A review of the federal government’s public payments platform, Govspend, by Chronicles Reporters has shown that Swanty 16 Kitchen, a recently incorporated company, secured contracts valued at N215 million from the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) less than a year after its registration.
Documents from the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) confirm that Swanty 16 Kitchen Enterprise was formally registered on March 15, 2023. Yet, within just a few months, the firm began receiving high-value contracts from the FRSC.
Barely four months after incorporation, on July 12, 2023, the company was awarded a contract worth N36.74 million for the “Provision of catering services for the feeding of trainees at FRSC training camp, Kontagora, Niger State, for the month of June 2023.”
The description of the project suggests the job was executed in June, meaning payment was made for work carried out only three months after the company was established.
Further records show that on August 8, 2023, Swanty 16 Kitchen received another payment of N54.362 million for the “Feeding of FRSC trainees at military facilities, Kontagora, Niger State, for July 2023.”
In addition, the FRSC disbursed N52.8 million to the company for “Provision of catering services for trainees and directing staff at Army training centre, Kontagora, Niger State, for the month of August 2023.”
By October 5, 2023, the agency made another payment of N59.2 million for catering services in the same Kontagora camp. Barely a week later, on October 12, the firm received N11.9 million more.
This brings the total amount awarded to Swanty 16 Kitchen to N215 million within just seven months of its registration.
What has raised eyebrows is how the company was able to meet the stringent requirements of the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) Act, despite being newly registered. According to the Act, eligible firms must show evidence of compliance with tax obligations, pensions, and social security contributions.
Observers note that it would be nearly impossible for a company only three months old to present such documentation, yet Swanty 16 Kitchen received a N36.7 million contract by June.
Checks by Chronicles Reporters revealed that details of the company’s beneficial owners are not available on the CAC registry, and no digital trace of the firm could be found online.
Reacting to the development, legal practitioner Awosusi Kehinde described the situation as a “financial sham.” He stressed that for any firm to win a federal contract, it must present a valid tax clearance certificate, which a three-month-old company could not have obtained.
“A tax clearance certificate reflects returns for at least a financial year, which this company could not possibly have met,” Kehinde said.
He further explained that beyond tax clearance, federal contractors are also expected to provide a pensions certificate and documentation from the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF).
“The question is: how did a company that was barely months old meet these requirements and still secure multimillion-naira contracts?” he asked.
Kehinde insisted that the case points to a possible violation of procurement laws, warning that such practices undermine transparency in public contracting.
“It is extremely difficult to bypass the provisions of the law in this area, which makes this situation questionable,” he concluded while speaking to Chronicles Reporters.
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