The FCT High Court 33, Gwarimpa, Abuja, presided over by Hon Justice M. A. Hassan listened with pin-drop silence and disbelief when a prosecution witness, Dr Kelly Nwagha told the court that the then Minister of Labour and Employment, Sen. Dr. Chris Ngige showed him the communication from the Presidency via the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF) and Chief of Staff (CoS) to the President approving suspension of some officers of the fund including Bayo Somefun, the Managing Director (MD)/CEO, three (3) Executive Directors respectively of Administration, Operations, and Finance and Investment amongst others. This situation he said resulted in his appointment as the Acting MD/CEO of the fund from July 2020 to June 2021 being the most senior officer in the fund. 

He was led in evidence by Sylvanus Tahir (SAN), the EFCC lead prosecuting counsel.

The court went into death silence and astonishment when under cross examination by the defence counsel PIN Ikwueto (SAN), Dr Nwagha reading from his earlier statement to EFCC said he did no procurement activity for the 11 months he acted. When questioned further, he admitted that he leased 3 offices for NSITF in Abuja and the states without subjecting the exercise to tender processes.

He admitted that it required a procurement process which he did not do while leasing those offices for the fund. Pressed further, he admitted that he did not involve the new procurement officer, one Mohammed Abubabkar posted by the BPP to assist the fund in replacement of Engineer Lawal who was suspended. He further told the court that he leased the properties after negotiations in collaboration with some officers in the fund but that it was done without the Parastatals’ Tenders Board nor the Ministerial Tenders Board due to the urgent need of those offices.

He therefore agreed with the defence counsel that his statement to the EFCC that he and Mr Abubakar were not allowed to do their work was untrue. The defence informed him that he was the one that precluded Mr Abubakar from doing his work and therefore lied that he did not conduct any procurement during his stint as acting MD/CEO. When pressed further by prosecution to say the total amount of the procurement exercise, he said he left the fund 2 years ago and cannot remember.

He further admitted under cross-examination that he was aware of the Presidential Joint Audit and Investigation Panel on Breaches in the NSITF in the areas of financial regulations and procurement, and unlike his earlier statement to the EFCC, it was not set up by the Minister of Labour, but by the President via the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF). When asked, he admitted that the Presidency was bigger than the Ministry and BPP. Dr Nwagha had earlier in his statement read a letter to him by the BPP where the BPP declined his application sending some officers for training to replace the ones in the procurement department who had been redeployed in consonance with the presidential directive. He admitted that it was wrong for the BPP to assume that the Ministry unilaterally and forcefully took over procurement from the NSITF.

On why he could not contain that wrong belief contained in the letter by the BPP as per the letter tendered by the prosecution through him, he claimed that he expected the board or the ministry to do so. On further cross examination, he admitted that the Minister invited and gave him to read, correspondence from Chief of Staff of the President on necessary approvals on the issue from the Presidential Joint Audit and Investigation Panel that while the newly deployed officers were being trained, the Procurement of the NSITF be transferred to the Ministry for 12 calendar months. 

On threshold of the rents paid to the vendors and property owners which is a form of consultancy in procurement, he said he could not remember and promised to look through his records.

The court then adjourned till 21st April 2026 for further cross-examination of this witness and other witnesses. 

Ngige is being tried by what the EFCC alleges was giving undue advantage to win 11 contracts by 5 companies of his political associates totalling 2.1 billion naira even though the companies had tendered and bided for the contracts, and successfully executed the contracts without abandoning them.