Sequel to a viral video making rounds on the social media space in 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 Executive Governor of Bauchi State, His Excellency Sen. Bala Abdulqadir Mohammed CON (Kauran Bauchi), who instructed the State Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs & Disaster Management under my humble leadership as the Honorable Commissioner, to ascertain the claim and help the vendor.
In a press release duly signed by the Hon. Commissioner, it states that after due diligence that was carried out by the Ministry, the Ministry 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.
In a twist of fate, The Executive Governor of Bauchi State 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, Poor & Vulnerable Persons, orphanages and other needy clusters within the Bauchi Metropolis.
The Statement Further revealed that the Honorable Commissioner and her dedicated team of staff immediately implemented the directive, 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 by His Excellency, The Executive Governor, Senator Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed CON.
The statement further disclosed that the food vendor’s claim is still being vigorously investigated by security operatives, while the Hon commissioner noted with concern that this case is not the first of such occurrence in the State, and therefore urged parties in any transactions to always articulate their dealings in a contractual agreement before commencing providing services.
The Commissioner further called for an urgent need for more sensitization and strengthening of communication strategy by all Government MDAs, organised 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 recurrence as such. She also appealed to the media to champion the advocacy on the need for parties to understand contractual agreement.
