Alledged N2.5bn Fraud In Bauchi State, Patriotic Nigerians For Good Governance Writes EFCC

A dubious contract was awarded to Pentech Engineering Nigeria Ltd, without following the Bauchi State government’s own due process, business ethics, guidelines and law. No bidding process was initiated before the contract was awarded.

The contract itself was an insider job. Pentech Engineering Ltd is a company wholly owned by the current Bauchi State PDP Chairman, Hamza Koshe, his children Najah Hamza, Na’ima Hamza, and one Mohammed Auwal.

Pentech Engineering Nigeria Ltd, a company with a mere 1,000,000 share capital was awarded a colossal contract worth N2.5 billion at the time of the award. The contract was awarded via a simple letter marked “Secret”, dated 26/08/2021, which came from the Bauchi State Ministry of Health, and addressed to the Managing Director, Pentech Engineering Ltd, of no valid address. Clearly, this shows that it was a rushed insider job. The Ministry of Health official could not be bothered to authenticate the official address of the beneficiary company.

There is no tax record showing that Pentech Engineering Ltd has any experience whatsoever of executing this type of contract.

The contract was supposedly for the construction and renovation of Primary and Secondary healthcare facilities throughout Bauchi State. However, in a Resolution dated the 30/09/2021, just few days after being awarded the contract, in its bid to circumvent due process, the company applied for a loan of N2.5 billion from United Bank of Africa (CIBA), supposedly for the purposes of Contract Financing. Hamza Koshe, being the highest Shareholder and Director of the company was the sole signatory to the company’s account held at United Bank of Africa (UBA). This then guaranteed that the loan facility applied for was solely controlled by Hamza Koshe. Please, note that the contract awarded to the company was for CONSTRUCTION/RENOVATION and not CONTRACT FINANCING!

During an Extraordinary General Meeting of the company held on the 9/11/2021, the company passed a resolution to increase its share capital from 1,000,000 to 3,000,000 and filed same at the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), using Form CAC 2.4. This was done in order to afford the company a larger share capital, to accommodate the colossal contract and an already envisaged loan facility to be sought as resolved by the company in its earlier resolution of 30/09/2021.

In order to cover its tracks, the company went further to alter its Memorandum and Articles of Association by inclusion and addition of CLAUSES 3(a.l) (b.l) via its resolution dated 9/11/2021, to accommodate CONTRACT FINANCING TRANSACTIONS among others. This was done to give the company the leverage to undertake contract financing and not as the contract was originally awarded. It is the Financing that the company was interested in, and not the Construction/Renovation of Primary and Secondary healthcare facilities.

Incredibly enough, on the same date of 9/11/2021 that the company resolved to alter its Memorandum and Articles of Association, to increase its share capital to 3,000,000 and having made Hamza Koshe the sole signatory to the company’s Account at UBA, the UBA bank offered Pentech the N2.5bn loan facility it applied for!

But then, the Offer Letter from UBA dated 9/11/2021 was for the construction and Rehabilitation of Secondary and Primary Health care facilities across the State. It came with 18 monthly repayment plan, which ends in March, 2023.

Since the award of the loan by the bank to Pentech, the monthly repayment of N158,325,237.65 has been drawn from the Bauchi state Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF-TSA) domiciled with the Bank. This clearly shows that the loan was a facility granted to the Bauchi State Government, and not the Pentech company. The Pentech company was merely a vehicle dubiously used to obtain the loan facility and defraud the good people of Bauchi State.

It is inconceivable to think that there is no connivance between the current Bauchi State Governor with Mr Hamza Koshe, the Ministry of Health officials and even the UBA bank officials, to defraud the good people of Bauchi State a significant amount of money via a dodgy process that lacked due diligence.

It is our hope that the EFCC, who have since been intimated of this scandal, will conduct a thorough investigation and prosecute all those involved.

Patriotic Nigerians for Good Governance.
Signed.

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