The House of Representatives on Wednesday, May 19, 2021, resolved to investigate the status of the N72.34 billion contract for the rehabilitation of the 1443 Km Port Harcourt-Maiduguri railway line awarded in 2011 to about four different foreign companies.
The House is also to investigate the N19.2 billion railway rehabilitation contract awarded to Eser Contracting Industry Company Incorporated which has been abandoned ten years after it was awarded.
The House resolution followed a motion sponsored by Rep. Benjamin Mzondu (PDP, Benue) on the need to investigate the status of the contract linking Port Harcourt to Maiduguri.
Mzomdu listed the companies that were awarded the contract as Messrs Esser Contracting and Industry Company (Turkey), CGGC Global Projects Nigeria Limited, and Lingo Nigeria Limited (in association with Strasky Husty and Partners Ltd of Czech Republic).
He stressed that it was unfortunate that ten years after the award of the contract, “there is no evidence to show that work has commenced on the site, with investigations revealing that budgetary provisions were made in this regard from 2010–2012.”
He said despite the said budgetary provisions, there are claims that the contract awarded to Esser Contracting Industry Company for the rehabilitation of the railway segment from Port Harcourt to Makurdi was abandoned by the contractor, while the contract was recently re-awarded to another company.
He maintained that award of contracts under the Public Procurement Act, 2017, abandonment of the project by Esser Contracting Industry Company, including evidence of budgetary provisions in lieu of the contract, suggests irregularities on parties involved, including similar concerns bordering on the remaining segments of the railway rehabilitation contract from Port Harcourt to Maiduguri.
While stressing the need to investigate the status of the contract, Mzondu reminded the House that a similar committee was set up in 2020 to investigate the contract.
However, Rep. Ossai Nicholas Ossai (PDP, Delta) drew the attention of the House to the fact that the adhoc committee earlier constituted has failed to carry out the assignment given to them by the House and should have been discharged of such assignment.
Ossai said the matter should rather be referred to the relevant committees of the House for investigation, insisting that giving such assignments to adhoc committees render the standing committees of the House non-functional.
Ahmed Idris Wase, the deputy speaker, who presided over plenary said information available to him suggest that the adhoc committee set up to carry out the investigation was not inaugurated, adding that a proper check will be carried out before the investigation is referred.
Source: The Nation