The Bus Deal Investigation
As a mandate from GREAT IFE Students through their representatives in the parliament, a seven (7) man committee was constituted to investigate the bus gate and report back to the house in two weeks. As a member of this committee, with all objectiveness and without any sentiment or interest except the interest of pursuing this task as mandated, it is high time a report came out, not only to the house, but to the rank and file of students (the payers of union dues) who are dearly interested in how their dues were plunged into a bus project that was never ratified by them.
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| Oloniniran Gbenga Von |
With effect from Monday 3rd of July, being the day after the committee was set up, the committee swung into action with its first meeting slated for 6PM and held in the students’ union building security room where we had discussion on the modalities of our investigation.
The committee started investigation with the financial secretary of the union, Omisakin, who was requested to come with all documents relating to the bus and to the purchase of the bus, to include all tellers, receipts or proofs of payment, the union statement of account that would reveal money transactions in the course of purchase, from the point where 3 million naira was disbursed into the union’s account to the point of the last penny incurred in the said purchase of bus. In response to this request, on Wednesday, 5th of July, Omisakin came with just a copy of letter written to the university management by the union requesting for the students’ union dues, a copy of the university management’s reply to the union request and approval of 3million naira to be disbursed to the union’s account, He as well came with a receipt of the purchase of the bus with an amount of N2.5million written on it. The committee however, sent him back to make provisions for the bus documents, the statement of the union’s account, as well as tellers of transactions, of which he, Omisakin later came the next day with particulars of the bus, the union’s statement of account, a teller showing the transfer payment of N1,500,000 to one Omolade Adeolu, as well as the initial receipt of N2.5million received for bus purchase. After providing the union’s statement of account, In the course of investigation, it was gathered as ascertained by the financial secretary that some certain amount of money was withdrawn from the union’s account into a personal account of Omisakin. The investigation discovered in the statement of account provided that the money which was withdrawn in two tranches from the union’s account and paid into Omisakin’s account included N1,500,000 and N1,280,000 on 13th June and 14th June respectively amounting to a total of N2,780,000 paid into his account. It was then gathered as well as revealed in the financial secretary’s statement of account that only a sum of N2,400,000 (N2.4 million) was transferred in two tranches into Omolade Adeolu’s ( confirmed to be the bus dealer) Account, with N1,500,000 transferred at first, followed by another N900,000 on the 13th and 14th June respectively. However, the suspended financial secretary claimed to have made a first payment of N100,000 in cash at first to the bus dealer, this money was said to be meant for mobilization fee. The proof of this was seen as paid to the dealer in his statement of account dated 9th June.
It must be stated too that the investigating team also gathered that another sum of N30,000 was claimed to have been paid to the bus dealer as demanded by the dealer, this, Omisakin claimed the dealer used for inscription of name on the bus, washing and fueling.
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THE BUS DEALER
Following the phone contacts on the copy of receipt presented to the committee, the committee went further to invite the bus dealer. The bus dealer, who identified himself as Mr. Omolade Adeolu and who is into business of automobile dealings, came around on Friday, 7th of July. Presenting the duplicate of the receipt, he claimed to have sold a Tokunbo-Used Toyota Hiace 1999 to the union at the rate of N2.5million naira. According to the dealer when questioned on the authenticity of the address on his receipt, he narrated that the address on the receipt used to be his former office but due to flooding which normally occurred whenever there was a heavy down pour, he had to relocate to a new site along NNPC road where he now has his office and display of goods. While interviewing the dealer on how he was made payment for the bus, he said he received the money in three tranches with alerts into his account, firstly N100,000 meant for his mobilization for bringing the bus, then subsequently N1.5million and N900,000.
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THE BUS AND THE WORTH OF THE BUS
As part of the customs document that came with the bus, the committee discovered from these particulars, that the bus, Toyota Hiace 1999 was produced in the United States (country of origin), it was however imported from Germany (Country of export) to Lagos, Nigeria (country of destination).
However, the bus was imported at the rate of $1886 US dollars with an exchange rate of 305 Nigerian currency as at then November, 2016. The Nigerian customs charges, taxes on the bus was a total of N259, 979 naira. The dealer was invited the second time on the 12th July, 2017, where he was asked on the cost of his own purchase of the bus in relation with the custom valuations in the documents, the dealer felt that the cost he purchased the bus was his personal business and was meant to be confidential, the committee reasoned along with him on this claim. It must be stated however that the dealer, when asked how much the cost of shipping a vehicle to the port is, said it is around $1000.
