INVESTIGATION: How Kwara United Chair Refused To Refund Millions Of Naira He Embezzled As KFA Boss

By: Soliu Ayatullahi

 

Graphic details of how the current Chairman of Kwara United Football Club, Mr Clement Kumbi Titiloye connived to mismanaged over N18 million while he was the Administrator of the state-owned Kwara Football Academy, which eventually led to his dismissal, have emerged.

THE INFORMANT247 learned that the money, which was obtained as the academy’s income between 2011 and 2012, was meant for the purchase of equipment and provision of logistics for the professional football training school.

However, in August 2019, about 8 years after his unceremonial turn off from the academy over financial misappropriations and general mismanagement, the incumbent governor of Kwara State, Mallam AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq named him the new Chairman of Kwara United Football Club.

Announcing Kumbi as the head of the 7-member board of the club, the secretary to the state government, Prof. Mamman Sabah Jubril said he was appointed based on his past successful records in football Management and administration.

KWARA FOOTBALL ACADEMY

Kwara Football Academy (KFA), an initiative of the former Kwara State governor, Bukola Saraki, was opened by the President of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) Issau Hayatou in 2005 to discover young soccer talents in Nigeria and the rest of Africa and make them better persons in the society.

The academy’s focus is on skill development. It is open to all, regardless of the place of origin. It offers talented youths the opportunity to acquire a formal education for free while training as professional footballers.

The football institute was a private initiative that was brought to life with the support of the state government. It was established as a centre for youth development, using football as the medium of empowerment.

AN ORGY OF FRAUD

In 2012, outraged by the financial and structural mismanagement of the academy as submitted by an external auditor, the then Governor Abdul Fatah Ahmed set up a 4-member committee to investigate its management.

The committee was mandated, amongst other things, to “establish a trend, general accounting practice at the academy, locate the extent of the rot, the appropriateness of the administrative structure in place and the general profile of the academy in order to arrive at an acceptable and convincing findings/conclusion that would lead to far-reaching recommendations”.

Though, giving only four days to submit its report, the committee worked for about four weeks going through documents and interviewing stakeholders and other experts. At the end of its assignment, it submitted a 16-paged report that revealed mind-boggling fraud, misappropriations and wanton recklessness running into millions of naira involving the administrator, Mr. Kumbi.

The state accountant general-led committee revealed that decency was thrown to the dogs in the management of the Football Academy. Due process was alien to the administrator of the academy as he embezzled and misappropriated tens of millions of naira.

In the report, the Administrator arbitrarily signed shady contracts with companies/individuals without recourse to regulations, monies were dubiously deposited and withdrawn from the Academy’s account.

THE STATE GOVERNMENT’ REPORT

The documents sighted by THE INFORMANT247 include the review of the 4-man committee headed by the then accountant general of the state, Tunde Abdulhakeem, and the report of an external chartered accountant, Abdulrafiu Olaosebikan & co. who audited the financial statement of the academy for the year 2011 and 2012.

The administration of Abdul Fatah Ahmed directed the setting up of a 4-man committee which is headed by the then Accountant General, Tunde AbdulKareem, and consist of the State Audit Director, Mr. E.J. Kolo; Civil Litigation Director, Mrs. F. D. Lawal; and Assistant Director (GS), Mr. J.O. Asha.

The high-powered financial committee was raised following a letter addressed to Governor Abdul Fatah on 29th October 2012 by Harmony Holdings Ltd — the parent company of the football academy — then under Yusuf Abdulwahab giving a descriptive account of an external auditor’s report on how millions of naira was mismanaged by Mr. Kumbi. The letter encouraged further investigation and his temporary suspension.

REPORT OF THE EXTERNAL AUDITOR

In a letter earlier addressed to the Academy’s board chairman dated September 10th, 2012 entitled “Management letter on the audited financial statement for the year ended 30th April 2011 and 2012”, by the external auditor, AbdulRafiu Olaosebikan & co., the firm lamented the inability to access most of the Academy’s financial books and document.

However, the letter reads in part, “The sum of N3,582,500.00 is yet to be accounted for being a part of the N15,000,000.00 collection through H-Ville limited vide receipt no. 064 of 2011/12 for the training of the Niger-Delta militant.”

According to the external auditor’s report, page 4, the sum of N2,801,829.00 was also without a receipt and therefore cannot be accounted for between July 2010 to September 2010.

They also gave an indication that the academy does not have a fixed salary for her staffers and letter of players’ appointments were missing. As an external auditor, they urged more comprehensive auditing of the Academy’s financial records, among several other recommendations.

THE INDICTMENT

No single individual was blamed other than the former administrator of the Football Academy, Mr. Kumbi Titiloye. The committee stated that Mr. Kumbi was brashly corrupt and handled the affairs of the Academy in such a reprehensible manner that it recommended he should be sacked from office.

Between 2010 and 2012, the state accountant general-led committee found that Mr. Kumbi was not able to account for N3,339,130.00 being the balance of cash received from Niger Delta Amnesty training.

Also, non-consumable items not seen during the physical inspection of the committee were put at a networth of N1,074,300.00.

According to the finance committee, N2,801,829.00 was the sum of the receipt not accounted for by Mr. Kumbi.

Further, the report revealed that Mr. Kumbi was not able to account for N3,581,500.00 collections through H-Ville Limited via receipt number 064.

Also, the committee found that during the tenure of Mr. Kumbi as the administrator of the Academy, N8,000,000.00 unbanned collection through receipt number 67 had vanished into thin air.

In addition, he was not able to account for the sum of N275,768.50 and expenditure not backed with details tuning to N2,000,000.00.

In all, the state government’s report stated that a total sum of N18,094,609.00 disappeared as a result of corruption and the highhandedness of Mr. Kumbi Titiloye.

However, in its recommendations, the committee said, “In line with the provision of Public Service Rule (PSR) 04406a and time tested corporate practice, the appointment of Mr. Kumbi Titiloye should be terminated from the service of the Kwara Football Academy as Administrator by giving him prerequisite notice thereto. This bearing the general recklessness, carefree attitude, and unorganized conduct of its business under his leadership.”

The committee further directed that “in compliance with financial regulation (FR) 1507, all outstanding misappropriated or embezzled fund yet to be recovered totaling N18,094,609.00 must” be accounted for by Mr Kumbi.

It, in addition, recommended the general overhauling of the administrative and management structure of the Academy.

AFTERMATH

The then governor Abdul Fatah was said to have approved the committee’s report which was submitted to the office of the Secretary to the State Government and directed the execution of the recommendations of the report, prosecution, and recovery of the stolen fund.

Before Mr. Kumbi eluded, that was the last, heard of the report.

However, top inside sources within the Kwara Football Academy, who declined to be identified out of fear of victimization, revealed that Mr. Kumbi did not return the stolen fund but rather eluded after he was recommended for sacking. He was said to be largely out of sight until his recent appointment as the Chairman of Kwara United Football Club by Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq.

When contacted by THE INFORMANT247 on Wednesday for his reaction and to confirm if he returned the stolen fund as recommended in the document sighted by this medium, he denied knowledge of the report.

A former Administrator of the Academy between 2016 and 2017, Mr. Kunle Ayantola when contacted on Wednesday, April 29, to confirm if Mr. Kumbi eventually returned the money replied negatively.

“No, he has not returned the money. During my tenure, we tried as much as possible to get the money back from him, including his associate, one Mr. Boa or something.

“It’s Harmony Holdings Limited that is handling the correspondent as the parent body of the Kwara Football Academy, but I’m aware that they wrote to him that he is owing some amount of money. But all our efforts to get the money back was to no avail,” said Ayantola.