Abuja Airport, Kubwa Road Contracts Inflated by N38bn

Written by This Day Thursday, 02 February 2012

The Federal Government has discovered that the ongoing Abuja Airport/ Kubwa Road construction was inflated to the tune of N38 billion.

Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Senator Bala Mohammed, disclosed this Wednesday while briefing the Senate Committee on the FCT during a budget defence session.

He said President Goodluck Jonathan had set up a committee to review the projects immediately following the discoveries of some underhand activities in the contract award during the Senate committee’s oversight tour last year.

Mohammed said the president was concerned about the cost of project execution in the country, adding that, “Immediately he read of the discoveries of some discrepancies in the award of the Airport/Kubwa road projects by the Senate Committee on FCT, he (the president) ordered a review of the project.”

The minister stated that a committee of experts, which reviewed the projects, examined their designs and measurements and came to the conclusion that the projects had been inflated by over N38 billion.

He stated that though the experts were still working, the Federal Government would release a white paper on the final outcome.

“We want to show that we are ready to partner the National Assembly. Mr. President has been talking about the cost of projects and immediately he read about the Senate committee’s oversight tour of some project sights, he ordered a probe into the projects. Right now, the committee has saved the government of N38 billion,” Mohammed said.

In his remark, Chairman of the committee, Senator Smart Adeyemi, said that it was commendable to see the executive acting fast on the discovery of the committee.
He also declared that the committee would soon summon all major contractors operating in the FCT to answer charges on the usage of onsite materials including granite and laterite.

“We want you to partner us because we are being cheated as a nation in the deployment of our natural resources. We will soon summon all contractors in Abuja to show receipts of payments for laterite and gravel which they take on site, because already they have included these things in the Bill of Quantity,” he said.

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