By SADIQ ABUBAKAR, Maiduguri-
The Committee on Evacuation, Repairs and Auction of Grounded/Unserviceable Government Vehicles, Plants and Equipment which was inaugurated on the 16 of July, 2020 by the Borno State Government, has presented its final report to the Acting Secretary to the State Government, Danjuma Ali.
While presenting the report on Friday, the Committee Chairman, Engr. Lawan Abba Wakilbe noted that the committee since its inauguration, identified and recovered 1,610 items belonging to both the State and Local Government Areas.
Out of the identified items, forty (40) items mostly trucks, ambulances, buses and double cabin Toyota pick-up vehicles were returned back to the government for repairs and re-use. A total of 1,561 items were auctioned off to the general public between 25 November, 2020 to 9 December, 2020.
The committee chairman also stated that the auction process was in full adherence with the laid down guidelines of the Borno State Bureau on Public Procurement (BPP) laws on the sales of public property.
Furthermore, Financial Memorandum (FM) 34:32 was applied in the valuation of items because most of the items sold were either scrap or obsolete.
A total auction proceed of fifty-three million, one hundred and eight thousand, six hundred and eleven naira (N53,108,611) was generated through the Treasury Single Account (TSA) with the Borno State Internal Revenue Service (BOIRS).
Out of this amount, thirty million, four hundred and fifty thousand, two hundred and ninety-five naira (N30,450,295) was for items sold belonging to the Borno State Government while twenty-three million, four hundred and forty-five thousand, three hundred and sixteen naira (N23,445,316) was for items sold, which belongs to various Local Government Areas.
Engr. Wakilbe, further, stated that the committee directly repaired ten (10) numbers of (4×4) double cabin Toyota hilux pick-up trucks and handed them over to the Government on 2nd February, 2021 for re-use.
He also noted that the committee observed some ineffective use of tractors, poor maintenance culture, lack of proper inventory of government properties amongst others in some MDAs and therefore recommended that government should ensure adequate inventory of all government properties, engage in capacity building for transport officers and setup a tractor monitoring committee amongst others.
Receiving the report, the Acting Secretary to the State Government, Danjuma Ali commended the enormous efforts of the committee and congratulated its members for the successful completion of their mandates.
Highlight of the occasion: was the presentation of the report to the Acting Secretary to the Borno State Government.
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