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REVEALED: LAWMA boss, Ibrahim Odumboni, allegedly sold multi-million naira vehicles as scrap

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The acting managing director of the the Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA), Ibrahim Odumboni, has been accused of allegedly flouting procurement law and selling multi-million naira vehicles of the Authority as scrap.

When Ibrahim Odumboni was appointed acting managing director (MD) of the Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) in May 2020, the Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, was confident he was the perfect fit for the job.

In a statement, Sanwo-Olu said the former banker would bring his wealth of experience as a former LAWMA executive director in charge of business development to revitalise the often-troubled agency.

Mr Odumboni replaced Muyiwa Gbadegesin, who was removed for infractions including allegations of misappropriation of funds.

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However, the tenure of the 40-year-old Odumboni has also now become controversial, with some officials querying his management of the agency’s assets.

In one instance, Odumboni was queried by the state’s commissioner for environment for selling at least 55 mostly serviceable heavy-duty vehicles and a D9 bulldozer as scraps without following due process, and at a cost the commissioner described as ‘alarmingly undervalued.’

Between March 4 and 6, 2021, Mr Odumboni directed the disposal of 22 trucks, one engine and a D-9 bulldozer, located at LAWMA’s depot in Agege and Ikeja.

LAWMA staffers aware of the sale said many of the vehicles were still serviceable at the time they were sold as scrap. The vehicles were sold to Blackcann Limited, a scrap metal company.

LAWMA officials knowledgeable about the transfer of the vehicles to Blackcann Limited said the vehicles were moved from the depots at night in what they said appeared a move to evade questions about their destination from inquisitive officials.

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The vehicles comprised four Man Diesel compactors, 10 Mercedes Benz compactors, four Mack compactors, one Hof compactor and two Daf compactors, from the Agege Transfer Loading Station (TLS). The engine scrap was also stationed at the Agege TLS. Others were a bulk mover and M29 compactor from the Ikeja depot. The D-9 bulldozer was moved from the Solous depot in the Alimosho area of the state.

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In a memo authorising Blackcann Limited to take possession of the vehicles, Mr Odumboni claimed they were being removed from the depot for “assembling”.

“I hereby authorised Messrs Blackcann Limited to move all scrap metal and beyond Economic Economic Repair (BER) trucks at the depot to Lagos Waste Management Authority facility at Ikorodu for assembling,” Mr Odumboni stated in the memo dated March 4, 2021.

However, according to reports release vouchers signed at the Agege depot before the vehicles were released, which tell a different story. The vouchers indicate that the vehicles were taken by LAWMA’s Engineering Department to either “Ikorodu Road,” or “Owode Onirin”, a popular scrap metal market along Ikorodu Road.

Also, contrary to the claim in the memo that the vehicles were taken from the depots for assembling, the release vouchers stated that they were taken for “safekeeping”.

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A LAWMA official who asked not to be named for fear of being victimised pointed out further inconsistencies in the MD’s memo.

“LAWMA does not have any facility in Ikorodu,” the official said. There are only two sites remotely associated with LAWMA in the town, one is a dumpsite at Ewu-Elepe, the other place is a moribund Public-Private Partnership (PPP) project between Earthcare, a compost fertiliser manufacturer and LAWMA at Odoguyan along Shagamu Road.”

“It was a blatant lie to even say the vehicles were being taken for assembling. What does he mean by that? Are the vehicles going to be put together to manufacture new ones? In fact, our engineering department is stationed at our head office in Ijora, and repairs of vehicles are either done at our depots or at Ijora,” the source added.

The official claimed that each of the compactors was worth at least N2 million and the D-9 bulldozer was worth at least N20 million when they were sold.

When reached for comment about the disposal of the vehicles, Peter Benjamin-Black, the CEO of Blackcann Limited, declined to comment. During a telephone interview, he told this reporter to direct the questions to LAWMA.

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Mr. Odumboni may have flouted the state’s procurement law in the manner he disposed the vehicles.

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Section 80 (2) of the Lagos State Public Procurement Law states that “the open competitive bidding shall be the primary source of receiving offers for the purchase of any public property offered for sale”

The law defines Open Competitive Bidding as ”the solicitation of bids from domestic contractors and suppliers registered or incorporated to carry on business under Nigerian Law.”

Subsection (3) of Section 80 further empowers a Parastatal Tender Board shall issue regulations, detailing operational principles and organizational modalities to be adopted by the procuring entities engaged in the disposal of public property with the approval of the governor.

