A federal high court in Lagos has
asked the federal government to publish the details of contractors who failed
to execute power projects after receiving payment.
Kolawole Oluwadare, deputy
director of Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), said
Chuka Obiozor, a judge at the court, made the order on Friday
He said the judge ordered the
full details of the contractors who were awarded electricity projects and paid
since the return to democracy in 1999.
In February, SERAP sued Babatunde
Fashola, immediate former minister of power, works and housing, asking him to
provide details of the names and whereabouts of the contractors as stipulated
in a freedom of information (FOI) request to the ministry.
In May, the minister provided the
name of one of the contractors, but SERAP responded saying it needed details of
names of other contractors that have collected public funds yet failed to
execute power projects
According to a statement released
by SERAP on Sunday, the judge ordered “the full disclosure and publication of
the names of companies and the whereabouts of the contractors paid by
successive governments since the return of democracy in 1999 to carry out
electricity projects across the country but disappeared with the money without
executing any projects.
“The details ordered by the court
to be disclosed and published on a dedicated website and widely include
information on ‘specific names and details about contractors and companies paid
by each government; the total amounts paid by each government and the objects
for the payments; the level of implementation of electricity projects; as well
as details and specific locations of projects executed across the country by
each government since 1999”.
“The failure by the government of
President Muhammadu Buhari to provide SERAP with the details of payments made
to contractors by each government since 1999 is a breach of the Freedom of
Information Act, 2011.”
The judge was also quoted to have
ordered the federal government to “urgently disclose if there is an ongoing
investigation or prosecution of contractors and companies paid by successive
governments since 1999 to carry out electricity projects but failed to execute
the projects for which public funds were collected”.
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