The Federal Ministry of Works and Housing has set aside
N100m in the 2021 budget for the rehabilitation of the Ife-Ifewara Road which
had been fixed by the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God,
Pastor Enoch Adeboye.
The road was rehabilitated free by Adeboye as part of the
church’s Social Corporate Responsibility at the cost of N188,440,342.00.
As a result of this, the Senate is currently probing the
Ministry of Works and Housing for paying N145m to a construction firm, Cartil
Construction Nigeria Limited, as a reimbursement for the road.
The matter is currently being handled by the Senate
Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions, following a petition
written to the panel by the church.
However, our correspondent, who obtained a copy of the
Ministry of Works and Housing’s 2021 budget, observed that the ministry
allocated yet another N100m as payment to the contractors for the
rehabilitation of the Ife-Ifewara Road.
Details of the allocation are: Account code – 23030113;
rehabilitation/repair of roads; fund code – 03101; fund name – Capital
Development Fund; programme code – ERGP12153874; Rehabilitation of Ife-Ifewara
Road in Osun State, C/No 6105 N100m.
When contacted, the chairman of the Senate panel handling
the case, Senator Ayo Akinyelure, said the officials of the RCCG, those of the
Ministry of Works and Housing, and management of the construction firm had been
asked to appear before the committee on Thursday, April 15.
A senior official of the RCCG, Pastor Niyi Adebanjo, had in
a petition submitted to the Senate alleged that the Ministry of Works and
Housing officials paid N151m to the management of Cartil Construction Nigeria
Limited as part payment for the road project awarded to it but abandoned.
Adebanjo submitted the petition on behalf of Adeboye while
the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, referred the document to the Senate
Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions.
The petition was laid by the Chairman of the Committee on
behalf of Lawan, on Tuesday, February 9, 2021.
The RCCG, in the petition, alleged that the construction
firm claimed the sum of N151,508,901.22 as reimbursement for the rehabilitation
of the Ife-Ifewara Road in Osun State which the church constructed.
Part of the petition read, “The rehabilitation of the road
was awarded and paid for by Pastor Enoch Adeboye in the sum of N188,440,342.00,
hence the claim by Cartil Construction Nigeria Limited was illegal and unjust.
“The church hereby requests the Senate to look into the
matter and, among others, urge the firm to refund the money it collected to the
coffers of the Federal Government.”
Speaking before the panel under oath, Adebanjo said, “Pastor
EA Adeboye employed the services of the construction department of the RCCG to
execute the project between August 26, 2016 and 2019 and the total cost was
over N188m.
“The project started from Eruwa junction in Ife and Garage
Olode in Ifewara, which is 8.2km. We have the details of all the seven
companies that supplied us with the materials used to execute the project.
“They delivered all the materials on site. We have supplied
details of the projects to the committee. While the project was ongoing, authorities
of the Nigerian Correctional Service pleaded with Pastor Adeboye to extend the
construction to their premises which was done.
“There are people at Ife and Ifewara who can testify to the
fact that Pastor Adeboye constructed the road because he visited the palace
where the Oba appreciated him for constructing the road.
“We were, therefore,
shocked when we found out that somebody is trying to defraud the Nigerian state
by claiming money for a project he never executed.”
An official at Cartil Construction Nigeria Limited, Olalekan
Jimoh, was put on oath to address the panel on behalf of the managing director,
who Jimoh claimed could not speak the English language.
Jimoh debunked the allegations by the RCCG, saying the
contract for the construction of the road was awarded to his construction firm
in 2010 for the sum of over N600m to rehabilitate the road under reference.
He said only N145m had been paid to the company.
“Cartil Construction Limited was duly given an award letter
and the description of works to be done,” he said.
Jimoh said the staff of the Federal Ministry of Works and
Housing in Abuja and those in Osun State were constantly supervising the
project which is still ongoing.
“Up until March 2020, there were communications between us
and the Federal Government,” Jimoh said.
He, therefore, urged the Senate committee to summon
officials of the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing for questioning so as to
correct the impression that the firm fraudulently collected money for projects
it did not execute.
However, a member of the Senate panel, who is the Senator
representing the area under reference, Francis Fadahunsi, faulted the
submissions of the construction company.
He said, “I visited the road personally and I complained to
the Minister of Works and Housing (Babatunde Fashola) and told him that the
road was abandoned due to the sickness of the managing director of the
construction company.
“The minister then promised that another contractor would
take over the project because the road had been abandoned.
“It was when armed robbers capitalised on the poor state of
the road that Pastor Adeboye came to the aid of the people.”
Ruling on the matter, the Senate committee chairman,
Akinyelure, directed the secretariat to write the directors and supervising
engineers in charge of the project to appear before the panel.
He said, “The engineers from the Ministry of Works and
Housing should come and tell us their own side of the story. The directors of
works too should be summoned.
“We will listen to them before we carry out the physical
assessment of the road as part of our oversight functions.”
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