The Minister of Works, Engr. David Umahi said criticisms of the Lagos-Calabar Super Highway by Ex-Vice President Atiku Abubakar, are not only hypocritical but are motivated by ambition and cheap political calculations.
Umahi who spoke through his Special Adviser (Media), Hon.
Orji Uchenna Orji, in Abuja, on Wednesday, accused Atiku of promoting false
analogies to discredit the procurement process which led to the award of
Section 1 of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project.
Orji said, “I wish to categorically state that such
viewpoints are false analogies, conceived by the fertile imaginations of the
former Vice President and which are clearly superficial, hypocritical,
diversionary, and undoubtedly motivated by ambitious political calculations.”
According to him, the former Vice President‘s criticism of
the project award and cost as well as his claim that the firm chosen to execute
the contract were based on ignorance.
Specifically Orji spoke to claims by Atiku that the contract
was awarded to Hitech Construction Company Nigeria Limited because of the
personal relationship between the President of Nigeria and the Chairman of
Hitech, Chagoury, and that the demolition exercise was done in a hurry and thus
a threat to foreign investment.
He said, “These accusations or rather, viewpoints, are, to
say the least, intrinsically superficial, baseless, self-serving and
politically motivated to imprint malice in the minds of unsuspecting members of
the public, especially the gullible.
“The Honourable Minister of Works, His Excellency, Sen.
Engr. Dr. Nweze David Umahi CON, has in different media fora decapitated the
insinuations of the former Vice President and other desperate persons when he
gave insights into the award process, the unit cost comparisons, the project
review dimensions, the demolition notices and compensation plans as well as
those affected by the demolition.
“For the avoidance of doubt, th Lagos-Calabar Coastal
Highway project complied 100% with the provisions of the Procurement Act and
was awarded based on the EPC+ F procurement process, that is to say, the
project is an unsolicited bid done on EPC+F.
“Under this model of procurement, the investor provides all
the designs, part of the financing and construction, while the FGN pays
counterpart funds.
“The bid of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project came
through this process. The Ministry received the bid, worked on it, and sent the
same to the Bureau of Public Procurement ( BPP).
“The BPP worked on it
in accordance with the stipulations of the Procurement Act and came up with a
competitive price slightly lower than the Ministry’s price and even lower than
the cost of similar projects awarded five years ago, including the Bodo-Bonny
project awarded to Julius Berger Nigeria Plc.”
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