The National Centre for Agricultural Mechanisation (NCAM) located in Ilorin, Kwara State, has featured prominently on the list of government agencies that was used by the National Assembly to award bogus contracts in the 2024 budget.
Eng. Kamal Abdulgafar Rasheed is the Executive Director of the centre.
The latest discovery shows that various contracts such as building of office for the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), support for traditional rulers among others to the tune of N2,740,454,545 was awarded in the name of the research government agency, BudgIT has revealed.
The practice which is now known as budget padding is one of the questionable ways lawmakers deploy to get funds from the government, by inserting projects to be implemented in their constituencies. In most cases, the projects are poorly done or non-existent.
NCAM is a research institute under the Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria (ARCN), an agency of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (FMAFS), with the mandate to “mechanize Nigerian Agriculture through innovative research that will lead to the development of simple and low-cost technologies for removing drudgery in farming and processing of agricultural produce.”
Contrary to its mandate, the capital projects under in the name of NCAM include:
1) Wike road extension (Enwe Wike/Tombia extension, Rumuepirikom, Port Harcourt, Rivers State: N150,000,000
2) Ogwua/Donny/Worgumati Road extension, Rumueme Kingdom, Port Harcourt, Rivers State: N150,000,000
3) Ngeche/Rochi/ACM road, Oginigba town, Rivers State: N100,000,000
4) Renovation of Umuroke town hall in Omuma local government area of Rivers state: N100,000,000
5) Construction of solar street light in Tonwei street, Korokorosei community, SILGA, Bayelsa Central Senatorial District of Bayelsa State: N1,500,000,000
6) Provision and installation of solar street lights in communities in Adamawa State: N120,000,000
7) Provision of solar street lights in various locations in Amakpu-Amata-Ubegu Ihie of Ebonyi State: N10,000,000
8) Provision of tricycles to youths in Akinyele/Lagelu federal constituency in Oyo State: N100,000,000
9) Completion of Erena Islamic centre in Shiroro/Rafi/Munya federal constituency of Niger State: N45,454,545
10) Construction of examination hall at Kisi Community Grammar School, Kisi, Oyo State for N90,000,000
11) Construction of FRSC office in Igboho, Orelope LGA of Oyo State: N35,000,000
12) Construction and renovation of selected schools in Badagry federal constituency, Lagos State: N100,000,000
13) Support for traditional rulers and chiefs: N40,000,000
14) Provision and installation of all-in-one integrated solar-powered street light in Ilesha community for the sum of N100,000,000
15) Construction of Unuanyagu-Okorougo-Odagawa Ishimiri road for N100,000,000
The National Centre for Agricultural Mechanization is one of the agencies being used by the National Assembly for budget padding. The Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria (CRIN) and Federal College of Agricultural Produce Technology (FCAPT) Kano, were used for a similar scheme under the capital projects of the 2024 Budget.