Fashola Exposes Alleged Corrupt Contractors

The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola has exposed the names of some contractors who allegedly collected money from the government but failed to execute the contracts awarded to them.

Naija News reports that Fashola made this known in a document he forwarded to the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) documents from some of the Ministry’s agencies providing some level of details regarding the names of contractors.

Some of the contractors were said to have allegedly collected money for electricity projects but failed to execute any projects.

The minister also invited SERAP to “inspect a compendium of verified and paid/outstanding liabilities of contractors, kept at the offices of the Nigeria Electricity Liability Management Limited/GTE.”

The development was disclosed in a statement by SERAP deputy director Kolawole Oluwadare.

The Ministry’s letter with reference number FMP/LU/R2K/2016/T/40 and signed on Mr Fashola’s behalf by the Permanent Secretary (Power) Louis O.N. Edozien, was sent to SERAP last week.

The letter reveals that: “Pow Technologies Limited, an Abuja based company, was in 2014 awarded a contract for the supply and installation of test and maintenance equipment relays, etc to various NAPTIN regional training centers (RTCs) (LOT15), with the total contract sum of N87,763,302.40, out of which N79,404,892.66 was paid to Pow Technologies Limited.”

According to the Ministry’s letter, although the contract was awarded in 2014, only 13 of the 19 items have so far been supplied, with 6 items outstanding. The details of the 6 items that Pow Technologies Limited has allegedly failed to supply are not provided by the Ministry but the letter indicates some of the action the Ministry said it has taken to ensure: “completion of the project, address criminal breach of contract and take remedial action.”

In response to the statement, SERAP said: “We welcome Mr Fashola’s latest response and the information regarding Pow Technologies Limited. But we need details of names of other contractors that have collected public funds yet failed to execute power projects. We will continue to push the Ministry and its agencies to reveal more details of alleged corrupt contractors and companies, as contained in our FOI request. We will continue to pursue our FOI suit at the Federal High Court, Lagos, before Justice Chuka Austine Obiozor, a Professor of Law, who has granted an order for leave in the case.”

Mr Fashola’s latest letter to SERAP reads in part: “I write with respect to the Ministry’s letter regarding details of alleged corrupt contractors and to forward the attached responses from some of the Ministry’s Agencies namely: National Bulk Electricity Trading Plc; National Power Training Institute of Nigeria and Nigeria Electricity Liability Management Limited/GTE for your information.

It would be recalled that Mr Fashola had earlier said in response to SERAP’s FOI request that: “the Ministry has searched for the requested information on details of alleged contractors and companies that collected money for electricity projects and failed to executive any projects, but we could not find it from our records.”