Five ex-commissioners under probe for illegal auctioning of Niger vehicles

FIVE former commissioners in Niger State are under investigation for illegally auctioning vehicles belonging to the state ministries to themselves.

Some past permanent secretaries have also been fingered in the illegal auctioning. The auctioning of Toyota Hilux vans was done on the eve of May 29, it was learnt.

The vehicles were said to have been sold between N150,000 and N350,000 to themselves, friends and family members. The sales were reportedly done without the knowledge of the transport officers or store officers of the affected ministries.

The activities of the commissioners and permanent secretaries were brought to the fore when petitions by some “concerned staff” of the affected ministries were sent to the state government. The workers described the sales of the vehicles as unethical and illegal, saying most of the vehicles were still useful to the ministries.

One of such petitions by the “Concern Staff”, a copy of which was made available to The Nation in Minna, alleged that a commissioner and the permanent secretary connived and auctioned to themselves two Hilux vans belonging to a ministry.

According to the petition, the two Hilux vans were tagged to be “unserviceable” and were auctioned out at the rate of N350,000 each. The petition indicated that the auction was done with complete disregard to due process.