Human rights groups operating under the #SaveGwagz coalition have called on the Chairman of Gwagwalada Area Council, Hon. Kasim Muhammed, to launch a comprehensive investigation into the contract claims made by former APGA chairmanship candidate, Ezekiel Umar Biko, popularly known as Zezelaga, and to publicly disclose the true status of the contracts he alleges were awarded to him during the administration of former Chairman Alhaji Abubakar Jibrin Giri, popularly known as Abu Giri.
The coalition said public interest demands full transparency over the alleged contracts, particularly following previous reports by Chronicles Reporters detailing claims that Biko allegedly served as a middleman in the acquisition of properties and the award of contracts during the previous administration.
According to the earlier report, Biko acknowledged showing houses to the former chairman for purchase. He also claimed that he was awarded a solar contract valued at approximately ₦250 million, alleging that only about ₦50 million was paid while the balance remained outstanding.
However, the coalition expressed concern that despite publicly maintaining that he was owed substantial amounts by the former administration, Biko reportedly failed to appear before the Area Council’s contract and asset verification committee, where contractors were invited to present contract award letters, payment records, project details and other relevant documents for verification before outstanding liabilities could be considered.
According to the groups, Biko neither appeared before the committee nor reportedly submitted any documentation to support his claims, raising questions about why an individual alleging such significant outstanding payments would decline an opportunity to have those claims officially verified.
“If the contracts were genuine, duly awarded and executed, presenting the necessary documents before the verification committee should not have posed any difficulty,” one member of the coalition said.
The groups urged the current administration to make public the records relating to all contracts allegedly awarded to Biko, including contract award letters, bills of quantities, payment vouchers, project locations, certificates of completion and the outcomes of any verification conducted by the council.
Meanwhile, sources familiar with the operations of the previous administration told Chronicles Reporters, on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly, that Biko and former Chairman Abu Giri allegedly benefited from several contract arrangements during the last administration.
The sources further alleged that disagreements later emerged between the two over financial settlements, claiming that Biko subsequently began demanding payment of the outstanding balance of a contract which, according to the sources, was either not fully executed or remains the subject of dispute.
Chronicles Reporters has made efforts to obtain comments from Ezekiel Umar Biko and former Chairman Abu Giri were unsuccessful as of the time of filing this report.
The #SaveGwagz coalition maintained that the controversy underscores the need for a comprehensive audit of contracts awarded during the previous administration, insisting that every contractor with legitimate claims should be able to substantiate them with official records, while any evidence of abuse of public resources should be investigated in accordance with the law.
The coalition added that public confidence in the current administration would be strengthened by a transparent disclosure of the verification exercise and any findings relating to disputed contracts inherited from the previous council leadership.