Senate discovers rot in FCDA

DURING the oversight visits to some of the projects brought before it by the Federal Capital Development Authority, (FCDA), series of sleaze was uncovered.

The committee members were stunned by the antics of the FCDA when it was discovered that a site of the official quarters of the National Assembly Principal Officers' could not be located with over 50 percent of the contract sum paid as mobilization fees to the contractors.

This was just as the Senators were told that over N7 billion official residence of the nation's Vice President which was awarded without banquet hall, security concept and furnishing was re-awarded at over N9 billion.

The Senators expressed disappointment at the two contracts with the alleged level of under dealing being perpetrated by officials of the FCDA in conjunction with the contractors, warning them to desist or be ready to face the consequences of the alleged involvement in fraud with foreign contractors.

The Senators had queried how the official residence of the number two citizen of the country could be awarded without conveniences, saying, 'how could it be justified that the Banquet hall, security concept and furnishing which is not part of the initial project but a new contract could be more expensive than the original contract itself.

Requesting from the contractor and the Executive Secretary, FCDA, who is also supervising the contract. Alhaji Ismaeel Adamu. the terms of the contract agreement and the Bill of Quantity, the Senators said the figures involved was disturbing. The Committee led by Senator Smart Adeyemi visited the Vice President's residence awarded in October, 2009 to Julius Berger at over N7.066 billion and has reached about 60 percent completion with zero outstanding liabilities and about N2.452 billion as balance to complete the project.

"Left to us m the senate, over N7 billion for the contract is already over bloated and even asking for another N9 billion is very disturbing or how do you explain that you were building a vice President residence without consideration for a banquet hall and security, I see it more of an intentional act to enable the contractor ask for variation, if this is N7 billion project without a security concept and you are now just bringing it at as additional at over N9 billion is not defendable.

"If somebody wanted to give us a proposal, it has to be within the concept of the society we live in, this additional contract sum is outrightly indefensible because ab initio, you should have an idea of the structure you want and for you to tell me that an official residence of a nation's Vice President would not have a security concept and a banquet, maybe the VP will not have opportunity to receive visitors in his official residence or what?

"From the first day of the conception of the project, you must have the idea of the concent of what should be there because that is why we are giving it to them as professionals, and for you to come and ask for additional N9 billion, it is even more than the original total sum of the initial contract, what I don't understand is whether Julius Berger is trying to help us as Nigeria or complicating our problems, this is a country where people are suffering and for a foreign company to join hands with some Nigerians to drain us more poorer, it is unfortunate.

"N9 billion is staggering, it is not reasonable at all, your proposals are disturbing and to add to the insult, you have been paid more than the work done, you nave been overpaid by N2.1 billion ahead of the job anticipatory to be done.

"You have to send to our office, details of the agreement, we want to believe that when we see that, we will be in better position to know what to say, the first segment of this project without the banquet hall and security concept costs over N7 billion, now they are asking for additional N9 billion for this alone, I think this is on a high side, it must not be done with the intention to affect the government purse and well Being of Nigenans.

The discoveries of more fraud however continued when the committee discovered another staggering revelation when it could not locate the site for the official residence of the President of the Senate, his Deputy, Speaker of the House of Representatives and his Deputy which was to cost over N3.045 billion and allocation of over N324 million in the outgoing 2011 budget.

Defending the inability, to commence job which was said to be at 10 percent completion, the FCDA Executive Secretary, Adamu Ismaeel said they are faced with the challenge of accessibility, saying the contractors cannot get to site to work.

Senator Adeyemi who frowned at the action and attitude of the FCDA official having made frantic efforts at discouraging the committee from getting to the site said, "who is the contractor handling these official residences, you have appropriated money, but we cannot get to the site.

"Wherever you like take us to, we are sports men, I'm a journalist and I criticise very well, so, I don't want to do anything that some people will have the opportunity to criticise me also, you work for FCDA and you are telling me you don't know how these people got here, that means you have not been here to inspect this project, we have to get there, if it entails entering the bush, we shall enter it together, where is the foundation?

"It is unfortunate that we cannot locate the site, not to talk of the allocated plots, the contractors are not on site and we are not happy as it simply shows that they are not serious contractors, we are to see how far the money we have appropriated have been utilized and we are here we cannot even trace any contractor on site, nor can we even spot the plots for any of the buildings.

"I can now see why you did not want us to come here because you discouraged us from coming here at all, you first said it win take us two "hours before getting to the site, now we are here m less than 20 minutes and cannot spot neither the site nor the plots and you expect us to appropriate funds for this in the 20T3budget, when we cannot be convinced how the ones allocated in the 2011 and 2012 budget had performed.

"It is unfortunate that the contractors are not on site and have been fully mobilized, could that be the reason why you are discouraging us from coming here, we are ready to go to anywhere you want us to go because they are collecting Nigerian's money, they have been paid.

