Agric Minister approves N30 million for mosque construction

The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Alhaji Mohammed Nanono, has approved N30 million for the construction of a ‘Friday’ mosque with taxpayers’ funds.

The Kano-born Minister, who was appointed by the President Muhammadu Buhari in 2019 has come under fire on social media following a leaked memo conveying the approval of N30m for the construction of a mosque.

The leaked memo, dated December 10, 2020, with reference number FMA/PROC/AHS/SIP/2020/7742/1, stated that the Ministerial Tenders Board approved the contract.

The document titled, ‘Award of Contract for the Construction of Friday Mosque’ was signed by the Deputy Director, Procurement, Musa Musa on behalf of the minister and was addressed to the Managing Director, El-Shukhur Multi-Buz Nig. Ltd.

It read in part, “I am directed to inform you that the ministerial tenders board at its 7th meeting held on December 7, 2020, approved the award of contract for the construction of Friday mosque to your company at the total sum of N30m only, inclusive of VAT, with a completion period of eight weeks with effect from the date of this letter.

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“You are therefore required to indicate in writing within three days of receipt of this offer, your acceptance to the office of the director, procurement, FMARD, Abuja or otherwise, the offer will be considered lapsed.”

See the memo below:

Meanwhile, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development on Thursday confirmed the leaked memo as being authentic and stressed that it built the mosque for livestock farmers.

It disclosed this in a statement issued by the Director Information, FMARD, Theodore Ogaziechi, adding that the livestock farmers were sacked from their settlements by Boko Haram insurgents in Borno.

It said, “To put the facts straight, the memo is authentic and appropriate in all ramifications.

“It is original and was issued by the ministry for the construction of a worship centre for a community of livestock farmers who were sacked and displaced in Borno State by Boko Haram insurgents and are being resettled in Ngarannam/Mafa Local Government, Borno State.”

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The ministry went ahead to state that apart from the mosque, other common facilities provided for the livestock farmers in the community include solar-powered boreholes with overhead tanks and drinking troughs for their cattle and small ruminants.

“The construction of the mosque was a special request from the community through the Borno State Government to avoid moving too far from the settlement areas for prayers and also to ensure their safety and contact with the insurgents,” the FMARD stated.

It added, “The memo is an official document and it is available for public scrutiny and review. It is therefore unfortunate for anyone to presume that the memo leaked.

“The ministry is in no way perturbed about the matter because it received appropriate approval, carried out due needs assessment, and ensured due process in the execution of the project.”

The document was shared several times on social media eliciting condemnation from several Nigerians.

A former lawmaker, Senator Dino Melaye tweeted, “What! Despite all the challenges facing food security, building a mosque is the Federal Ministry of Agriculture’s priority! To pray for rain or what? How did we get here for Heaven sake? What has the government got to do with churches or mosques?”

Nicholas Oduaran tweeted, “So this is part of the projects the loans the Federal Government is collecting will be used for?”

Obua Uchenna tweeted, “So hilarious and pathetic that the ministry of agric is building a mosque, the mumu wey de this country is mind blowing and it is getting worse.”

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