Also, they had to make arrangements for the Special Invitees, Chiefs and
Emirs. It is noted that there is no indication in Exhibit O2 that included this
category of Expenditure, except it is classified under Honorarium. It was
expected that either the Acknowledgment Register or Receipts from those
Emirs and Chiefs be produced before the Court, because it is Government
Expenditure that needed to be retired. Any one of the Emirs or Chiefs could
have been called as a Witness to testify as to the Sum of Money he received.
The only Agency who could have known who they were was the Protocol
Unit, if ever they were involved.
The Defendant had authorised Payments for Publicity through the Print and
Electronic Media, Life Coverage News, when he was informed on the 11th of
April 2007 that the President was coming to the State the next Day, The
Executing Agencies would invariably involve the Printing Press and
Electronic Media. The question to be asked here, is what would have been
the logistics involved and the likelihood of the Media House collecting
Money, paying and then rolling out the Print in the Morning, because the
President would be arriving in the Morning of the 12th of April 2007.
The more important and complex Expenditure is that regarding the Press.
Even if the Defendant on the 10th of April 2007, was to Summon the Head of
Taraba State Television Corporation, minutes after being notified of the visit
and instructs him to Publicise that the President was coming to Mambila or
Taraba, and had deferred Payment till the 11th of April 2007, it still has not
changed the fact that the authorisation of the Press to print or announce was
a Formal Act of Government using Government Funds and therefore, there
must be evidence on Record to show that the Television House or the Radio
Station were contacted by Telephone or through Writing of their
Engagement, but no Evidence was furnished to the Court. These kinds of
Huge Contracts or Expense in the Sum of Seventeen Million Naira (N17, 000,
000.00) cannot be done by Air.
There are certain Items that must have Invoices, and/or Receipts and there
are certain categories of Artisans that would issue out Invoices, but yet
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