Date Published: 04/18/10
The latest Scam in Lagos State Government Agency called LASAA
TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN
ATTENTION: CONCERNED CITIZENRY
LASAA....................ANOTHER NAME FOR FRAUD.
We are a group of concerned citizens of (Lagos), Nigeria who are always after good corporate governance in all governmental Agencies and Parastatals and abhors frauds and crime in all its ramifications. We just don’t shout when there are no evidences to proof that fraud has been committed or taken place. That is why we took our time to gather all our facts and necessary information before writing you about this monumental and unprecedented fraud being perpetrated in a government Agency turned into a private company by no other than Mr. Makanjuola Alabi, the Managing Director/CEO of Lagos State Signage & Advertisement Agency (LASAA) and his cohorts in the said Agency such as Ajewole Kehinde Johnson, Ronke Ogunsanwo,Toluwalope Kehinde, Ogunsanya Tayo, Tope Akande and Adeyemi Temitope.
Our group will also appreciate anyone who has inkling on how to ameliorate the menace of corruption at various levels of the Governments, especially in Lagos. We have communicated the Lagos State Governor, His Excellency, Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN) and all the State Executive council members on the scam in the Agency for quite some time now. It appears the State is handling the issues with kids’ gloves because we found out again that Mr. Makanjuola Alabi is making series of moves to cover all his shaddy deeds and we are told that he said would stop at nothing to cover the fraud in all its ramifications. ‘That he is a sacred cow’.
A comprehensive investigation of the Books and records of the above Agency will show the enormity of the Monumental fraud that has taken place which is still on-going in the Agency. Below are few of the atrocities that have been committed since the inception of the Agency till date. More will be revealed if and when investigation commences. We are willing to give more information via our email address and telephone numbers below. Also, with our knowledge of the atrocities committed, we will give any Law Enforcement Agent (either domestic or international), the required and guided assistance on how to uncover the fraud in totality. Attached are the documentary evidences to support the allegations stated herein such as Inter-Memo of the Agency, Certified Corporate Affairs Commission documents, an extract from the Agency Law and Policy documents.....................etc. Stated below are few of the atrocities committed in the Agency.
- There were vouchers raised in respect of Enforcement activities of the said Agency that did not even take place between 19 th December and 21 st December, 2007 to cover all the 20 main local Government Areas in Lagos State with the following cash advance numbers 001902 to 001909,in the retirement of the said cash advances, no Cranes, HIABs, Trucks, Gas, Artisans were used at all. The vouchers were used to cover up for one of the Management numerous illegal spending they fondly called ‘PR for Alausa people’. See the attached documentary evidence named Inter-Office Memorandum and cash advance forms on pages 1 to 20, for verification. This is just a sample of the whole mis-appropriation. Others are available on request and any Law enforcement Agency that wants to investigate the Agency’s books and records will be properly and accordingly guided.
- The sum of =N= 130M was approved by the administration of Asiwaju in 2006 and released by Fashola’s administration in 2007 to procure heavy duty equipments like Cranes, HIAB, Hydraulic Man-lift, Trucks etc but nothing was purchased up till now. This can be verified from the list of assets of the Agency. This was not done so as to continue the perpetration of his colossal fraud of daily inflating the costs of enforcement activities via hiring of cranes which normally goes for =N= 80,000 per day to =N= 230,000 per day (about 300%) by Mr. Alabi and his cohort (Mr. Ajewole Kehinde Johnson, the Agency’s Accountant). This can be verified from the attached document number 001902 to 001909 dated 19 th December to 21 st December, 2007. Other items inflated in the same document are HIAB, Trucks, Hydraulic Man lift, Gas etc. The estimated amount inflated from March, 2007 till date is summarised below;
=N=
1. Year 2007 - 240,000,000
2. Year 2008 - 360,000,000
3. Year 2009 - 360,000,000
===============
960,000,000
Another vivid case of fraud was during the demise of one of the Management Staff (Mr. Adebayo T. Kazeem, former M & I HOD, LASAA). H e died on 19 th November, 2008 and buried 26 th November, 2008. Throughout this week, about =N= 10M was spread and vouchers and cash advances were raised as if there was normal enforcement activities. This happened at the peak of LASAA mourning her lost staff.
