Audit Shows FCT Judicial Committee Broke Procurement Rules in N866.5m Contracts

The latest federal audit has uncovered serious issues with the Judicial Service Committee of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT JSC) in Abuja. They awarded contracts totaling about N866.5 million in 2023 without following the right rules.

The report shows that the FCT JSC ignored procurement laws, financial rules, and government policies. The 2024 report from the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation (OAuGF) says these problems came from weak internal controls within the committee.

In some cases, the auditor general found no proof that work was done for payments made by the FCT JSC to contractors. In other cases, there were no documents showing that contracts went to qualified contractors.

The report indicates that many of the problems could have led to the loss or misdirection of public money meant for these contracts.

The FCT JSC is a judicial body created by Nigeria's constitution. It handles judicial appointments, promotions, and discipline. It also aims to protect the independence of the judiciary and ensure justice in FCT courts.

One of its main tasks is to recommend qualified lawyers for judicial positions. They do this by checking qualifications, backgrounds, and integrity through consultations with appropriate parties.

This body has counterparts across Nigeria's 36 states and at the federal level as the Federal Judicial Service Commission. It is required to maintain high ethical and professional standards.

But the new audit report for 2024 highlights that the FCT JSC, led by the Chief Judge of the FCT High Court, broke many rules while awarding contracts. Justice Husseini Baba-Yusuf has been the chief judge and chair of the FCT JSC since 2021.

The audit brought to light five contracts worth a total of N866.5 million, each with serious issues that could risk public funds. These issues include awarding a contract worth N302.3 million to unaccredited local manufacturers and irregularities in contracts valued at N192.1 million.

There were also problems with renovation contracts worth N174.2 million. Two other issues involve awarding a N144.2 million contract to inactive companies and splitting a N57.3 million contract to bypass procurement rules.

All these questionable contracts total N866.5 million. The auditor general said the way the JSC handled them raised concerns about supplying poor-quality products and the risk of losing or misdirecting public funds.

This amount does not include the N112.6 million in salary vouchers flagged in the report as another issue found in the JSC's financial records for 2023.

In total, the unaccounted sum at the FCT JSC for 2023 is about N979.1 million, combining the N866.5 million in problematic contract payments with the N112.6 million in questioned payroll entries.

The report, called the Annual Report on Non-Compliance/Internal Control Weaknesses in Ministries, Departments and Agencies of the Federal Government of Nigeria for 2024, was presented by Auditor-General Shaakaa Chira to the National Assembly on July 17.

Volume II of the report discusses judiciary institutions and outlines the infractions by the FCT JSC from January 1 to December 31, 2023. The Code of Conduct Tribunal is the only other body mentioned in this section.

The report shows that the FCT JSC did not reply to questions about the issues raised.

It also flagged a purchase of a "motor vehicle" for N302.3 million by the JSC in 2023. The type of vehicle was not mentioned in the report.

However, the report stated that the committee bought and paid for a vehicle from contractors not on the list of accredited local manufacturers for federal government vehicles.

This action broke the Financial Regulations 2009 and did not support local manufacturing in Nigeria. Paragraph 2305 of the Financial Regulations states that goods must be bought from reputable manufacturers or their accredited agents.

The report also noted that this action violated Executive Order No. 3 (2017), which says all federal agencies must prefer local manufacturers in their procurement.

The report added that the JSC’s actions were “anomalies” likely due to weaknesses in its internal control system. Such weaknesses expose the government to risks like supplying poor-quality vehicles and misdirecting public funds.

The audit found that over N192 million was paid to companies without any proof of their qualifications. Seven vouchers totaling over N192 million were issued for services and goods supplied to the JSC.

But the JSC did not provide any documents like tax clearance, registration, or other certificates to show that the contractors were qualified.

This lack of compliance goes against the Public Procurement Act 2007, which requires proof of bidders' qualifications. The JSC also awarded contracts worth over N174.2 million to four contractors without any advertisements or bid evaluation reports.

The report further stated that the contractors’ files lacked important information and did not provide evidence of their tax returns. There was also no proof of procurement processes as the JSC could not provide necessary documents like advertisements or bid evaluations.

By failing to follow these rules, the audit report says the JSC violated the Public Procurement Act 2007 and Financial Regulations.

These actions could lead to insider dealing and diverting funds meant for contracts. The report also pointed out contracts worth over N144 million awarded to eight companies that were inactive on regulatory portals.

This goes against the Public Procurement Act, which requires contractors to be legally able to enter into contracts and fulfill tax obligations.

The auditor general warned that such infractions due to weak internal controls could lead to losing public funds. Additionally, the JSC split a N53.6 million contract for computers and laptops into six smaller contracts, enabling the secretary to avoid proper tendering processes.

The report highlighted that the JSC failed to provide documentation showing where the computers and laptops went or who got them.

The Public Procurement Act states that the accounting officer must ensure no splitting of contracts is done to evade proper procurement methods.

The report said that these problems stemmed from weak internal controls, raising risks of paying for non-existent transactions and misdirecting public funds.

The report also criticized the JSC for not presenting 93 salary vouchers totaling over N112.6 million. This creates a risk of paying non-existent staff and goes against financial regulations.

The report emphasized that the committee did not respond to any questions about the six infractions. It recommended that the Secretary of the FCT JSC, Omolola Akindele, should account for all funds, recover them, and send proof to the Public Accounts Committees of the National Assembly. If not, there will be consequences.