The Managing Director/ Chief Executive officer of the Nigeria Bulk
Electriity Trading Plc, Dr. Marilyn Amobi approved and collected a six
years housing allowance in the sum of over N77million for her four-year
tenure appointment, a document from a Whistleblower to Pointblanknews.com
has revealed.
The Whistleblower revealed that Dr. Amobi approved to herself the payment
of N77,371,600.80 (paid to her Stanbic IBTC Bank account number
0019128749) as the housing allowance which is for a maximum period of the
6 years whereas her employment is for a period of 4 years.
Only recently, a whooping N65 Million Naira from public funds was alleged
to have been spent by the Nigeria Bulk Electricity Trading Plc (NBET) for
trip, despite federal governments restriction on foreign travels and
trainings abroad.
According to the Whistleblower, as at January 2018 when Dr. Amobi
fraudulently paid herself the excess, it deprived others their benefit.
The senior management staff confirmed that she has only spent a year and
five months in office as at January 2018 when she paid herself and
collected the allowance for six years and her employment is for a
four-year period.
The Whistleblower revealed that the former board of NBET approved some
funds for the staffs of NBET for housing, rent and furniture (mortgage) to
allow them settle down as soon as they resume to the organization.
These funds are meant to cushion the effect of the cost of living in Abuja
for a maximum period of six (6) years and disbursed to their staffs on a
first come first serve basis (i.e the first employee in the organization
gets first, followed by the next person till it goes round every employee
in the organization).
Our investigation discovered that based on the schedule of distribution of
the funds, it was the turn of a senior management staff in the
organization to receive the housing allowance in January 2018 but Dr.
Amobi in her usual fraudulent manner cornered the payment to herself with
over 50% in excess of what is supposed to be due to her for her period of
stay in NBET.
To cover her shady deals, Dr. Amobi allegedly removed the professional
internal auditor and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of NBET and moved them
to a new unit she created as soon as they started challenging her
unprofessional actions such as the fraudulent engagement of Azinge &
Azinge and Aelex legal firms.
Both Azinge & Azinge and Aelex legal firms were engaged for millions of
naira to advise MD/CEO of NBET on the same subject matter hence the
removal of the substantive internal auditor and Chief Financial
controller.
She then went ahead to bring her own internal auditor and Chief Financial
officers from the Office of the Accountant General (OAGF) whom she placed
on the payroll of NBET as inducement for them not to raise any issues.
These two new staffs have been on the payroll of NBET since June 2017 and
are also on the payroll in the office of the Accountant General of the
Federation (OAGF) as revealed by our sources and has been costing NBET
millions of tax payers monies in extra salaries.
Sources say they give the NBET boss cover to perpetrate her crime against
the Nigerian tax payers whose monies shes spending fraudulently.
It would be recalled that Nigeria Bulk Electricity Trading Plc boss became
the latest Buhari administration official recently to be caught up in a
travel expense scandal with the release of a watchdogs report that
painted an 11-day trip to Gainesville, Florida as more of a sightseeing
junket than official business for 6 members of the Nigerian National
Assembly.
A whooping N65 Million Naira from public funds was alleged to have been
spent by the Nigeria Bulk Electricity Trading Plc (NBET) for the trip,
despite federal governments restriction on foreign travels and trainings
abroad.
A circular conveying the message, titled Restrictions on Foreign
Trainings and International Travels by Public Servants, was issued from
the office of the head of the civil service of the federation to all
ministries, departments and agencies of the federal government in 2015,
putting embargo on foreign travels and international trainings.
Public servants invited for foreign trainings/study tour, conferences by
any organisation, government or other bilateral/multilateral organisation
will be allowed to travel provided that no travel cost, estacode
application or any other cost on government is involved, the circular
stated.
In defiance of the federal governments rule, the MD/CEO of NBET, Dr
Marilyn Amobi, on the 28th of November 2017, gave a directive to spend
$96,350 USD of public funds for Participation at the 43rd International
training program on the utility regulation and strategy held in January
15-26 2018 in Gainsville, Florida, USA, by members of the National
Assembly committees on power.
The whistleblower alleged that the national assembly members did not
attend the event, describing it as a shocking waste of taxpayers money.
The National Assembly members are Senator Eyinnaya Abaribe, (PDP Abia),
Senator Adamu Aliero, (APC Kebbi), Senator Lanre Tejuosho, (APC Ogun),
Senator Mao Ohuabunwa, (PDP Abia), Hon. Daniel Asuquo, (PDP Cross River)
Hon. Mohammed Garba Gololo, (APC Bauchi).
