The Citizens Action to Take Back Nigeria (CATBAN), an NGO sponsored by the
Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir Lawal, to
absolve him of blame during his N220million grass-cutting scandal, has
been co-opted to blackmail the leadership of the National Assembly with
frivolous reports of a house-rent scandal.
Sources in the SGFs office, revealed that the Co-convener of CATBAN
Ibrahim Garba Wala, has been paid N5million by the SGF to coordinate the
offensive against the National Assembly leadership, in order to blackmail
the legislature into absolving him (Lawal), of all wrongdoing.
Recall that despite investigations by government officials and the Senator
Shehu-Sani led Senate Ad-Hoc Committee on the Mounting Humanitarian Crisis
in the North East, CATBAN was the only organization to issue a report that
the SGF’s company, Rholavision, had indeed performed it’s N200million
grass-cutting contract in Yobe.
Wala, repeatedly went on television and radio programmes to state that the
SGF was not guilty despite overwhelming evidence. However, facts emerged,
during the course of the Senate’s investigation that the SGF allegedly
awarded the spurious contract of N220 million for the removal of wild
grass and the provision of 115 hectares of simplified village irrigation
in Yobe State and how the company allegedly subsequently transferred the
money into another firm, Rholavision Engineering Limited, which is owned
by the SGF.
The N220million was then paid between March and September 2015 to the
company’s account in EcoBank along the Ahmadu Bello Way, Kaduna, with
account numbers 0182001809 and 1180010559651.
Despite the aforementioned evidence, the SGF sponsored CATBAN to issue a
report that claimed that his company had executed the contract, and that
he had in no way violated any laws — despite clear conflicts of interests
that emanated from the fact that the SGF, at the time that the contract
was awarded, was still a Director on the Rholavision Board.