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MoD wasting billions with ‘broken’ procurement system, MPs warn

MoD wasting billions with ‘broken’ procurement system, MPs warn

The Ministry of Defence’s MoD system of procurement is “broken” and is repeatedly wasting billions in taxpayers’ money, according to a scathing assessment by a watchdog committee of MPs.

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) said that the oversight in the department was so poor that it was unable to spell out what additional capability the country will get from an extra £16.5bn which was allocated by Boris Johnson last year.

Of the current 20 largest projects, 13 were running behind, by a cumulative total of 21 years – including the £4bn-plus Ajax armoured vehicle, delayed due to excessive noise and vibration. There is “no timescale” when it will be ready for service.

No firm figure was put on the amount of money lost, but the MPs said there had been “wastage of taxpayers’ money running into the billions” and that the MoD at times “lacks the skilled personnel” to manage its suppliers. “The department’s system for delivering major equipment capabilities is broken,” the committee added.

Dame Meg Hillier, the Labour chair of the committee, said: “This committee is determined that this state of affairs cannot, and will not, continue” – and demanded that the Treasury conduct an emergency review of MoD project management.

The senior MP said that PAC members feared that “last year’s lauded and substantial uplift” of £16.5bn over four years would “simply be used to plug financial holes across its programmes” because the MoD could not give assurances to the contrary.

The prime minister announced the extra capital spending nearly a year ago, promising it would lead to “a once-in-a-generation modernisation of our armed forces” – including the introduction of laser weapons.

But at the time the MoD also faced a £13bn shortfall in its equipment budget, stemming from historic overspending, which had forced it to reduce the numbers of new Challenger 3 tanks, P-8 submarine hunting maritime patrol aircraft and Type 26 frigates.

A total of £4bn had already been spent on the heavily delayed Ajax out of “whole life costs of £5.5bn,” the committee noted, yet only 14 vehicles – 2% of the total requirement – had been delivered by contractor General Dynamics for testing.

One year ago, the MoD thought Ajax would initially enter service in the summer of 2021 – but this date was not met and the issues over vibration and noise are so serious that 310 service personnel were undergoing tests to see if their hearing had been permanently damaged.

The noise and vibration problems dated back to December 2018 but the MPs voiced concern that the MoD was still in the dark about the cause. “Despite the length of time the department has known about this issue, there is still no definitive information on the source of the noise and vibration,” the PAC said.

Eight programmes were rated either “amber/red or red” by senior officials responsible for delivering them on a traffic light scheme used across government for rating the progress of major procurement projects.

Of broader concern, the PAC said, was the MoD’s apparent inability to learn from its mistakes despite 13 formal reviews of defence procurement over 35 years.

“We were therefore shocked to learn that the department had only established a central register of learning from experience (LFE) in December 2020,” the MPs added. “Experience shows that there is a need for reflection and openness earlier in the process to avoid further catastrophes like Ajax.”

The MoD frequently cited the complexity of the programmes to explain why they had fallen behind, but sceptical MPs said this was not the case. Such arguments aimed to “excuse the fact” that the MoD and its suppliers “failed to produce more realistic costings and schedules”, the committee concluded.

An MoD spokesperson said: “This report reflects the complex challenges of delivering defence capability for our armed forces, but also the commitment and professionalism required to keep our people and the UK’s interests safe, by purchasing world-class equipment such as Lightning II stealth fighter jets, and the Queen Elizabeth aircraft carriers.”

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World Bank appoints Aliko Dangote to Elite Group

The President and Chief Executive of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has been appointed to the World Bank’s Private Sector Investment Lab, joining a select group of global business leaders tasked with driving investment and job creation in emerging economies.

In a statement confirming his acceptance, which was made available to DAYLIGHT, the African industrialist reaffirmed his commitment to fostering sustainable economic growth through private sector-led investment, noting the transformative potential of such initiatives in developing markets.

“I am both honoured and excited to accept my appointment to the World Bank’s Private Sector Investment Lab, dedicated to advancing investment and employment in emerging economies,” Dangote said.

“This opportunity aligns with my long-standing commitment to sustainable development and unlocking the potential of developing economies. Drawing inspiration from the remarkable successes of the Asian Tigers, which have demonstrated the power of strategic investment and focused economic policy, I am eager to collaborate with fellow leaders to replicate such outcomes across other regions.”

The Dangote Group, founded by Aliko Dangote, is the largest conglomerate in West Africa and one of the largest on the African continent. With interests spanning cement, fertiliser, salt, sugar, and oil, the Group employs over 30,000 people and is the largest taxpayer in Nigeria—contributing more in taxes than all of Nigeria’s banks combined. It is also the country’s largest employer after the government.

The $20 billion Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals, the Group’s flagship project, stands as the largest single private investment in Africa.

In addition to his business interests, Dangote leads the Aliko Dangote Foundation (ADF), the largest private foundation in sub-Saharan Africa, with the largest endowment by a single African donor. The Foundation primarily focuses on child nutrition, while also supporting interventions in health, education, empowerment, and disaster relief.

The World Bank announced Dangote’s appointment on Wednesday as part of a broader expansion of its Private Sector Investment Lab, which now enters a new phase aimed at scaling up solutions to attract private capital and create jobs in the developing world.

