Sambo heads contracts probe panel

Written by Daily Trust Friday, 28 May 2010

The Federal Government has set up an inter-ministerial committee to investigate the huge disparity between cost of contracts in the country and what obtains in other parts of the world. The committee is to be headed by Vice-President Namadi Sambo, who made his first appearance in that capacity at the Federal Executive Council meeting yesterday.

Minister of State for Information and Communications Labaran Maku announced the institution of the investigation yesterday in Abuja after the council meeting presided over by President Goodluck Jonathan. He said the council was worried about the variations in cost of construction in the country, in some instances by as high as 30 per cent compared with the situation in most other countries including within the West African sub-region.

Maku, who spoke alongside FCT Minister Bala Mohammed, Education Minister Ruqayyatu Rufai and Minister of State for Niger Delta Samuel Ode, said the council looked at the cost of doing work in Nigeria and decided that it was not investment-friendly because of unwholesome practices.

“Council noted that in spite of all the processes that the country has gone through so far, including the due process and other reforms in recent years, the cost of construction is relatively higher than in most other parts of the world.

“Council took this as a very serious matter and set up an inter-ministerial committee to study this problem and see how the cost of contracting in Nigeria, especially in construction, can be aligned with those of other countries around the world.

“Council could not see any reason why contract for, say one kilometre road in Nigeria,  should cost significantly more than it will in Ghana or Benin Republic when we are in the same region, under the same climate and most of the indices are the same,” he said.

Maku said the council also set up another committee, also headed by Sambo, to regulate the process of execution and refund on Federal Government’s projects executed by state governments.

He said while the council appreciated the efforts of states to carry out such projects for the Federal Government, the process of refund should be regulated to ensure due process.

“Several states have adopted the method in the past and when they finish the work, they forward the cost to the Federal Government for reimbursement. We want to regulate it to ensure that due process modality is arrived at rather than states just doing it and bringing the bill,” he said.

The council also approved the public-private partnership arrangement for infrastructure development in Katampe District of Abuja, for projects worth N61.2 billion.

The FCT minister said the private firm handling the project has five years to recoup its money.

The council approved a contract for phase one of a 20-kilometre dual carriageway from Port Harcourt-Abia-Akwa Ibom at the cost of N13.6 billion, and contract for the land reclamation work in the Warri axis at N1.5 billion was re-awarded.