A witness in the trial of former Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika and his brother, Ahmad Sirika has narrated how the minister allegedly awarded the contract of rehabilitation of Katsina Airport to an unqualified company.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had filed a 10-count charge against the Sirikas for an alleged contract fraud valued at N19.4 billion.
The EFCC alleged that the minister awarded the sums in contracts to Enginos Nigeria Ltd said to belong to his younger brother, Abubakar Sirika, among others.
At the resumed hearing on Monday, a witness, Musa Obinyan told the FCT High Court that the firm awarded the contract, Al Buraq Investment Ltd, lacked the capacity to execute the project.
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Obinyan, who is a retired director in the procurement department of the ministry, said the bidding for the project was not an open and competitive process, adding that payment was sourced for the project.
He noted that the contracts awarded to Alburak and Enginos on the Apron and Terminal of Katsina Airport respectively were captured under two different codes in the budget but appeared in a single code in the procurement department.
In the previous case, Sirika was arraigned alongside his daughter, Fatima Hadi Sirika, his son-in-law, Jalal Sule Hamma and Al Buraq Global Investment Ltd.
The case has been adjourned to March 10 for more hearing.
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