Date Published: 05/19/11

UBEC N11 Billion Scandal: My Wife's Companies are registered... Says: Pointblanknews, Saharareporters are after me

Embattled Executive Secretary of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), Dr. Ahmed Modibbo Mohammed on Thursday told a Federal High Court in Abuja that two New York based online media , Pointblanknews.com and Saharareporters.com have launched a “campaign of calumny” against him and his House of Representatives member-elect wife, Aishatu Dahiru.

Although he was unable to tell the court why he tagged the news reports of events surrounding him as a campaign of calumny’, his apparent grudge was a 2009 report on a sex -for -admission drama at the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, which indicted him. Even though he confirmed our story on the indictment at ABU, he maintained that the circumstances that surrounded the indictment ‘ were misrepresented ‘ by us and saharareporters.com. He however did not explain how.

Modibbo had on Monday told the court that as UBEC boss, he approved the award of contracts worth N11 Billion to firms where his wife , Aisha, has considerable interests. The proceeding and revelation was given prominence on our site.

Modibbo also confirmed that, aside UBEC, he awarded several contracts to companies belonging to his wife when he was the Chief Executive of the National Teachers’ Institute (NTI), Kaduna, and that the companies were so “efficient” that they still get contracts from NTI till date..

“My Lord, I know the indictment the counsel to the accused persons is talking about. There were complaints against me. The university set up a committee to investigate the complaints and the report of the committee is with the authorities of the Ahmadu Bello University. Shortly after this case commenced, the accused persons launched a campaign of calumny against me on the internet, using Pointblanknews.com and Saharareporters.com,” Modibbo told the court.

.He told the court: “My Lord, to show the extent to which people will go to tarnish my hard-earned reputation, they listed Raji Bilikisu, who happens to be my niece, as one of those people I was having sex with. The said Bilikisu lived with me.”

Under cross-examination, the UBEC boss admitted that he on November 5, 2008, published a list of companies pre-qualified to do contracts at UBEC, and that the list included at least six firms belonging to his wife, Aishatu.  He further admitted before the court that he on December 29, 2008, awarded contracts to six firms owned by his wife- Binwa Press Limited, Triangular Communications Lit., Al-Mala Nig. Ltd., Isani Ventures Ltd., Giniyke Associates and Ojunwa Printing Press.

When confronted by counsel to the American firm standing trial for allegedly defrauding the federal government, Intermarkets Ltd., Mr. John Odubela, that at least two of his wives companies, Al-Mala and Binwa Press Limited, were not incorporated at the time he prequalified them, the UBEC boss insisted that the firms were duly registered and that he would furnish the court with the relevant documents including their audit reports for three years.

Also under cross-examination by counsel to UBEC’s suspended deputy Executive Secretary, Professor Bridget Sokan, Oluwole Aladedoye, Modibbo admitted that a bidding process for the procurement of school furniture was first conducted on April 15, 2004 by the Education Trust Fund (ETF), and that another committee of UBEC on July 7, 2005, after a federal government ban on the importation of furniture, resolved to “restart” negotiations with Intermarkets.   The UBEC boss admitted that a meeting of governing board of UBEC met on October 27, 2005 actually invited and held discussions with Intermarkets on such issues as price, quality and specifications of the furniture.

Aladedoye told a stunned court how a report purportedly from the State Security Service (SSS) to the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua listed a certain Paul Mutfwang, who happened to be a lecturer with Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, as one of those who conspired to defraud the federal government of Nigeria of N850 million. The counsel also told the court that the name was supplied by Modibbo who had earlier told the court that Paul Mutfwang was his former colleague in the department of Political Science at ABU. Pointblanknews.com had sometime reported that Modibbo was a classmate to the immediate past Director-General of the SSS, Afakriya Gadzama.