Section 86 stipulates the punishment for an officer of the state found to have contravened any provision of the law. It said such an official “commits an offence and is liable upon conviction to summary dismissal from the government service and between five and 10 years imprisonment without the option of fine.”

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The sale of the vehicles did not go down well with some LAWMA officials. But while the murmurs about the first deal was yet to abate, Mr Odumboni initiated the sale of another 34 vehicles, which he claimed were unserviceable.

This time, however, he sought official approval to dispose of the vehicles. But even the disposal of this set of vehicles was tainted with the allegation that the vehicles were grossly undervalued.

It was learnt that several of the vehicles were procured about three years ago, during the era of Visionscape, a controversial waste management company backed by the administration of the immediate past governor of the state, Akinwunmi Ambode.

Obtained details of the amount for which some of the vehicles were sold: Eight damaged vehicles were sold to Olaseni Danzaki Limited. They include three Renault 5CBM compactors for N750,000, a Mantiga trailer head for N1.5 million, a Mantiga compactor for N800,000, a Mantiga truck head for N1.1 million, a Sino Truck for N1.5 million, and an MT-013 Fuel tanker for N1 million.

Six Actros Mercedes Benz trucks were sold for N900,000 each to Defroser Global Enterprises. The company also bought another set of four Actros Mercedes Benz trucks for N800,000 each and a Daf towing vehicle for N400,000.

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Two Man Diesel trucks were sold to Collect-A-Can for N800,000 each, another set of seven Man Diesel trucks for N750,000 each, another truck for N400,000 and a trailer back for N300,000.

The vehicles were sold around the last week of April 2021.Vexed by the irregularities he suspected characterised the sale of the vehicles and acting on complaints from some LAWMA officials, Tunji Bello, the commissioner in charge of the Ministry for Environment, the supervising ministry of LAWMA, on May 5, 2021, officially demanded explanation from Odumboni about the deals.

The query was titled: “Re: Alleged Boarding of Vehicles and Equipment belonging to LAWMA without Due Diligence,” and had the serial number: MOEWR/HC/C/2019/VOL.1/67.

“I write to inform you that there are allegations that you directed managers of the Authority’s facilities to release several (about 30) heavy-duty vehicles (compactors, tipper heads etc) and a D-9 V-track Caterpillar bulldozer for disposer without consultation with or notification of the management and the vehicles were moved out in the dead of the night to the popular scrap metal market in Lagos (Owode Onirin).

“Furthermore, it has also been alleged that you officially initiated further boarding of an additional set of 32 vehicles, a considerable number of which were only recently purchased, and all of which were alarmingly undervalued.”

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He directed Mr Odumboni to respond within five days of getting the query.

It could not confirm if Mr Odumboni responded to the query. Mr Bello did not respond to questions asking him if Mr Odumboni responded to the query and what his response was.

It also remains unclear if any disciplinary action was taken against the LAWMA boss for the suspected infractions.

Odumboni Keeps mum

Odumboni did not respond to newsmen inquiries on the allegations.

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Business

Inflation: Real reason Indomie reduced prices of popular staple food item revealed

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A flagship brand under Dufil Prima Foods Limited, Indomie Instant Noodles, has announced a significant reduction in prices to ensure affordability for consumers amidst Nigeria’s escalating inflationary pressures.

The decision came as a response to mounting economic challenges faced by Nigerians, to maintain accessibility to this popular staple food item.

This has been confirmed by a recent survey conducted across various stores in Lagos, which revealed a notable decrease in the prices of Indomie products. The cost of the 70g pack of Indomie Regular Chicken noodles plummeted from N300 to N250 compared to the previous month.

Additionally, the price of a 40-pack carton of Indomie dropped from N12,000 to N10,000 within the same timeframe. Before this adjustment, Indomie’s prices had surpassed those of competing brands such as Mimee (N200) and Honeywell noodles (N250).

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Temitope Ashiwaju, the group corporate communications & event manager at Dufil Prima Foods Limited, attributed the price reduction to favorable changes in operational costs.

He emphasized the company’s commitment to passing on benefits to consumers, stressing their dedication to fairness and affordability.

“We are never going to be taking advantage of the populace. We want to make a profit, but fairly,” the spokesman added. “That is why we are determined to keep our products affordable to Nigerians.”

Contrary to speculations suggesting low patronage as the driving factor behind the price adjustment, Ashiwaju reaffirmed that the decision was rooted in the company’s ethos of customer-centricity and fairness.