Joining Dangote in the elite group are Bill Anderson, CEO of Bayer AG; Sunil Bharti Mittal, Chair of Bharti Enterprises; and Mark Hoplamazian, President and CEO of Hyatt Hotels Corporation.

The World Bank said the expanded membership brings together business leaders with proven track records in generating employment in developing economies—supporting the Bank’s sharpened focus on job creation as a central pillar of global development.

“With the expanded membership, we are mainstreaming this work across our operations and tying it directly to the jobs agenda that is driving our strategy,” said World Bank Group President Ajay Banga. “This isn’t about altruism—it’s about helping the private sector see a path to investments that will deliver returns, and lift people and economies alike. It’s central to our mandate.”

The global bank said that over the last 18 months, the Lab brought together leaders from global financial institutions to identify the most pressing barriers to private sector investment in developing countries and to test actionable solutions.

The statement said that the work had now been consolidated into five priority focus areas that were being integrated across the bank operations, including regulatory and policy certainty.

The Lab’s founding members included senior executives from AXA, BlackRock, HSBC, Macquarie, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Ninety One, Ping An Group, Royal Philips, Standard Bank, Standard Chartered, Sustainable Energy for All, Tata Sons, Temasek, and Three Cairns Group. The Lab is chaired by Shriti Vadera, Chair of Prudential plc.

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EFCC arraigns Lexicon Multiconcept Media CEO, Osabohem Ologbosele for N459m fraud

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC has arraigned the Chief Executive Officer, CEO, Lexicon Multiconcept Media Limited, Osabohem Alex Ologbosele, his company and one of his staff, Augustine Osas Iyoha before Justice E. Akpan of the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja.

They were arraigned on six- count amended charges bordering on fraud, obtaining under false pretense and money laundering to the tune of N459, 050,000 (Four Hundred and Fifty Nine Million, Fifty Thousand Naira only).

Before the charges were read to them, the prosecuting counsel, O.S Ujam, informed the court of her intention to substitute the initial charges filed on March 7, 2025, with the amended charge filed on March 10, 2025. The court granted her request to substitute the charges.

Count one of the charge reads: “That you, Osabohien Alex Ologbosele, sometimes in the year 2023 and 2024 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honorable court, directly took possession of the total sum of N340,000 (Three Hundred and Forty Million Naira) paid into your account with account number 202277***** domiciled at Kuda Microfinance bank from the account number of Hope Onome Ogholemu with account number 08272****** domicile in Access Bank when you knew or reasonably ought to have known that the said sum formed part of the proceeds of an unlawful act and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 18 (2) (d) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act 2022 and Punishable under 18 (3) of the same Act.

Count two of the charge reads: “That you, Lexicon Multiconcept Media Limited, sometime in the year 2023 and 2024 in Abuja, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable court, directly took possession of the total sum of N16,000,000 (Sixteen Million Naira), paid into your account with account number 63665292**** domiciled in Moniepoint Microfinance Bank, from the account of Osebohien Alex Ologbosele with account number 2022773919 domiciled at Kuda Microfinance bank, when you knew or reasonably ought to have known that the said sum formed part of the proceed of an unlawful act and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 18 (2)(d) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act 2022, and punishable under Section 18 (4) of the same Act.

The defendants pleaded not guilty after the charges were read to them.

In view of the not guilty plea, Ujam asked the court for an adjournment to enable the prosecution to open its case and call witnesses. Defence counsel, Samuel Ogala, drew the attention of the court to an application for bail for the first and second defendant which was filed on March 24, 2025 and the second application for the 3rd defendant, dated March 27, 2025, urging the court in the interest of justice to grant bail on liberal terms.

However, Ujam told the judge of a 17 paragraph affidavit in response to the counter-affidavit of the defence dated April 2, 2025 and filed same date in opposition to the application for bail, urging the court to denial the application on the ground that the defendants are flight risks, who stopped reporting to the EFCC office for months and may fail to appear for their trial if granted bail.

“My lord, the first defendant was arrested in November 2023, and he left in November 2024 and did not report back till February 5, 2025, and I believe that if granted bail, he may not appear for his trial,” she said.

Thereafter, Justice Akpan after listening to the arguments of the two counsels on bail application adjourned the matter till May 2, 2025, for ruling for bail and ordered that the defendants be remanded in Kuje prison.

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Bandits kill Imam, abduct 10 worshippers during Isha prayer in Katsina

Bandits on Wednesday night stormed a mosque in Tudun Malamai community, Faskari Local Government Area of Katsina State, killing the Imam who was leading the Isha prayer and abducting at least ten worshippers.

The incident, which unfolded during the night prayers, left two other individuals injured.

Details of the attack were made public on Thursday in a post by a prominent Katsina-based security analyst, Bakatsine on X.

“Yesterday night, bandits attacked worshippers during the Isha prayer in Tudun Malamai community, Faskari LGA of Katsina State. They killed the imam leading the prayer, injured two people and abducted at least 10 worshippers during the attack,” the post read.

The Katsina State Police Command is yet to issue an official statement regarding the incident as of the time of filing this report.