Witness Say, Ex-DG NIMASA; Omatseye Has No Power To Award Contract For Goods/ Supply Above N2.5m

Ex-DG NIMASA; Temisan Omatseye

A prosecution witness has said that a director-general of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) could not award a contract above N2.5 million for supply of goods to the agency.
A Procurement Officer at NIMASA; Mr James Aliu, gave evidence before a Federal High Court in Lagos at the trial of, a former Director-General of the agency; Mr Raymond Omatseye
Omatseye is standing trial for contract scam.
Aliu was led in evidence by Prosecution Counsel, Godwin Obla (SAN).
"For the supply of goods, the director-general has a threshold of N2.5 million, while for works, he has a limit of N5 million.
"Goods refer to only finished items, which are identified by specific names and numbers, while works include renovations, constructions or erection of buildings," he said.
According to the witness, the Parastatals Tender Board (PTB) is responsible for the approval of bids for contracts.According to him, tenders are submitted at a meeting of the board, chaired by the director-general.
He told the court that the decision to approve or reject a bid is taken collectively by the PTB.
The prosecution counsel showed the witness, an internal memo issued by the accused to the NIMASA Board of Directors in 2010, for supply of 100 BlackBerry phones at the cost of N22. 5 million.
He asked the witness to tell the court the procedure for the award of such a contract.
The witness stated that the amount was above the acceptable threshold for a NIMASA director-general.
He also testified that the board of directors had no role to play in the procurement process, adding that it was the sole duty of the PTB.                                         
Justice Rita Ofili-Ajumogobia adjourned the case till March 10 for continuation of trial.
Omatseye was re-arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Jan. 21, 2013 on an amended 27-count charge.
He pleaded not guilty to the charge, and was granted bail.
The EFCC accused Omatseye of contract splitting and bid rigging, estimated at over N1.5 billion.
The anti-corruption agency said that the offences contravened the provisions of Section 14(a) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2004, and Section 58(4) (d) of the Public Procurement Act, 2007.

http://shippingposition.com.ng/article/witness-say-ex-dg-nimasa-omatseye-has-no-power-award-contract-goods-supply-above-n25m