ICPC QUIZZES TETFUND’S BOSS, ECHONO, OVER ALLEGED FRAUD

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has questioned Sonny Echono, Executive Secretary of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), over alleged theft.

Demola Bakare, the ICPC spokesman, confirmed this on Friday in Abuja.
Bakare revealed that Echono was invited and held by the anti-graft bureau on Thursday over a suspicious N7.6 billion project.

Bakare told TheCable that Echono is still in the agency’s custody and that an investigation into the fraud claims is ongoing.

He said, “The Executive Secretary of TETFund is here with us. He has been invited for questioning. He is still in custody. He was invited yesterday.

“He was invited on Thursday. He has not been released. He’s still with us. Investigation is still ongoing.”

It should be noted that TETfund issued two contracts to Fides Et Ratio Academy and Pole Global Marketing (PGM) within two months at a cost of N3.8 billion each, without the approval of the federal executive council (FEC), which is necessary for the contract size.

The contract was to provide capacity-building courses and learning management systems to around 2 million students from the country’s higher education institutions.

In a response, TETFund stated that it did not grant N7.6 billion contracts to two companies without due process.

The agency stated that it was incorrect to describe them as contracts, as they were ICT projects carried out under a memorandum of understanding (MoU), which does not need competitive bidding in public procurement.

TETFund’s payout parameters were approved by the president based on recommendations from the Board of Trustees and the Honourable Minister of Education, in accordance with the TETFund Act of 2011.

Echono responded by stating that the N7.6 billion project was free of any irregularities.