Alleged inflation of N2.4bn contracts: Senate probes Power, Works and Housing ministry, BPP
Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola |
The decision of the Senate was sequel to a motion moved by Senator Dino Melaye (APC, Kogi West) on alleged irregularities in the award of contracts for the construction and rehabilitation of road and bridge projects in the first and second batch forwarded to it by the Ministry of Power, Works and Housing through letters dated November 7 and 15, 2016 as contained in the 2016 budget implementation.
In the motion, Senator Melaye, who
alleged that BPP went beyond its mandate in the approval of contract awards by
the ministry by not only inflating some of the contract sums, but also re-awarded
them to different companies, stressed, however, that the BPP in contravention
of the Public Procurement Act went beyond its mandate to award contracts to
companies not recommended by the procuring entity. Melaye said:
“For instance,
the procuring entity recommended Deux Project Ltd for the rehabilitation of
Numan-Jalingo road for N11.7 billion; the BPP awarded the contract to Rock
Bridge Construction Ltd at N12.8 billion which is N1.1 billion in excess.
“While the Ministry of Works recommended the rehabilitation of
Nenwe-Nomhe-Nburubu Nara road project to Don Machris Global Resources Ltd at
N5.1 billion, the BPP awarded it to Arab Contractors Nigeria Ltd at N6.4
billion in excess of N1.3 billion.”
Melaye informed that the recommended
contract sum by the ministry, which is already high, ought to have been ordinarily reviewed
downward, but BPP by its action reviewed them upward and subsequently awarded
them to companies not recommended by the procuring entity in flagrant violation
of Section 19 of the Public Procurement Act. He saiod: “The Ministry of Power,
Works and Housing requested via a letter dated November 15, 2016, the Bureau of
Public Procurement for due process
certified to award contracts for 10 and 13 projects for the construction and
rehabilitation under the 2016 budget implementation.”
Vanguard
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