January 26, 2017Festus Owete

On Wednesday, we ran a story on the query the Bureau for Public Procurement (BPP) sent the Minister of Works, Power and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, over the award of 10 road and bridge contracts worth N166 billion.

The BPP said the minister and his ministry violated the laws guiding contract awards in Nigeria in the manner they selected contractors for the projects.

The procurement agency also asked Mr. Fashola to explain, among other things, why the costs of some of the projects were inflated and why some were awarded to unqualified firms. The construction of the roads and bridges, spread across the country, were appropriated for in the ministry’s 2016 budget. But hours after the story ran, Mr. Fashola’s spokesperson, Hakeem Bello, circulated a statement saying it was the valuation committee in his ministry, not him, which committed the procurement blunders identified by the BPP. He also made other hair splitting claims which sought to trivialise the serious issues of accountability raised in our report. Given that our first story was a long narrative of the issues raised by the BPP, and given that the minister may have been too busy to comprehend the key issues in that lengthy report, we believe it is necessary to summarise the issues into a few short questions for him to answer.

Mr. Fashola, below are the questions for you.

You claimed that it was the Evaluation Committee in your ministry that the blunders identified by the BPP and that you should be extricated from blame. But as minister, does every decision taken by the ministry not receive your approval before it is implemented? Does the buck not stop at your table? Did you not approve the report of the Evaluation Committee before it was sent off to the BPP?

Mr. Minister, why did you refuse to respond to specific issues raised by our report in the press statement circulated on your behalf by your media aide, Hakeem Bello, on Wednesday? Why did you try to trivialize serious issues of accountability and competence raised by the report?

Does it not worry you, Mr. Minister, that of the 10 first batch projects for which you sought Due Process Certificate of “No Objection”, none was able to scale BPP’s hurdle? That is like scoring zero over 10. What does that say of your leadership of the ministry?

Mr. Minister, you ran Nigeria’s wealthiest state for eight years. How come you did not know that your ministry should have submitted Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) reports for the projects for which you sought approval? How come you did not know that EIA was a crucial aspect of project preparation?

Mr. Minister, can you educate us regarding why your proposed contract cost for the Kano-Zaria Road axis, with a distance of about 160 kilometers, was five times the cost of Kaduna-Zaria Road axis that is about 78 kilometres? Can you also explain why the cost is approximately 2.5 times the cost of Abuja-Kaduna that has about the same distance? Don’t you consider this as an outrageous contract inflation ploy?

Why did your ministry not know it was supposed to conduct and submit to BPP, Feasibility and Financial/Economic Studies for the projects?

Mr. Minister, If truly you have since answered the BPP query, why did your spokesperson, Hakeem Bello, fail to disclose this to PREMIUM TIMES when he was contacted for the story? Why did the same Mr. Bello who said he does not speak for the ministry but for you the minister, sign the ministry’s Wednesday statement?

Mr. Minister, why did you and your ministry turn a blind eye to what the BPP described as bid rigging by two companies- Messrs. Rahama Nigeria Limited and Messrs. F.I.K Global Limited – during the selection of contractors for the construction of Burga-Dull-Mbat II-Tadnum-Gobbiya-Badagari-Gwarangah-Sum Road in Bauchi?

Mr. Minister, the BPP accused your ministry of providing false and misleading information to it in what appears a desperate move to disqualify some contractors. Why did you allow that to happen?

Why did your ministry fail in 10 instances to adhere to the nation’s procurement law which demands that jobs be given to lowest bidders who have the financial muscle and technical competence and experience to deliver?

http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/221625-n166billion-contract-mess-10-questions-minister-fashola.html

Over to you "mr minister"

Let them continue with their blaming strategy!
Useless set of people

Leave trash for lawma, Fashola don hammer!

Corrupt people everywhere! Fashola that upgraded a website with 100m naira that I can do with 15k . What can he not do.

Fashola the man that propagated the 1 billion naira =1km road construction scam in Nigeria ..Weh done Sah

Nigeria government love ping pong with blame as the plastic ball.... if saint Buhari can give out a mere GIFT then who is Fashola? a professional Web developer and master of borehole project

Fashola the rocket scientist

mr ministra... WELDONE SIR

......of course "he was the best governor". We have a way of shielding some politicians in this country while abusing some others for the same offence.

I am yet to see any difference between APC and PDP. I am not surprised though, because i have never seen him as a saint. He bled Lagos state to its marrow yet some saw him as their mentor.

We tend to take these corrupt politicians like our masters. We act like they do us favours. Its sad to hear us praise them for giving the community 1km of road at a price that can give 10km. They will say "afterall he try"

From OBJ to Gej and Baba , i am yet to see anything different. Our politicians are shameless kleptomaniacs who never satisfy their insatiable lust.