Recall that Pointblanknews.com had in a detailed exclusive, “Sex-for-Admission rocks Ahmadu Bello University” , reported that ABU had on the heels of revelations that Modibbo and his syndicate had given backhand admissions to young, pretty girls in exchange for sex, expelled 17 female students, including Modibbo’s current wife, Aishatu.
At the time, Aishatu, a member-elect of the House of Representatives, was addressed as “Aishatu Hassan Mohammed”, with a fake Matriculation number U93HS1029. Shortly after her expulsion from ABU, Aishatu, Pointblanknews investigation revealed, changed her name to Aishatu Dahiru. Shortly after her February 13, 2010 wedding to Dr. Ahmed Modibbo Mohammed, Aishatu again changed her name to Aishatu Dahiru Ahmed. It is not clear why she chose Ahmed instead of Mohammed, her husband’s surname.
Pointblanknews had exclusively published a memo dated March 05, 1997, addressed to “Members, Committee on Alleged Alteration of Academic Records of Students.” It was authored by Lawan Bala Isa, then Principal Assistant Registrar (faculty officer) and currently, director of administration, National Business and Technical Examinations Board (NABTEB), Benin.

In the memo, Isa said of “Aishatu Hassan Mohammed” aka Aishatu Dahiru Ahmed ( Modibbo’s wife):

“a. Alleged girlfriend of Dr. M. A . Mohammed (see appendix x)
“Has 2 statements of result from Kaduna State Polytechnic which are suspect: ( i ) The first statement of result says she attended the school from 1991-1993 (two years) and obtained a PASS Diploma in Public Administration issued on 4th May, 1994.

“( ii )The second statement of result gives that she completed a certificate course in marketing with Lower Credit (less than a diploma) issued on 16th July, 1992.
“Question: Was she reading the certificate and Diploma Course at the same time in the same institution? No.

The faculty officer further penned:

“ ( c ) She fraudulently stated in MIS Form – 01 that she has B: 2 English in Grade II but the cited result with Exam No. 003/0123 in May/June 1990 indicated that the result was pending. Also she fraudulently stated that she has a pass (P ) in Arithmetic and Principles of Education while both results were pending. Similarly her result in Social Studies was pending but she indicated B: 2 . The cited 1992 Grade II result is forged. Originals must be produced.

“ (d ) Admitted into ABU through Special Admission/Transfer for 1993/94. How could this be possible? From which university is she transferring to ABU? Certainly she was not in any University so the mode of admission is irregular and fraudulent.

“ (e ) She (Modibbo’s wife) was not qualified going by her qualifications in the result submitted (i. e. 003/0123 of May/June 1990) for admission to the University History programme. No student with Diploma in Public Administration (Pass) should have been admitted to read History. This student was cleared on 6th November, 1996 by the Screening Officer Mallam Danbaba Ibrahim well before the Sole Administrator (General Mamman Kontangora) gave concession for Registration of Diploma students already pursuing their courses.

He told the committee:

“ (f )This is a clear case of withdrawal and those responsible for her admission and irregular screening should be investigated.

“ ( g )The Chairman of the Screening Committee Mallam A. Abba (current VC of Adamawa State University) requested for this file on Friday, 28th February, 1997 to confirm her status and I informed him that the file was being investigated by a Committee. The file will be released only after the investigation (evidence attached). It is, indeed, curious to note that Mallam Abba, the chairman of the Screening Committee will only now want to confirm the status of a student in his department which his Screening Committee cleared twice.

“The Head of Department Dr. A. M. Mohammed who incidentally is the Dean should not claim ignorance of this irregularity and fraud. It is also curious that this student was not on any list during the first screening exercise as advertised.

The faculty officer, in his submission, wondered: “Could this possibly be an oversight?” He concluded: “The coincidences are too strong and the pointers to deliberate omission is (sic) obvious,” advising, “it is absolutely necessary to probe these officers for the offences listed therein.

Their activities suggests (sic) deliberate sabotage on our collective effort to sanitize the system and make ABU truly great,” he affirmed.