The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola SAN has
\nforwarded to Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP)
\ndocuments from some of the Ministry’s agencies providing some level of
\ndetails regarding the names of contractors that allegedly collected
\nmoney for electricity projects but failed to execute any projects, and
\ninviting SERAP to “inspect a compendium of verified and paid\/outstanding
\nliabilities of contractors, kept at the offices of the Nigeria
\nElectricity Liability Management Limited\/GTE.”<\/p>\n
This development was disclosed today in a statement by SERAP deputy
\ndirector Kolawole Oluwadare.<\/p>\n
The Ministry’s letter with reference number FMP\/LU\/R2K\/2016\/T\/40 and
\nsigned on Mr Fashola’s behalf by the Permanent Secretary (Power) Louis
\nO.N. Edozien, was sent to SERAP last week. The letter reveals that: “Pow
\nTechnologies Limited, an Abuja based company, was in 2014 awarded a
\ncontract for the supply and installation of test and maintenance
\nequipment relays, etc to various NAPTIN regional training centers (RTCs)
\n(LOT15), with the total contract sum of N87,763,302.40, out of which
\nN79,404,892.66 was paid to Pow Technologies Limited.”<\/p>\n
According to the Ministry’s letter, although the contract was awarded in
\n2014, only 13 of the 19 items have so far been supplied, with 6 items
\noutstanding. The details of the 6 items that Pow Technologies Limited
\nhas allegedly failed to supply are not provided by the Ministry but the
\nletter indicates some of the action the Ministry said it has taken to
\nensure: “completion of the project, address criminal breach of contract
\nand take remedial action.”<\/p>\n
The Ministry said that while the contractors undertook to take remedial
\naction, they have failed to complete the project for which funds have
\nbeen released.\u00a0 The Ministry pointed out that it submitted a petition to
\nthe Commissioner of Police, Abuja on 13th January 2016, and that the
\npolice instituted a case for the prosecution of Messrs Pow at the Upper
\nArea Court.<\/p>\n
The Ministry also said it has sought and received legal advice to pursue
\na civil action at the FCT High Court while a report of criminal breach
\nof contract has been made to the Economic and Financial Crimes
\nCommission (EFCC).<\/p>\n
SERAP said: “We welcome Mr Fashola’s latest response and the information
\nregarding Pow Technologies Limited. But we need details of names of
\nother contractors that have collected public funds yet failed to execute
\npower projects. We will continue to push the Ministry and its agencies
\nto reveal more details of alleged corrupt contractors and companies, as
\ncontained in our FOI request. We will continue to pursue our FOI suit at
\nthe Federal High Court, Lagos, before Justice Chuka Austine Obiozor, a
\nProfessor of Law, who has granted an order for leave in the case.”<\/p>\n
Mr Fashola’s latest letter to SERAP reads in part: “I write with respect
\nto the Ministry’s letter regarding details of alleged corrupt
\ncontractors and to forward the attached responses from some of the
\nMinistry’s Agencies namely: National Bulk Electricity Trading Plc;
\nNational Power Training Institute of Nigeria and Nigeria Electricity
\nLiability Management Limited\/GTE for your information.”<\/p>\n
It would be recalled that Mr Fashola had earlier said in response to
\nSERAP’s FOI request that: “the Ministry has searched for the requested
\ninformation on details of alleged contractors and companies that
\ncollected money for electricity projects and failed to executive any
\nprojects, but we could not find it from our records.”<\/p>\n
However, SERAP disagreed with the response, saying: “The public
\nexpectation is that government information, when in the hands of any
\npublic institutions and agencies, should be available to the public, as
\nprescribed by the FOI Act. The FOI Act should always be used as an
\nauthority for disclosing information rather than withholding it.”<\/p>\n
Mr Fashola in a follow-up letter dated 4th March, 2019, to SERAP’s
\nreaction promised to: “refer the request for details of alleged
\ncontractors and companies that collected money for electricity projects
\nand failed to executive any projects to the Ministry’s agencies for
\nnecessary action and appropriate response. There may be instances of
\npart-payment against certification of commensurate value for materials
\nand services in achieved contract milestone even though the entire
\ncontract is not 100% performed.”<\/p>\n
Mr Fashola’s initial response followed SERAP’s FOI request and suit
\nnumber FHC\/L\/CS\/105\/19 filed in February at the Federal High Court,
\nLagos. The suit is seeking “an order of mandamus directing and\/or
\ncompelling Mr Fashola to provide specific details on the names and
\nwhereabouts of the contractors who collected public funds meant for
\nelectricity projects but disappeared with the money without executing
\nany projects.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola SAN has forwarded to Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) documents from some of the Ministry’s agencies providing some level…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":56165,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-66475","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n