- The so called Kangaroo Management of LASAA moved a motion in a meeting held on 25 th May, 2008 to carry out restructuring and reorganization of the entire Agency by merging Audit unit with Finance and accounts unit to be headed by the same person. This is still the case up till this moment. It was even discovered that one of the management staff vehemently objected to this move but nobody cares to listen. Find attached, copies of the memos to effect the change and the response of the staff on Inter-Office Memorandum 2 on pages 1 and 2 and the staff response on page 3. The person heading the audit unit is being used as figure-head because she is not competent to handle the job. Besides, she is being used to cover up all their nefarious activities.
- Mr. Alabi awarded a contract of street naming all over the state, worth over =N= 300M to a company( PEKINDOU LTD) which happens to be his friend’s without following the due process, and worst of all failing to remove withholding tax from the contract sum. This can be verified from the Agency’s account department. Besides, approval limit is not being followed in the Agency, as an Agency of Lagos state Government; he has no statutory power to approve such a contract. Even at the Federal level, any contract sum above =N= 10M requires the approval of the Federal Executive Council. Why is it different in Lagos State?
· Mr. Segun Fowowe, an external solicitor to LASAA has his operational office within the same building where Alt-Media Ltd operates too. It was also found out that Mr. Alabi is a partner in the firm of Segun Fowowe & Co. That is why Segun Fowowe’s blood sister was appointed in the board of LASAA to act as the Agency’s secretary/Legal adviser, and all legal works to as small as letter writing for LASAA are being done by Segun Fowowe & Co at an outrageous bills.
· Mr. Alabi also got married in 2009 spending over =N= 80M with the knowledge of the state government. How can a civil servant squandered such a huge sum of money all in the name of marriage. Find attached the list of some of the staff he sponsored to Italy (when they were not on leave) for his wedding and people from Governor’s office including D’ Banj Musical group.
· Mr. Makanjuola Alabi is the Managing Director of Alt-Media Limited, an outdoor advertising company with registered office at number 3, Makoko Road, Yaba and operating office at 24/28 strachan street, Lagos. The other directors of the company are;
1. Mrs. Elizabeth Olayinka Alabi (R)
2. Mr. Zeldin Stemmet
3. Mr. Patrick De Rubillard
4. Mrs. Adekunbi Fagbemiro
5. Mrs. Oluwatosin Fagbemiro
The registered office of the company is Mr. Makanjuola Alabi’s father’s residence where he presently stays and the other directors are his family members, and other co-accomplices. Please see attached duly certified true copies of comprehensive registration documents of Alt-Media Ltd from the Corporate Affairs Commission as at 6 th May, 2009.
- The company, Alt-Media Limited as at December, 2006 had only one outdoor advertising site in Lagos state situated at Osborne/Kingsway Road junction, Ikoyi, Lagos. But presently, as at December, 2009 the company has over 56 outdoor advertising sites all over Lagos. See the attached approval documents duly signed by Mr. Alabi, as MD of LASAA to Alt- Media and also his signature as of Alt-Media as evident in the CAC registration documents of Alt- Media. While other outdoor companies came down, say some from 200 sites to 6 sites, 315 sites to 5 sites etc. The names of the affected companies will be released on request. We therefore suggest the revocation of all the advertising sites he had already approved for his company, Alt-Media Ltd.
- Owing to the greed of LASAA’s Managing Director, Mr. Alabi, he went and incorporated a new company called Pinnacle Out-of-Homes Ltd as another front company. The company is presently headed by Mr. Zeldin Stemmet, a British South African who is also on the Board of Alt-Media Limited. Please see attached duly certified true copies of comprehensive registration documents of Alt-Media Ltd from the Corporate Affairs Commission as at 6 th May, 2009.
- Both Mr. Zeldin Stemmet and Mr. Patrick De Rubillard were former employees of Global Outdoor Limited as General Manager and Operations Manager respectively.
- Another Company used by Mr. Alabi to defraud the Agency and Practitioners of outdoor advertising is Road Master Nigeria Ltd who is the only approved importer of directional road signs in LASAA. The road signs can be sourced in the open market in the world but Mr. Alabi and LASAA management will not accept it except you buy from Road Master who charges over 500% above the world prices. The worst of it is that, the signs do not come with the current international standard of installation. It comes with screws while the acceptable standard is the back slot system. Another company set up by Mr. Alabi and his surrogates was the Datnance Nigeria Ltd, a company used to prepare location maps for all outdoor structures which is sourced from the Lagos state Surveyor-General’s office at no cost and they charge every sign owner =N= 6,500 each without nothing going back to the Surveyor-General’s office and LASAA .
