The Nation newspaper of 7th October, 2010 suddenly became ‘a must read’ at the Club house of the IBB Golf Club. What’s new? A member asked from a distance and the other quipped “the country is probing the Nigeria @ celebration and it must be extended to the Club”.
The Nation newspaper of 7th October, 2010 suddenly became ‘a must read’ at the Club house of the IBB Golf Club. What’s new? A member asked from a distance and the other quipped “the country is probing the Nigeria @ celebration and it must be extended to the Club”.
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According to the Minister of Information and Communication, the President has ordered the celebration’s financial transactions probe in the spirit of transparency and accountability.
The Federal Government extended the Nigeria @ 50 celebration to the Club and accordingly gave the Club the sum of N30 million to organize golf and tennis tournaments and dinners. Besides, the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation gave the Club N20 million and the Club made available N8 million for the celebration; all in an effort to ensure a world class celebration for the golfers in Nigeria and the international community. With the sum of N58 million, only the best was expected but certainly not the case. Why? It was an opportunity to epitomize corruption by the Club captain and his cohort, Fatai Brimmo.
How was this corruption perpetrated? The Club captain, “Professor” Bola Afolabi, contrary to the Club’s constitution and refusal of most Executive Committee members, set up a Nigeria @ 50 committee and appointed Brimmo its chairman. For the avoidance of doubt, the Club’s constitution section 8.6 states the “the House and Social Officer shall be responsible for the promotion, sales, social activities, maintenance and security of the Clubhouse premises and its environs as well as the control of the Clubhouse staff”. But alas, only the House and Social Committee chairman, Mr Joe Nyam, who has proved to be grossly incompetent, timid and to be the Captain’s stooge, made the Committee membership. In fact, the House and Social Officer, Mr Joe Nyam was only a passive member of the Brimmo Committee. When confronted by members of the Club on the shoddy nature of the programme booklet and corruption charge, he retorted “my brother, no blame me, my hand no dey o!
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Any time I asked Brimmo question on this celebration, he would say that he is working on the captain’s instructions”. In the well known characteristics of Mr Fatai Brimmo, who was sacked from the Kaduna golf club and the Petroleum
Company he incorporated with some people in a crime related case, went to work. Firstly, he made the committee affairs a one-man show leading to open complaints by the members and trying to exonerate themselves before the bubble will bursted. As expected, Nanwor Mamven resigned, A.G. Ibrahim, Hon S. A. Ihiabe, A. S. Abubakar and Christie Adejoh distanced themselves from the Committee work. Mr Clement Chinaka (Brimmo’s errand boy and who was not an appointed committee member, no matter his claim, as his name never appeared in the programme booklet) and Kayode Ahmodu took their complaints to town, inside the golf course and tennis section; but as shameless and unprincipled men, they were lured back with a bribe of N150,000 each allegedly given to them by Brimmo on the instruction of “Professor” Afolabi. All attempts to bribe Nanwor proved abortive hence Brimmo’s recent threats to deal with her if she brings the issue to the next AGM as she is threatening.