Now, the mathematical Analysis by investigation:
Cost of the bus by importation: $1886x 305(exchange rate in naira) = N575,230
Custom taxes and charges on the bus = N259,979
Cost of shipping : $1000 x 305(exchange rate in naira) =N305,000 TOTAL COST INCURRED= N1,140,209.
N1,140,210 is an approximate cost of buying this bus by the dealer, who however put his selling price at the rate of N2,500,000 (2.5million naira), making an approximate profit of N1,360,000 (One Million Three Hundred and Sixty Thousand Naira) on the union by estimation.
The committee went further to investigate from other bus dealers around on the price that one could buy the same brand of bus in similar condition at which the union bus was bought.
THE REPORT OF OUR FINDINGS
An Ile-Ife based dealer , Mr Wole of Mikky Motors, Ilesha Garage, confirmed to the committee that we would get such bus with fair millage, accident free, tokunbo neatly used, working AC and in good condition from him at the rate of N2.2 million naira.
Another dealer beside NIPCO filling station, opposite OAUTHC, OLA MOTORS confirmed that we would get the bus from him at the rate of N2.3 million.
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Another dealer from Akure stated that we would get the bus from him at most at the rate of N1.5 million naira.
From the above mathematical analysis and reports on the worth of the bus, one can deduce or opine that it is either the union has been duped to have bought the bus for N2.5 million naira or the union has connived with the dealer to sell the bus at the price of #2.5million
DISCREPANCIES AND INTENT TO DEFRAUD
In the course of interviewing other members of the CEC involved in the purchase of the bus, there was an agreement by all members of the CEC except the suspended vice president to purchase a bus, however the sole agreement on price (N2.5 million) to purchase it was among the sec gen, the president and the financial secretary. Except for Secretary General of the union, the president, the financial secretary and the director of socials who happened to be the one who introduced the dealer to the union, the news of the bus arrival came to the other CEC members as a surprise, in the sense that others were not carried along on the price, the payment and the bus arrival.
According to the sports director, Oluwamichael, who upon hearing the arrival of the bus walked up to the fin sec, Omisakin to ask for the price, Omisakin told him the bus was purchased around N2.8/ N2.9million while the remaining, in the words of the sports director, ”maybe N100,000 was used for inscription of name on the bus, fueling and other things”.
While interviewing the Assistant Sec Gen, SIEWEN, he lamented how surprised and furious he was when he heard and saw that a bus had arrived with GREAT IFE STUDENTS’ UNION on it, he further disclosed to the committee that when he questioned the fin sec about the price, he was told the bus was bought around 2.9million/2.8million and that he was still doing the total calculation.
The committee also confirmed on the website of PigeonpostNews Agency where the financial secretary disclosed to and was quoted by the Agency through the editor Bamidele Williams that the price of the bus was N2.9 million naira. Students can visit the agency website to confirm this. It must be noted that it was after the heated uproar and agitations from students on campus over the bus scandal that led to the president Dr Ibk later confessing at Awo hall that the bus is N2.5million and after which the fin sec reversed his earlier positions and released a receipt of N2.5 million. With the above assertions by the three respective parties, an intent to defraud the union of about N400,000 cannot be ruled out, this also poses threats to the future safety of the union funds.
EXTRAVAGANCE/ MISMANAGEMENT OF FUNDS
Here, it was gathered by the committee from Omisakin that the bus to be purchased was very dirty and the dealer demanded from the union there was need to pay for washing, in which he claimed that out of the N30,000 naira, the washing was paid for. The irrationality here is that, a seller is supposed to present his goods in good condition and not asking the buyer to pay to put it in a good condition for him, but the reverse was the case. This, one can term as the union being extravagant and resource wasteful or the union was duped on that too.
Also, the findings of the committee above confirmed from different sources to include close-by dealers from Ile-Ife that the price of the bus is below N2.5million. We expect a union to be conservative and resource-managing. Has Dr Ibk and Omisakin decided to mismanage the union dues, painfully paid by mass of Great Ife students?
RECOMMENDATIONS;
The SRC and mass of great Ife students should take critical positions where necessary based on the report of the committee.
The house should summon all parties indicted in the committee report for testimony, particularly the release on the website of pigeon post news agency where the financial secretary was quoted saying the bus price was N2.9 million naira; the sports director and the ASG of the union be invited for the assertion of similar price as told to them by the financial secretary, A position should be taken on intent to defraud.
The president and fin sec of the union should be summoned on the account of mismanagement of funds/ extravagance
We shall overcome!
OLONINIRAN GBENGA VON
member,
Investigating Committee on bus purchase.
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