The food vendor being presented with a Cheque of N7.5 million
By Sule Aliyu, Bauchi
A viral video which has been making the rounds on the social media space since the early morning of Wednesday 26th June 2024, showing a Bauchi-based food vendor in tears, crying out helplessly in respect of a failed catering service obligation to an unsigned contractor which caught the attention of the Governor Bala Abdulkadir Muhammad Kauran Bauchi Jagaban Katagum, the Bauchi state government has paid over N7.5 million to the Bauchi Food vendor.
A statement issued and signed by the Honourable Commissioner, Ministry of Humanitarian and Disaster Management, Hajiya Hajara Yakubu Wanka said “After due diligence that was carried out by the Ministry, the Ministry with the approval of the Governor paid the sum of SEVEN MILLION, FIVE HUNDRED and SIXTEEN THOUSAND NAIRA ONLY (N7,516,000) for the unclaimed food and other miscellaneous expenses incurred by the food vendor, after an initial fact finding investigation.
“The food vendor Aisha Ibrahim of Northern Varieties Restaurant Bauchi in the online video said that she had an agreement which was later found out to be not duly signed, by one Babajide Aiyegbusi, an Admin and Logistics Officer with Malaria Consortium (An International NGO) for the supply of tea break and lunch for participants in an upcoming sensitization training organized by the organization he represents for three (3) LGAs of Bauchi, Alkaleri, and Kirfi in the Southern Senatorial Zone, Bauchi State…
“In the viral video, the food vendor was seen crying while displaying the packaged food, and frantically appealing to well meaning Nigerians to come to her aid by rescuing her through buying the cooked food to enable her pay the debt she incurred in the course of trying to meet up with the unsigned catering obligation…
“As fate would have it the Governor of Bauchi State graciously directed the State Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management to pay for the food and to immediately distribute same to the needy members of the public particularly hospitals, the poor and the vulnerable persons, orphanages and other needy clusters within the Bauchi Metropolis”, she said in the statement.
The Commissioner in the statement further revealed that the she and her dedicated staff promptly implemented the directive by the State chief executive, by paying the food vendor a total sum of Seven Million, Five Hundred And Sixteen Thousand Naira Only (N7,516,000) being the total cost of the food items and other miscellaneous expenses incurred by the vendor and for the immediate distribution of the food to the aforementioned clusters as instructed.
The statement further disclosed that the food vendor’s claim even though paid is still being discreetly investigated by security operatives, while the Commissioner noted with concern that this case was not the first of such in the State.
She urged parties in any transactions to always articulate their dealings in a contractual agreement before commencing the provision of services.
The Commissioner called for an urgent need for more sensitization and strengthening of communication strategy by all Government MDAs, organized private sector and Traditional Institutions for proper understanding and communication between all parties in any business undertaking or any other mutual contractual interaction in order to avoid and forestall future ocurrence.
She also appealed to the media for support in creating the needed awareness on the matter to prevent avoidable losses.