Businessman Dr. Cosmas Maduka says his company supplied vehicles to a former Plateau State governor’s administration. The twist? They wanted him to inflate the invoices, and by a lot.
He put out a statement on [date]. His firm delivered the vehicles exactly as ordered, he explained. But people linked to the ex-governor told him to raise the price from roughly N40 million to N80 million apiece. “The former Governor of Plateau State wanted us to supply vehicles and we delivered vehicles, but they wanted me to inflate invoices of vehicles of N40 million to N80 million,” he said. “Have you heard that any Senator or House of Assembly member came to buy vehicles from us?”
Maduka heads a group with interests across several sectors, including car distribution. He flatly denied that his company ever sold vehicles to members of the National Assembly or state Houses of Assembly. The push to inflate the invoices, he argued, was simply a way to hide who was really getting the contracts.
Charging well above market value to generate extra cash is an old trick anti-corruption groups keep calling out. Maduka’s claim feeds straight into the bigger worries about how transparent state buying processes actually are.
No one from the former governor’s office answered our requests for comment. We tried the governor’s staff by phone and email on [day] without success. When we contacted a representative for Dr. Maduka, they refused to hand over any documents backing the inflation allegation.
The story leaves several questions hanging. Who exactly demanded the higher prices? Did anyone file those padded invoices and get them paid? If so, who signed off and who pocketed the difference? And did the usual procurement rules and checks simply get ignored?
People working against graft argue that if the claim holds up it would point to the same stubborn gaps in state buying controls. “Procurement padding is a recurrent problem,” said [Name], a governance specialist at [NGO]. “Allegations like this should be promptly and transparently investigated by the relevant authorities, including the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) or the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).”
Nigerian rules call for competitive bids, solid paperwork, and proof that goods arrived and payments matched. Yet watchers say the weak spots keep coming down to lax enforcement and quiet deals between officials and vendors.
Maduka himself called on anyone holding real evidence to step forward. He asked again: “Have you heard that any Senator or House of Assembly member came to buy vehicles from us?”
We contacted the anti-corruption agencies to find out if any formal complaint has been lodged and whether they plan to investigate. No response had been received at the tim
