Posted by By AMOS DUNIA, Abuja on
The Senate has commenced probe into the award and execution of the 162 million euro contracts for the rehabilitation and upgrade of 14 university teaching hospitals across the country.
•Iyabo steps aside
The Senate has commenced probe into the award and execution of the 162 million euro contracts for the rehabilitation and upgrade of 14 university teaching hospitals across the country.
This is just as it has put in motion processes for the monitoring of an on-going process of award of a fresh N8.5 billion contract for the upgrade of 12 Federal Medical Centres (FMC) in the country.
Daily Sun gathered that the contracts for the 14 university teaching hospitals that were awarded to VAMED Engineering Limited by the Federal Ministry of Health in 2002 and 2006 during the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo were fully paid for by government, but were yet to be completed by the company despite that advance payment had been made.
Chairman of the Senate committee on health, Senator Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello, who is believed to have business relationship with the Chairman of the VAMED Engineering Limited, Prince Albert Awofisayo, had to excused herself from the proceedings of the Senate committee on health during the meeting with officials of the Federal Ministry of Health on the matter, thus creating room for her Vice Chairman, Senator Gyang Dantong to preside over the session.
A member the committee, Senator Anthony Manzo (PDP Taraba), confirmed at the weekend that the committee met with the officials of the ministry that briefed it adequately, saying that as part of the Senate principle of fair hearing, an invitation had been extended to the management of VAMED Engineering Limited to appear before the committee when the Senate resumes in September to enable it present its own case.
According to Manzo, 'We have heard from the officials of the ministry. They have explained all the issues involved to us and we are going to hear from VAMED Engineering Limited as the committee wants to be fair to all parties.'
It was gathered during the session that in 2002, VAMED was, through sole bidding process that ran contrary to the provisions of the Procurement Act, was awarded 95 million euro contract for the rehabilitation of eight University Teaching Hospitals located in Lagos, Port-Harcourt, Enugu, Benin, Ilorin, Maiduguri, Jos and Ibadan.
Senior government officials from the federal ministry of health that appeared before the Senate committee on health about two weeks ago disclosed to members of the committee that the company completed six, leaving university teaching hospitals in Ilorin and Jos uncompleted and abandoned.
It was also alleged that VAMED used its contact with the powers that be at the time, to get another contract for the sum of 67 million euro through sole bidding in 2006 for the upgrading and rehabilitation of six other university teaching hospitals located in Calabar, Benin, Ife, Sokoto, Kano and Nnewi. Work on any of the six projects are far from completion.
The intervention of the Senate and commencement of probe into the contracts followed series of petitions by some organizations (NGOs), which called for its intervention in the award and execution of the contracts as part of its oversight function.
Meanwhile, VAMED Engineering Limited has kicked against the resolve by the ministry of health to award a fresh N8.5 billion for the upgrade of 12 Federal Medical Centres (FMC) through competitive bid, contending that there was a subsisting agreement between it and the Federal Government on the matter, which formed the basis why the project was included in the 2008 budget that had been approved by the Presidency.
The ministry of health had last Thursday in Abuja gone ahead with the process of competitive bid with 19 companies contesting for the contract for upgrade of structures, supply of equipment and manpower training of the Medical Centres, insisting that the competitive bid was consistent with the provisions of the Public Procurement Act and due process.
Daily Sun gathered at the weekend that officials of the federal ministry of health who were insisting on strict adherence to due process were being 'blackmailed' to wave off due process and stick to the order, which witnessed VAMED Engineering Limited emerging as the sole bidder and beneficiary of the contracts for the rehabilitation of the university teaching hospitals contract under the Obasanjo administration.