Posted by By JAMES OJO, Abuja on
Shocked by the controversies trailing the award of contracts to renovate the official residences of the Speaker and Deputy Speaker of House of Representatives, all the four contractors that won the bid for various jobs yesterday tendered their withdrawal letters from the contracts.
Shocked by the controversies trailing the award of contracts to renovate the official residences of the Speaker and Deputy Speaker of House of Representatives, all the four contractors that won the bid for various jobs yesterday tendered their withdrawal letters from the contracts.
As they were withdrawing, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, represented by Engr. Mohammed Sani Hassan, denied that the inventory of the speaker's house was taken by FCDA before the contractors moved in to start renovation work.
Hassan on oath confirmed that FCDA turned down the request from the National Assembly to furnish the buildings, because they belonged to NASS, even though they were built by the FCDA for the Federal Government.
While testifying before the 9-man panel probing the contracts, representatives of the companies said that the controversy generated by the contracts was not healthy for the interest of the organizations.
The companies were summoned by the panel to confirm allegations that they were not registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) and that some were owned by the same directors.
But the companies were given a clean bill of health by Chinwe Dike of the CAC, who testified before the panel that records at the Commission confirmed that all the companies that won the contracts were registered as stipulated by law.
Steve Okechukwu Emelieze tendered a letter from the management of State Company Nigeria Limited to the Clerk of the National Assembly that it had declined to continue with the renovation works at the Speaker's residence.
Uncomfortable with what it called apparent falsehood on the status of the contract, the company also accused four members of the investigative committee of making statements showing that they were biased against the award of the contracts.
'The company had already executed the project up to 95% completion and will humbly request you to send your professionals to come and value the executed job and pay the company on quantum merit," the letter reads in parts.
The company stated that it had only collected the sum of N53,741,743 from the contractual sum of N238, 852,192.95,
Managing Director of Lee Development company that won the contract to renovate the residence of the Deputy Speaker, Ignatius Anopou also announced the discontinuation of work on the project, citing negative publicity that the contracts had attracted.
He faulted the testimony of the Director of Estate and Works of the National Assembly before the panel that he did not see the Bill of Quantity and other bills before the contracts were awarded.