EFCC has traced the sum of N3, 212,258,930 to Engirios Nigeria Limited, a company owned by Abubakar Sirika, who is a Level-16 officer, (a deputy director), in the Federal Ministry of Water Resources. Abubakar Sirika is listed as the Managing Director (MD)/Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Engirios Nigeria Limited. He was also the sole signatory of the two accounts linked to the firm.
EFCC unveiled that four contracts were awarded to Abubakar’s Engirios Nigeria Limited when his brother was in charge of the Ministry of Aviation. The four contracts the ex-minister allegedly awarded to his brother include:
• Construction of the Terminal Building in Katsina Airport (N1,345,586,500);
• Fire Truck Maintenance and Refurbishment Centre in Katsina Airport (N3, 811,497,685);
• Procurement and installation of elevators, air conditioners and power generator house in Aviation House, Abuja (N615,195,275);
• Procurement of Magnus Aircraft and simulator for Nigerian College of Aviation Technology, Zaria (N2, 296,897,404).
These four contracts, worth about N8,069,176,864 were allegedly not executed by the company eveb though a payment of N3,212,258,930.18 out of the total contract sum to Engirios Nigeria Limited has been made to the company.
EFCC Investigators, it was learnt, further discovered that upon the receipt of the payment, Abubakar Sirika allegedly transferred it to different companies and individuals.
It was gathered that the contract awards and the timelines were between August 2022 and May 2023. The first of the contracts allegedly awarded to Engirios Nigeria Limited was on August 18, 2022, for the construction of the Terminal Building in Katsina Airport.
The second was awarded on November 3, 2022, for the establishment of the Fire Truck Maintenance and Refurbishment Centre in Katsina Airport. The third contract was on February 3, 2023, for the procurement and installation of elevators, air conditioners and power generator’s house in Aviation House, Abuja.
The fourth c pokyontract was awarded on May 5, 2023 (around three weeks to the end of the Buhari administration), for the procurement of Magnus Aircraft and simulator for Nigerian College of Aviation Technology, Zaria.