- We also found that Mr. Alabi has been paying =N= 30M yearly to Bravura Consultants owned by one Osinibi Olalekan on an unsigned contract agreements.
- What has LASAA got to do with street light which is supposed to be the sole responsibility of the Ministry of Works? There is a big fraud currently going on in Lagos state on the street light Project. The first set of street light projects for Kingsway Road, Ikoyi was awarded to Private Network Nigeria (PNN), an indigenous company for =N=75M but now the same contract/project in terms of specifications and volume is being awarded to Lillekker, a foreign company for =N= 180M thereabout. Now the following questions need to be answered;
1. What is LASAA’s business with Street Light?
2. Why is LASAA awarding the same job/contract well done by our indigenous company to another foreign company at such an outrageous value?
3. What accounts for the increase in the contract value from =N= 75M to =N= 180M?
4. How can a single individual using tax payers money taking a unilateral decision to award a contract of such magnitude (=N= 180M) without recourse to his superiors.
- There was also series of boastful and arrogant attitude of Mr. Alabi that, all the monies he has been mis-appropriating in the Agency are used to settle the Honourables from the house and people in Governor’s office so that they can do what he dictates to them. He claimed he supported Fashola’s gubernatorial election with =N= 20M. That, money is not his problem. This can be verified via series of GSM telephone conversations which he had with people which is readily available on request.
- All vouchers and cash advances raised in respect of mis-appropriated funds under the guise of Enforcement activities have no pictures attached to them as against the laid down policies, procedures and processes of the Agency. See an extract from the said policy document of LASAA which states that pictures of all removed structures before, during and after removal must be attached to every enforcement retirement. All the enforcement retirements from 2007 till date will reveal all the above. See the attached spreadsheet.
- Mr. Alabi has now turned LASAA into his family business by engaging his wife’s blood sister(Nike Adekambi) and Bola Otutesho (Eminent Consultant Ltd) as consultants to LASAA on Human Resources and IT upgrades with a contract value of over half a billion naira single-handedly signed by him without any recourse to anyone.
- All the removed outdoor advertising structures pan Lagos state valued at over =N= 2B was outrightly sold by Mr. Alabi without recourse to the House of Assembly/ His Excellency to ratify or approve the disposal of these structures. Details of the disposal will be provided in due course.
- Mr. Alabi and the Chairman of LASAA board or somebody assigned by the Board in the absence of the Chairman, are suppose to sign every cheque issued by the Agency according to the Law that established the Agency but what goes on in the Agency is completely different. See the attached portion of the LASAA Law. Page A57, Section 13 (Bank account).
- Mr. Alabi recently awarded contract of street light to Pinnacles, a company he owns and he is using South Africans as front. The Managing Director of the said Company is Mr. Zeldin Stemmet who is also a director of Alt- Media (Mr. Alabi’s company) as stated above. Please see the attached CAC registration documents of Alt- Media.
- The essence of establishing LASAA was to curb the excesses of corruption and mis-management which was the order of the day in most of the Local Government Areas. But the situation is worse in LASAA than what existed in the local governments as most of the revenue generated is stolen. Tax payers’ money indeed, into Mr. Alabi’s pocket.
- From the above estimated amount that Mr. Alabi had defrauded the Agency, assuming we have 54 Agencies or Parastatals under Lagos State Government. If the above figure from one deal alone, is multiplied by 54, we have =N= 51.84bn that would have gone down the drain by all the bad eggs within Lagos State Government system.
- Lagos State has been a role-model to other States of the Federation in terms of LASAA’s exploit in revenue generation from regulation of signage and outdoor advertising structures and world-class operational standard. But what becomes of the said Agency and the entire Lagos State Government now, as in LASAA was intentionally set up to loot the tax payers’ money and share the loot among the State Government officials as Mr. Alabi claimed above that the whole mis-appropriated money is used to settle the Legislators and other stakeholders in the government.
EKO TI BAJE TAN O O O !!!
Signed Signed
MR. OLAJIDE O.O MR. AKANBI K.
Coordinator Secretary
MAJEKOBAJE EKO INTEGRITY GROUP MAJEKOBAJE EKO INTEGRITY GROUP
Tel: 0705 214 7269 Tel: 0705 214 7274
Email: majekobaje_eko@yahoo.com
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