The House of Representatives Standing Committee on Federal Capital Territory (FCT) will begin to probe the N7billion abandoned housing project for the Vice President which has been overtaken by weeds.
The committee headed by Hon. Herman Hembe took the decision after undertaking an oversight visit to the project site in Abuja’s Three-Arms zone on Thursday.
The committee members observed that after the payment of N6.215bn to Julius Berger Nigeria Ltd, which is handling the project, the claim that the work had reached 88 per cent completion was untrue.
The committee observed that the work done was actually less than 50 per cent, with an outstanding balance of N850m out of the total N7bn contract sum.
It will be recalled that the contract was awarded in 2009 at N7billion. But in 2012, a former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Sen. Bala Mohammed, came with a request for N9billion more to complete the project.
The variation was expected to accommodate a helipad. There was public outrage.
FCDA Executive Secretary Adamu Ismail later told the Senate Committee on FCT that the proposed additional N9 billion was slashed to about N6 billion by the Bureau for Public Procurement (BPP).
He said the variation was also meant to provide furniture, fencing, two additional protocol guest houses, a banquet hall and security gadgets.
The then Senate Committee on FCT, led by Senator Smart Adeyemi, however, rejected the request for the variation, which was more than 100 per cent.
Members expressed concern that at a time when some contractors were paid less than N50 per cent as mobilisation fee, Julius Berger was paid 88 per cent, yet it abandoned the project.
Addressing journalists at the site, chairman of the committee, Hembe, said they would set up a sub-committee to probe the project with a view to ensuring that Nigerians get value for their money.
Explaining the breakdown of the project, Hembe said the VP’s Aide De Camp’s (ADC’s) house was contracted for N258m; Chief Security Officer’s house was for N228m; a church building at N84m while a mosque at N95m; security quarters at 114m; Boys Quarters at N288m; gate house for N55m; and infrastructure at N1.7bn, among other features of the residence.
For his part, acting director of the Public Building Department of the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA), Arc Ikenna Ekeledo, said the amount paid included finishing materials, most of which were yet to be supplied.
He said the construction firm had done some other works outside the initial agreed contract cost, which would gulp an additional N1bn.
However, the committee said it would not appropriate any amount for the project until Julius Berger completes the project in the first place.
According to the FCDA report in August 2015 shortly,the N8.1billion liabilities were outside the expenses on the renovation of the Defence House, the main residence/ president’s office, Aguda House/ Vice President’s office and guest houses under the transition programme.
The report said: “The primary challenge facing the State House has been the inadequacy of successive budgetary appropriations. The State House annual appropriations do not match its actual activities, thereby leading to regular recourse to additional funding from Intervention Fund from the Federal Ministry of Finance.
“About 283 of the temporary staff not found eligible for regularisation were with the approval of His Excellency, the President given contract appointments renewable annually, based on performance and fitness.
“However, payment of their salaries (an average of N8million per month) is from State House overheads provision, which remains a huge challenge to State House.
“The existing infrastructure for mechanical, electrical and associated components have aged and are performing well beyond their design lives.
“The proposal for their replacement/ upgrade has been reviewed and certified by the Bureau of Public Procurement in the total sum of N3,647,793, 305.76. However, due to paucity of funds, phased implementation is being adopted for the most vital and critical works, starting with Phase I in the sum of N693, 119,509.55.”