“Jonathan’s Cousin Not Part of N27b PHCN Scam”

Posted by African Examiner Featured, Latest Headlines, News Thursday, January 4th, 2018

(AFRICAN EXAMINER) – Kakatar Construction and Engineering Ltd and its Managing Director, Azibaola Robert are not part of any scam involving alleged diversion of monies allegedly meant to settle insurance premium of sacked PHCN workers, the company’s spokesman Mr. Austin Ekeinde has said.

Ekheinde made the clarification against allegations that Kakatar CE Ltd. was part of an alleged diversion of insurance premium payments of PHCN workers.

Speaking with reporters in Abuja, Ekeinde said “ an affidavit deposed to by an officer of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for a forfeiture order clearly misrepresented the facts.

“The truth is that Kakatar CE took a N2.5 billion facility from Bestworth Insurance Brokers Limited to fund a federal government contract we won to provide infrastructure for Kyami District, Abuja,” said Ekeinde.

“On 12th December, 2014, Kakatar CE got an award letter for a contract to provide engineering infrastructure for Kyami District which we were required to move to site to commence work immediately.

“As we were unable to secure a favourable credit facility from any commercial bank, Bestworth Insurance offered to provide us a project execution facility with mutually agreed terms upon which we moved to site immediately.

“Unfortunately the Federal Government has been unable to pay its statutory mobilization sum of over N7.5b due to Kakatar CE.

“However, sometime last year, EFCC invited us that they were investigating Bestworth for alleged diversion of insurance premiums of PHCN workers. That was how our N2.5 billion facility became an issue. There is no law which says a corporate organisation cannot take a facility from another corporate organization.

“On the basis of documentary evidence the EFCC requested that the facility be repaid to it to enable it recoup the payment to Bestworth. It was on that basis that we commenced repayment through the EFCC to Besthworth. This has nothing clearly to do with any scam or fraud in that matter.

As a good corporate citizens we have adhered to the terms of the agreement reached with EFCC even though the federal government has failed to pay to us its obligations on the Kyami project for which we took the loan,” narrated Kakatar spokesman.

“I can say without fear of contradiction that Kakatar CE had no knowledge of Bestworth Insurance source of funds and had no need of probing its legality as it is a legally registered insurance company. It was purely a business transaction to help us execute a contract to open up Kyami district,” Ekeinde stated.

“It is therefore wrong and misleading to link Kakatar CE, a most patriotic indigenous engineering construction company, and its MD, to skim off any insurance premiums of PHCN workers”, Ekeinde declared.

Azibaola Robert is a cousin of ex President Goodluck Jonathan. A sworn affidavit for forfeiture order filled at the High Court by an officer of EFCC alleged that his company, Kakatar CE was involved in illegal payments of premium of PHCN workers which the company disputes.