Ngige Awarded NSITF Contract to Company that Didn’t Participate in Bidding Process – Witness
Abuja, January 28, 2026
The first prosecution witness, PW1, Mr. Pedro Torwuese Chellen, on Wednesday told a Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court sitting in Gwarimpa, Abuja, that a company which was awarded the contract for the renovation of the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) Makurdi office did not participate in the bidding process.
Mr. Chellen, an entrepreneur and project manager of Imanil Haq Nigeria Limited, testified in the ongoing trial of a former Governor of Anambra State and former Minister of Labour, Chris Ngige. The court is presided over by Justice M. A. Hassan.
Led in evidence by prosecution counsel, Sylvanus Tahir, SAN, the witness stated that the renovation contract, valued at N80 million (Eighty Million Naira only), was awarded to a company that never submitted a bid when the project was advertised.
He told the court that after discovering the alleged irregularity, his company briefed its lawyers to petition the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). According to him, following the petition, he was invited by the EFCC, where his statements were taken. He identified the petition and the attached bid documents in court, which were subsequently admitted in evidence as Exhibit P1.
In his testimony, Mr. Chellen narrated that his company applied for the contract and duly participated in the bidding process after the project was advertised in national newspapers. He said that after his company lost the bid, he wrote to the management of NSITF requesting details regarding the award of the contract, but received no response.
He further explained that he escalated the matter to the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), where it was revealed to him that the contract was awarded to a company that did not take part in the bidding exercise.
During cross-examination by defence counsel, P. I. N. Ikwueto, SAN, the witness disclosed that his petition was directed against the management board of the NSITF. He added that he also complained about the alleged change in the title of the project from “Renovation of Makurdi Office” to “Construction of Makurdi Office.”
According to him, the initial contract sum of N80 million was later increased to N120 million (One Hundred and Twenty Million Naira only) by the management board of the NSITF.
While acknowledging that he made his statement to the EFCC in 2023, Mr. Chellen told the court that there was massive corruption within the NSITF. He also admitted that he never attended any management meeting of the NSITF board, but said he later learned through media reports that the board was subsequently reconstituted.
Justice Hassan adjourned the matter to January 29, 2026, for continuation of trial.
