
From Tom Garba, Yola
A Yola High Court before Judge Nathan Musa has sentenced former Governor of Adamawa state, Bala James Ngilari, to five years imprisonment without option or fine.
Ngilari was convicted by the court for illegally procuring 25 units operational vehicles (Toyota Hilux) for his former commissioners at the cost of about 167,812,500 while he was governor of the state from 2014-2015 without following procurement process of the Bureau for Public Procurement, a statutory body established by laws of Adamawa state to vet contracts.
The former governor was dragged to Yola High court by the Economic and Financial Crimes commission (EFCC) through a complaint by the state authorities over the violation of the procurement process in a contract he awarded to a private firm, Al-Yadim Limited, for the purchased of the 25 vehicles.
However the court discharged and acquitted former Secretary to the State Government Mr Ibrahim Andrew Welye and Finance Commissioner, Mr Jonathan Sanda Lamurde, as they acted in the illegal Procurement process based on directives from Ngilari.
Judge Musa, in a two hour judgment asserted that though Ngilari had a procurement entity as backed by law, he did not subject the procurement of the 25 vehicles through the ministerial tenders Board of the ministry of finance and budget, and the contractor has no bank guarantee as well as performance bond as enshrined in the 2013 laws of the BPP of Adamawa State nor obtain any waiver from the bureau.
The judge added that Ngilari jettisoned the procurement procedure to a law that was signed by a governor in 2013 when he was a deputy governor.
After citing some relevant sections of the law, the court Musa sentenced Ngilari to five years imprisonments without option of fine.
However, the former governor Bala, in an emotional comment after the verdict said he had given glory to God for everything that came his way.
Attorney General of the state, Bala Sanga, said the judgement would serve as a detriment to other governors and political office holders.
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