"I detest people keeping our money in fixed deposits leaving the job undone; why are they no! on   site? Even  if they have Emblems initially, they could ave found their way to the site because the road is opened up."

Senator Adeyemi directed the acting Director to go out and look for the contractors because it is just inexplicable that they are not on site and don't want to believe that this place is inaccessible, saying, 'your excuse is not tenable because if we can get here ourselves, nothing stops someone who had collected our money not to have moved to site.

"It shows they are not committed or serious about the job, we are very disappointed and it has shown to a large extent that the contractors you have given the jobs to are not just serious, no equipment on site nor can we locate the plots, this is too bad.

"This is another case of pure misappropriation, misapplication of public funds. These people must all come to justify the 100 percent review. I am not impressed with what 1 saw here, we can never accept this, even, with the upward review,  it has been  only  30
Eercent since 2006 that has so far een executed, enough of all these injustice on the Nigerian

This same contractor was instructed not to use these inferior imported pipes by the 6th Senate but he continued in defiance of our order. Honestly, we will not fold our hands and allow all this to happen: if we do, these people will kill this country. he lamented.

Speaking further, the committee chairman said, "When all those people we summoned appear before us? we would asked them to present the approval paper as claimed by the contractor, the import duty percentage most especially how they conspired to waste our scarce foreign resources," he added.

In his own contribution, the Vice Chairman of the Committee, Senator Domingo Obende described the review as criminal, while the committee chairman noted that they will not accept this injustice, because public funds are involved here. They must come to the Senate to tell "Nigerians how they came about the variation."

It was another revelation at the Government Science School, Maitama, which foundation was laid seven years ago and expected to gulp N2.4biIIion, but after the visit, the committee threatened to revoke the project, lamenting that the project had been unduly delayed since it was awarded in 2005.

"This is the seventh year of this project and every year, we appropriate funds for it. It should not be left as a conduit pipe to siphon public funds. Those of you supervising the project must also be upright. We will monitor what is happening here. The standard of work nere is very poor and it is inexplicable that le contract that was awarded seven years ago is still below 50 percent completion.

You need to tell the contractors to sign an undertaking that the money will be judiciously spent and that they will be back to fhe site, while on our own, we will appropriate funds for the project, ft does not make sense to leave the project the way it is. Irrespective of the status of the contractors, if they are not ready to do their job, we will ask the minister to revoke the contract. We will come back here after the budget defence to examine the level of work, and if there is no improvement, we will recommend that the project be revoked", the committee chairman warned.

Trying to justify the level of the execution, the FCT Deputy Director (Infrastructure), Education Secretariat, Mr Kamfut Awallan, said the contract sum of the project was increased to N1.6bihion in 2012 though was originally awarded for N900million.

He said 46 percent of the project had been accomplished 46, adding that it would take another N824 million to complete it, while N673 million had so far been paid to the various contractors. When the FCT Minister, Senator Bala Mohammed appeared before the committee to defend the 2012 budget performance, he said the execution stood at 99 percent, but the senate queried the expenses of the ministry.

Similarly, aside the Nl billion earmarked for the construction of official residence for the Vice President, Namadi Sambo in the 2012 budget, the minister also presented another N2 billion proposal to complete the residence, thereby raising the question who is in charge of the project, Presidency, Works Ministry or the FCDA?

In the 2013 budget proposal, the senate committee queried the repetition of the same projects in the 2012 budget with the same allocation.

The repeated projects include, construction or National Assembly Complex at N500million, construction of cultural center, Millenium Tower as well as the designing and construction of Vice President residence which would gulp N 2 b i 1 1 i o n each. Another project which the ministry earmarked budget for in the 2012 with about 70percent claimed to have been released but without land allocation was also repeated in the 2013 budget for N300million.

As the FCT minister disclosed that the designing and construction of the Presiding Officers in the National Assembly will also gulp additional N300 million aside from the N1.5 billion earmarked in the 2012 budget.

The committee chairman was however amazed over the allocation into the official residence of the National Assembly presiding officers, saying, "Is this nof the same project that we can not locate the land allocation and over 70 percent of the budget has so far een released during the oversight of the area by this same committee.

"Or have you forgotten the beneficiaries of the official residence, they are the Senate President, Deputy Senate President,, the House of Representatives Speaker and his deputy, but that time, you could not show us the land that was allocated not to talk of at what level the construction has reached?"

The committee, while rounding off its two-day oversight visit concluded that, two wrongs don't make a right and for us to allow an exclusion of an exercise of impunity or lawlessness, we are not going to condone this for any reason.

"They have given a lot of sentiments as a politician; I am not a civil servant. We have to go through the process, Nigerians entrusted us with their votes and we are their representatives, therefore, we have to get to the roots of all the loopholes and leakages we just discovered and ensure that they are blocked, while anyone involved is made to face the wrath."

NigerianCompass