In response to the petition written by the former gubernatorial candidate of All Progressive Grand Alliance APGA against the former Commissioner for Environment Mukhtar Muhammad Lugga which was published by Thunder Blowers Online News Medium, the Commissioner reached out to the medium and share his own side of the story.
Below is the full version of his response to Alh Sani Abdullahi Shinkafi:
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The Possessed Rooster: Zakkarra Mai Rawar Yan Bori!
RE: ZAMFARA APGA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE PETITIONS EFCC OVER ALLEGED MISMANAGEMENT OF N261, 121,280:00 BY IMMEDIATE PAST COMMISSINER FOR ENV. & SOLID MINERALS
My attention has yet again been drawn to another round of unsubstantiated allegation against my person by the Special Adviser to His Excellency on ‘Petition Matters’ Malam Sani Shinkafi, erstwhile APGA Gubernatorial Candidate of APGA, Chief Complainant, Prosecutor and Judge.
In what appears to be another bout of Media trial, the hatchet man has made damming accusations on the past Administration’s business partnership with a Chinese Company for joint Prospecting, Exploration, Mining and Processing of solid minerals in and State at several locations including Maru, Wanu and Damri and also the setting up of a Small Scale Mining Processing Centre in Kwali, in Bukkuyum Local Government.
The problem with a lie is once you tell one, you have to tell 10 more to cover the first one. And if you’re uncoordinated, loud and blinded by hatred, greed and envy like our star witness, you tend to forget a lot of the things you have said earlier and instead end up with a bunch of contradictory statements that will forever not add up.
Late last year precisely in October, the same ‘whistle inhaler’ wrote and presented a petition to the EFCC office in Sokoto in which he claimed the same Chinese Partner through a non existent Company with the name of SHENZHEN ENGINEERING LTD conived with one Usman Kaura in misappropriating the sum of 600 Million Naira through the same Ministry of Environment during the tenure of the last administration. He went further to state in that same petition of October last year to the EFCC that:
“Only structural foundations were dug in Wano and a few rooms constructed in Maru whilst the 2 said sites have been abandoned with no trace of trucks, laboratory (or related equipment), drilling rigs and other exploration equipment supposedly imported and supplied to the state government.”
My questions to the Special Adviser are:
1) What has changed from October 2019 to now that has significantly altered his opinion from the above statement to the current petition of June 2020 in which he stated that “even though the project was paid 100% the contractor refused to mobilize to the site of the project to commence the mineral exploration as contained in the contract agreement signed with the Ministry of Justice on behalf of Zamfara State Government and he vanished for the past eight (8) years he is no where to be found.”
2) How was “Contractor” (?) able to put up structural foundations in Wano and also construct few rooms in Maru (according to your 2019 petition) when you claim that he hasn’t mobilized as at June 2020?
3) How does a ”Contractor” abandon a site in 2019 which he hasn’t mobilized to in 2020?
4) Why does the Petitioner insist on referring to the Chinese as “Contractor” when indeed he is a Shareholder and Partner in the business even though a minority one? Is the word Contractor same as Shareholder/Partner?
5) The seasoned Petitioner also claimed in his current petition of June 2020 that the “Contractor vanished for the 8 years he is no where to be found.” If that is true how come the “Contractor” was able to write and deliver letters of complain on the Petitioner as well as project status reports to the Office the Executive Governor through the Permanent Secretary Ministry of Justice and Ministry of Environment and Solid Minerals Devt on the 3rd and 23rd October 2019? (See attached receipt copies) It is also known fact, the Partner met and had a one on one discussion on the Project with His Excellency Mattawale at his HE’s residence in Abuja sometime in September 2019.
6) How much money has the Government been swindled? Is it 600 Million or N261,121,780 or 262,127,280? His sum of phase 1 and 2 is short by N6,000! So much for an Accountant!
For the records while waiting for a summon from the EFCC I wish to make the following clarification for the benefit of those captive social media audience of this confused youngman who he seem hell bent on impressing notwithstanding whose image he tarnishes in the process. It is my hope my overview will assist the ‘jury’ in this media trial in putting things into proper perspective before passing their judgement.
1) First of all, the idea of a joint partnership between the State and the Chinese SHENZHEN INVESTMENT GROUP was conceived and signed on August 9th 2011, a few days before my appointment as Commissioner. I reported to Ministry of Environment on the 16th of Aug 2011. (See attached Annex A).
So if I have not been appointed as a Commissioner when the agreement was signed in 2011, why is the Petitioner asking the EFCC to invite me for questioning on my role on the award of the contract when I did not infact play any role in either the negotiations, drafting or signing of the agreement?
2) The total project cost was valued at USD 40 Million or N6,560,000,000 (@ 164 to 1 USD) and not N261,121,280 (USD 1,400,000) as erroneously written in Mai Zakkara’s petition. With the equity contribution split at 70/30 in favour of Zamfara State Government, it therefore brought the total 70% share contribution of Zamfara to the Project to the sum of N4, 592,000,000! So in other words even if we are to go by the Petitioner’s shallow assumption that the total sum of N261,121,780 (by the way his calculation was wrong) equivalent to USD 1,600,000 was paid as full payment for phase 1 and 2, then it means the total contribution of the State Government to the total project is so far less than 8% of the total value of the venture as signed in 2011!
3) In May 2012 SHENZHEN EXPLORATION AND MINERALS LTD was registered with the CAC as a Limited Liability Company and issued duly with a certificate of Incorporation. In my capacity as Commissioner in charge of mining sector, I was made the representative of the 70 percent interest of the State alongside other Directors mainly Commissioners of sister Ministries. It is still unclear why the Petitioner of all the several options of settling disputes in the Company’s Article of Association ended up at EFCC. Ko don ya rena su ne? Doubt if he realizes that as majority shareholders, the State is actually the real party on trial here not even the Partner.
3) I still cant understand how the Petitioner can lie about things like equipment, cranes and drilling machines as some of these items are still packed in front of the administrative block of the abandoned Brightway Complex in Damba. There is a complete inventory of all imported items in the Ministry’s record and most likely at the Surveyors Office in Ministry of Finance. Thank God I have saved copies of invoices, Ports clearance documents and duty payments in case of days like these.
4) At the peak of our operation SHENZHEN had more than 20 Chinese expatriates working in several sites as per the plan. Apart from Maru operation that was interrupted as a result of Mineral title issues, we very much had presence at virtually all the sites. We were able to submit preliminary report on the Damri Copper site to the then Executive Governor on the 2nd of January 2014. (See attached) By June 2014, condensed reports of Wanu, Kwali was also submitted to the Executive Governor. (Attached)
I can state without any fear of contradictions that our operation remains the most ambitious ever taken in the solid minerals development of the State. We could have achieved much more with the right support. At the level we have reached so far there is more than enough for subsequent administrations to build on.
Finally I still stand by my earlier diagnosis of this individual’s condition. Even though envy remains his main propulsion, his ulterior motive is far more sinister, even for someone with a relatively low IQ level as displayed by the inconsistencies of his submissions.
Allah ka bashi lafiya ya kuma yayye mai wagga lallura.
Hon Mouktar Lugga
Wamban Maru
June 2020
