Contractor’s Integrity Shines: N30.6 Million Refunded After Erroneous Double Payment By Humanitarian Ministry

Contractor Integrity Shines: N30.6 Million Refunded After Erroneous Double Payment By Humanitarian Ministry

In a display of remarkable integrity, long-time Federal Government contractor James Okwete has returned the sum of N30,604,651.16 to the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs after inadvertently receiving double payment for a completed contract during the tenure of former Minister Sadiya Umar-Farouq……READ ALSO Federal Ministry Reveals: 88.4 Million Nigerians Endure Extreme Poverty

Documents obtained by Punch shed light on the sequence of events, revealing that the payment pertained to a contract worth N35 million for the “Design and Development of N-Knowledge Training Manuals for N-Hardware Beneficiaries North-Central (Lot B17).”

Awarded to Okwete’s company, Adatech Integrated Services Limited, on December 29, 2020, under the N-Power program, the procurement involved the development and printing of training manuals. However, an oversight led to the erroneous double payment.

Following the discovery, a letter dated April 27, 2021, from the National Social Investment Programme notified Adatech of the overpayment and requested the refund of N30,604,651.16.

True to their commitment to ethical conduct, Adatech promptly acknowledged the error and pledged to return the excess funds.

Subsequently, on October 13, 2021, Adatech Integrated Services Ltd facilitated the reimbursement of the entire sum through a remita payment, underscoring their commitment to transparency and accountability in government dealings.