Industry experts have hailed Dufil Prima’s move as influential, predicting a ripple effect that could prompt other brands to follow suit because Indomie’s dominant position in the market has positioned it as a price setter, prompting expectations for broader shifts in pricing strategies across the industry.

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The price reduction by Indomie comes amidst a backdrop of economic challenges in Nigeria, characterized by soaring inflation rates.

Over the past nine months, Nigeria has witnessed a steady rise in headline inflation, driven primarily by government reforms such as the removal of petrol subsidies and naira devaluation.

As a result, food inflation has surged, exacerbating the financial strain on households and leading to an increase in poverty levels.

Despite these economic headwinds, a recent report by Euromonitor International indicates robust growth in the sales value of noodles within Nigeria’s formal market.

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Crime

Terrorists attack Yobe military base, kill soldier

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Suspected terrorists about midnight of Saturday, March 23, attacked a military base in Gujba town, Gujba Local Government Area of Yobe State, killing a soldier.

Yobe State Police Command’s spokesman, DSP Dungus Abdulkarim, who confirmed the attack to Theheute on Sunday, said a military patrol vehicle was also torched by the suspected terrorists.

“The only thing I can confirm to you now is the attack. A soldier was killed, and troops and CJTF engaged the suspected terrorists,” he said.

Reliable local sources told Theheute that the suspected insurgents, who stormed the town by 12 midnight, shooting indiscriminately and subsequently attacking the military base, were later repelled by troops who chased them out to the surrounding bush.

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A resident of Gujba, Modu Bahna, while narrating his ordeal, said, “They (suspected terrorists) stormed the town some minutes after midnight, shooting sporadically and majority of us took to our heels into the surrounding bushes for our dear lives.”

“The attackers did not kill any civilian or loot food or other essential commodities stores,” another source, Dala Bukar, said, adding, “They only attacked the two patrol vehicles in the military base where a soldier was killed.”

This recent killing of a millionaire personal is coming after 15 soldiers were killed during a communal clash in Delta State.

The personnel consist of two Majors, one Captain, and 12 soldiers.

They were said to have met their deaths while responding to a distress call during a clash between Okuama and Okoloba communities in the state.

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Education

UNIJOS students protest water scarcity, blackout

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Students at the University of Jos, Plateau State, on Thursday, locked the institution’s gates protesting water scarcity and lack of electricity supply to their hostels.

The protesting students held placards with different inscriptions such as: ‘No light to soak gari’ and ‘We no get SUG.’

Others held empty buckets to symbolise the lack of water in the institution.

Some of the students, who spoke to our correspondent, lamented their plight and said that the situation had caused untold suffering to them and impacted negatively on their academic activities.

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One of the students, who gave his name simply as Josiah, said, “We don’t know what the school management wants the students to do. There has been no water in the hostels for the past two or three days. Even the blackout, which has been ongoing as well, has left several students completely stranded.

“Apart from that, we are also not happy with the school management over the dissolution of the Students Union Government because right now, the students have no direction because they don’t have any leadership.

“The VC and the school management have refused to give us a listening ear. They (school management) came here this morning and said we should send representatives to negotiate, but how can we be told to negotiate for our rights? This is not proper.

“The school management has now directed the students to send in representatives for negotiations. However, no one has volunteered to go since the protest was not led by the officials of the student body as the last SUG executives were dissolved in February and a new government has not been formed.”

It was learnt that following the protest, the university authority quickly deployed security operatives to the institution to prevent the protest from being hijacked by hoodlums to cause havoc, but the students were said to have vowed to stay at the gate until the issues were resolved.

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Some staff members of the university who were caught up in the protest, however, condemned the action of the students, describing it as unnecessary.

One of the staffers who refused to give his name said, “We got here this morning and discovered that the gate had been locked. Everything is not about protest. There was no official notice. We just started seeing students at the gate. I believe that if they had brought their complaints to the school management, they would have got immediate solution because the VC does not joke with the welfare of the students.”

Contacted, the university’s Dean of Students Affairs, Prof. Christopher Piwuna, acknowledged the challenge of water scarcity and blackout in the students’ hostels.

The Dean, who blamed the situation on the Jos Electricity Distribution Company over an outstanding debt, however, said that the problem had been resolved following an intervention by the Vice Chancellor.

“It is true that there was no water before now, but water has been supplied to the hostels. The JED severed our supply because of outstanding bills. The VC has intervened, and they are going to reconnect the light. As I am talking to you, water has been supplied. The light will be reconnected any moment from now and with the light restored, we won’t have the problem of water again,” the Dean assured.

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