Like my brother used to say " na who never travel comot for naija they say I love my country". Once you have lived in other climes, you will hate these leaders for what they have done to our society.

Let us see all of them as the same with no exceptions. They all have a common aim to continually plunder our national wealth. Let us continually ask them questions until we can get it right. There should be no sacred cows regardless of our region, religion or ethnicity. We must judge them by the same spoon.

Mr. Minister pls answer the questions and prove yourself innocent. I am very sure you will be whistling in your heart knowing that it is always easier to criticise from the outside.

This administration is a sham.

Anyways, the blind voted it in.

aggen:
This administration is a sham.

Anyways, the blind voted it in.

You are the SHAM. An APC appointed BPP is querying an APC ministry and you are too dense to see the good in it. This is governmental internal controls working. I don't know where Nigerians keep their brains. Did you ever hear this during GEJ's time?. I am sure the cause is the issue of technical qualification versus commercial. Anyway please keep your mouth shut and watch how a REAL government operates. APC 's Dino Melaye was the one that accussed APC's Babachir Ahmed, BPP is querying MOW etc.. All accusations against APC appointees have been from APC itself.

Nobody can tell some of these roads and bridges may be containing titanium or gold handrails. More so, its done by the APC so it's a saintly job -well delivered.
Looting for 2019 ...only time will tell.

Fashola doin wat he knows how to do best see him eye opolo eyes e no be open eye

Not like I expected much from the borehole and website upgrade specialist.

Did y'all notice he gave same excuse of "other people did the costing" and bla bla bla just as he did when his borehole and website scam was brought to lime light?

Mr Fashola Denialbility. I laf in rocket science tongues...kikikikiki

Have you ever had unprotected anal sex with an HIV positive prostitute? Then you can remember the way you felt the next morning.


Remember the feeling??

Yes! That feeling!

That's how Nigerians feel after voting in this government.

Well, he should come and answer these queries and clear the air.

While not holding brief for him, I think it doesn't make sense to compare the amount used to build roads or bridges some years ago with the amount used now.

The amount we bought a bag of rice two years ago is different from the amount it goes for this year.

But all the same, I expect the ministry to give an extremely detailed answer to these queries, bury them in paperwork if need be...that is if they dare to.

Einl:
Have you ever had unprotected anal sex with an HIV positive prostitute? Then you can remember the way you felt the next morning.


Remember the feeling??

Yes! That feeling!

That's how Nigerians feel after voting in this government.

Fortunately I haven't had anal sex with an HIV patient, do you remember the feeling ?

giantstrides:

Unfortunately I haven't

Try am.
Then you'll know what the majority of Nigerians are feeling.

Einl:


Try am.

Then you'll know what the majority of Nigerians are feeling.

Thanks , but I think I will remain among the minority .

Don't expect him to give you any other response as the one he has given is the same thing he said when he was questioned for his borehole and website scam as the Lagos state governor

Just being very real!!! Except I am the first to comment on a post, I hardly say anything . All the people who comment at the speed of light, where do they live? What internet do they use? What do they live for?

See the agents of change

Fashola dissapointed many of us, I was expecting 20,000MW of electricity by January 2017 but see were we are... Still generating 4000MW.

The BPP said the minister and his ministry violated the laws guiding contract awards in Nigeria in the manner they selected contractors for the projects.

MR SAN i call you for Explanation, it means this ppl attained "SAN" without proper knowledge of the rule of law!!!, SAN violating Nigerian LAW.


OLODO SAN.

I believe they should just use one of the past permanent secretaries or commissioners of Lagos state as the minister of works , because of their experience

T

Adminisher:


You are the SHAM. An APC appointed BPP is querying an APC ministry and you are too dense to see the good in it. This is governmental internal controls working. I don't know where Nigerians keep their brains. Did you ever hear this during GEJ's time?. I am sure the cause is the issue of technical qualification versus commercial. Anyway please keep your mouth shut and watch how a REAL government operates. APC 's Dino Melaye was the one that accussed APC's Babachir Ahmed, BPP is querying MOW etc.. All accusations against APC appointees have been from APC itself.

People like you are the very problem with nigeria,so when the same dino melaye was in PDP,do you remember he was suspended for one year in the house of reps for accusing his fellow PDP members of corruption in the house? the same way another member of apc (ibrahim)has been suspended for a whole year now for accusing dogara of budget padding? pls tell me how apc is different from PDP Mr praise singer.

The kind of corruption happening in this government will make Dasuki to be Knighted as not being corrupt

hmmm