*Party claims process reeks of corruption, ploy to siphon state resources 

*Says coy not registered for agric and agro-processing business

The Enugu State chapter of the Labour Party (LP) has alerted the nation’s anti-corruption agencies to investigate the agriculture partnership agreement recently signed between the Enugu State Government and Pragmatic Farms Limited, alleging that the transaction is a conduit to siphon the resources of the state.

The party, in a statement on Sunday by its Chairman, Comrade Casmir Uchenna Agbo and Publicity Secretary, Onuora Odo, questioned the propriety of the transaction, insisting that the company in question was allegedly registered only four days before it signed the agreement with the state government.

The Enugu State Government had issued a statement, stating that the partnership with Pragmatic Farms Limited was in line with the objectives of the Governor Peter Mbah’s administration to revive and convert Enugu State’s dormant assets to productive assets, as part of plans to grow the state’s economy exponentially from $4.4 billion to $30 billion per annum.

But the Labour Party in its statement accused the government of planning to deploy the newly registered company as a conduit to siphon the state’s resources, insisting there was no indication that the company has track record and capacity to manage such an enterprise.

“We are raising this alarm because the entire project smells of large-scale fraud and as responsible and responsive political party, we owe it to the people of the state, the duty of drawing their attention to what we see as economic rape and corrupt tendencies. 

“Checks at the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) have created a cloud of suspicion around the project, following our discovery that Pragmatic Palms Limited was registered only on May 6, 2024, four days before the partnership agreement was signed with the Enugu State Government on May 10, 2024,” the statement said.

Labour Party demanded that the governor of Enugu State should tell the people when discussions on this partnership began and how he concluded and signed the deal within four days of incorporating the company.

“It is important to also draw the attention of the people of Enugu State, the Federal Government of Nigeria, and the anti-corruption agencies such as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to what looks like a grand plan to divert the resources of Enugu State through what looks like a conduit. 

“We say this because further checks reveal that Pragmatic Palms Limited was referenced in the news items as a subsidiary of another company known as Diamond Stripes Limited, a business owned by a Professor and his wife (names withheld). 

“How the Enugu State Government decided to trust N100 billion belonging to the over-taxed and deprived people of the state to a glorified sole proprietorship is something that has to be explained,” the LP insisted.

“Diamond Stripes Limited, it is also worth highlighting, started business in 2013 and has its capacities in the area of hydroelectric generation and ports management. 

“Nowhere, on its website was its capacity for agriculture and agro-processing mentioned. 

“More worrisome is the fact that the owner of the company, has no known track record in agriculture and related areas. 

“We even went further to explore the search engine on the named personality we were able to find he is a professor of Law and has never been involved in anything relating to agriculture before the N100 billion deal he reached with the Government of Enugu State.

“We are worried because a lot of things in the transaction do not appear straightforward. 

“First, by sheer stroke of coincidence, Pragmatic Palms Limited’s registered office, appeared in our search to be the same as that of a Law firm, which also processed the registration of Pragmatic Palms Limited.

“It is also worrisome that although Pragmatic Palms Limited was mentioned in the press release as a subsidiary of Diamond Stripes Limited. However, there was no indication that Diamond Stripes is a shareholder in Pragmatic Palms Limited. 

“The only shareholder that was returned in the search is a certain professor (names withheld), who curiously owns the entire one million shares of the company.

“We are also worried that while on its website, Diamond Stripes Limited claimed, it was in the business of electricity generation, ports services and the building of silos, data on its registration documents at the Corporate Affairs Commission indicated that it was registered ‘to carry on the business of the manufacturer, importation, exportation, distribution, promotion, sales, supply and marketing of all types of products, materials, agents, reagents and equipment to engage in the business of real estate and property’. 

“The suspicion heightens given that the CAC no longer permits the registration and operation of omnibus businesses in Nigeria.

“We are therefore calling on the good people of Enugu State to be vigilant. 

“We also invite the anti-corruption agencies to investigate this transaction with a view to saving the people of Enugu State from what looks like a bogus transaction designed to facilitate the diversion of money belonging to the people.”