The Redeemed Christian Church of God has apologised to
Minister of Works and Housing Mr. Babatunde Fashola.
The apology was tendered after the minister clarified the
issue of payment to Cartil Construction Nigeria Limited in respect of the
rehabilitation of the Ife-Ifewara road in Osun.
The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) had alleged that
payment was made to the contractor by the ministry for rehabilitation of the
road which was done by the Church between 2016 and 2019.
However, Fashola debunked the allegation while speaking at
the Public Hearing of the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public
Petitions, on Thursday in Abuja.
The minister clarified that no payment was made by the
current administration with respect to the rehabilitation of the road.
Fashola stated that the contract was awarded to Messrs
Cartill Construction Nigeria Limited five years before the Buhari
Administration and six years before he was appointed as a Minister of Works and
Housing.
He said that the then Minister of Works only approved the
mandatory 15 percent mobilisation fee on March 31, 2011, and another payment was
made after the work had reached about 26.21 percent on Dec. 29, 2011.
“These payments were all made four years before the Buhari’s
administration,” he explained.
He stated that the ministry did not make any payment to the
contractor as a refund or certify any work done between 2016 and 2019.
Fashola added that the road in question was not a federal
road but the contract was initiated as Parliamentary Constituency Project which
was domiciled in the budget of the ministry.
Hence the intervention of the Federal Ministry of Works and
Housing.
The minister thanked the chairman and other distinguished
members of the committee for its impartial and dispassionate consideration of
the petition but noted that there was no basis for the petition by way of facts
or evidence.
While commending the leadership of RCCG for intervening in
the rehabilitation of the road, Fashola explained that there were procedures to
be followed in intervening on federal and state roads.
Responding on behalf of RCCG, the Petitioner, Pastor Niyi
Adebanjo apologized to the minister.
Adebanjo said the petition was not targeted at him, but was
meant to expose some perceived sharp practices.
He said that they thought that the Federal Government was to
approve another payment for the road which was rehabilitated free by Pastor Encoh
Adeboye as part of the church’s Social Corporate Responsibility.
“The rehabilitation of the road was awarded and paid for by
Pastor Enoch Adeboye, hence any further claim by any company should be seen as
illegal and unjust.”
“Ministry of Works and Housing deserves an apology from us
and because the whole world is listening to us, I tender that apology
“Unreservedly,” he said.
Speaking, the Committee Chairman, Sen. Patrick Akinyelure,
commended the minister for his presentation and for correcting the impression
that some monies were paid by the Buhari-led administration.
He said that the purpose of the public hearing was to clear
all grey areas regarding payments that were alleged to be paid by the ministry
and not to witch-hunt anybody.
He commended the RCCG for the intervention and for crying
out for the perceived wrongdoing but charged them to follow due procedure and
guidelines in future intervention to avoid a repeat of such occurrence.
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com