In order to achieve his nefarious aim, “Professor”Afolabi single handedly empowered Brimmo to handle the events and disbursement of the funds, thereby breaching the Club’s constitution. The payment cheques were issued on Brimmo’s name instead of on the names of the Contractors who executed the projects. This means that Brimmo did most of the contracts, quoting names of non-existing contractors. Whereas the Club constitution section 9.3 says that “. . . disbursement made by the Honorary Treasurer shall be on the authority of the Executive Committee”. Most members of the Executive Committee have not only claimed ignorance of the disbursements but also have criticized the idea of issuing cheques to Brimmo instead to the Contractors who did the job and without raising the necessary voucher(members have sworn that if Debo (the accountant) raises and backdates the required vouchers, with biometric auditing that will be deployed, he will simply work into jail). Of course, as a one-man committee, the jobs became too hectic for him but since nobody should know what he was doing, he continued and messed the management of the event up. So messed up was the celebrations in the Club that invited Golfers from Achimota Golf Club complained openly and bitterly. For example, all dinners and entertainments during the events were served around 11pm when people, out frustration, had their meals at their own expenses or left the Club with annoyance. All the tournament materials were nothing to write home about. The programme booklet simply put the Club to shame. The Chairman of the BOT, General Domkat Bali (spelt Donkad Baly), who was to chair one of the occasions had his name so messed up that he had to leave the venue before it started. So were the names of Afolabi, Deshi, Jimmada (spelt Afobi, deshi, jimmada), etc. The Captain’s speech was so horribly typed to the extent that all the grammatical syntax, structure and tenses left much to be desired. The programme booklet was such a shame that Brimmo, the Captain, Joe Nyam, the club manger, (the evil master planner) and Debo were openly seen running helter skater retrieving the booklets from the tables they were placed. Afolabi was so pissed off that he was heard openly cursing me thus “you have messed me up. What type of programme booklet is this? Am highly disappointed in you. Just go away from me. Your greed is extra ordinary). Of course, the printer Mr Chollom, who insisted that the booklet must not be printed, got Brimmo to sign the dummy before it was printed contrary to his professional advice and has repeatedly vowed to exonerate himself before members once the need arises by opening up. Brimmo while taking responsibility for the poor job, boasted that “nothing will happen; at worst some members of the BOT will be sorted out and that will end the case”. These cutting of corners were done to save money for Brimmo and Afolabi. More worrisome is the habit of Afolabi, as a Procurement expert (past world president of Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply) who has been boasting that he will soon take over as the Director General of Bureau of Public Procurement, courtesy of the Yayale Ahmed, the Secretary to the Federal Government, will descend so low to make money at the expense of the Club, Nigeria and profession at that critical period.
Initially, Brimmo refused to submit the report of the celebration as is usual with the Club event. But with the threats by most of the members of the executive committee, of which he is not a member, he has just published what a member of the Exco simply referred as “concoction of illegalities and illogicalities” whose analysis will be brought to the open during the Presidential probe of the Nigeria @ 50 and/or club AGM. As if members of the Club do not know the worth of the event sponsorships, the budget and the expenditure, Brimmo has published and placed an insulting report on the Club’s notice board. In the said report, he claimed that all the sponsors gave the Club N14,780,000, the approved budget at N22,148,205, total expenditure N17,944,195,Club contribution to the event N3,206,070 and amount saved for the Club at 4,204,000. However, the nagging questions remain, from documented club records (not concocted and published record) what are the names of the sponsors that gave the club money and what sums?, how much did the Federal Government gave the Club?, on whose names were the cheques for the payments issued?, if on Brimmo’s name instead of the Contractors, why?, why did most members distanced themselves from the kangaroo’s Committee, why did Nanwor resign?, why were Kayode Ahmodu and Clement Chinaka shouting foul and later joined in the Committee’s work?, why did General Domkat Bali stormed out from the event he was to chair? These are some of the questions “professor” Afolabi and Brimmo must provide answers to to the said Panel, EFCC, ICPC, and at the EGM and/or AGM. In spite of this exposed corruption, Brimmo has been boasting that “this is Nigeria, we know how best to die any case. Is it not human beings that will investigate the case. Certainly, it is money and not my head it will take”.
In the opinion of the Club members, the probe of Nigeria @ 50 is a welcome idea, especially, as it concerns IBB Golf club. Why? The money advanced to the Club by the Government is public fund, whose expenditure is subject to the provisions of the Public Procurement Act, 2007; moreso, where the procurement processes have been shamelessly abused by the claimed expert and Captain of the Club. Also, the Club’s rules and regulations and processes of contract management have been flagrantly abused. In the spirit of transparency, accountability, due process and quest for higher call for duty, members are calling the panel set up by the Federal Government of Nigeria to investigate the Nigeria @ 50, to extend their investigation to IBB golf Club Nigeria @ 50 Committee immediately. Also, the EFCC and ICPC should immediately step in and thoroughly investigate the squandering of N58 million of public fund at the IBB Club by “Professor” Bola Afolabi and Mr Fatai Brimmo. Besides, members are of the opinion that Afolabi should gracefully resign before the impending Emergency General Meeting to pass a vote of no confidence on him and some of his EXCO members who aided this criminal act against the Club, Nigeria, Nigerians and members of the International Community who were at the Club at that period to celebrate with us. For Brimmo, obviously, he must be dismissed the way he was dismissed from the Kaduna Club and the Oil Company he was involved with before he brings national and international disgrace to the country. A word is enough for the wise.
Mallam Abdullmalik Bala
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