Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN has said that the ministry will soon publish what he termed “a black list” of defaulting contractors who have refused to meet their own end of bargains with the Federal government after the award of contracts. Speaking in Abuja when he appeared before the Senator Ayo Akinyelure, led Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petition to testify on a petition levelled against the Ministry and Cartil Construction Limited by the Redeem Christian Church of God Christian Church (RCCG), Fashola threatened that the ministry will also be making claims of time value for money. Recall that the RCCG had in that petition filed by Secretary to the General Overseer of the RCCG on behalf of the General Overseer, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, Pastor Niyi Adebanjo and dated 9th February, 2021, accused the Ministry of making payment to the tune of N151million to Cartil Construction Limited for the rehabilitation of the Ife- Ifewara Road in Osun State, which the Church said was constructed by it as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). The RCCG therefore asked that Cartil Construction Limited should be made to refund the money and have it returned to government coffer. The Church said ” if anyone is to be reimbursed for the rehabilitation of the road ; it should be it and not the contractor”.
But speaking at the meeting, Fashola who disagreed with all the claims contained in the petition, said that it was false that payments were made between 2016 to 2018 to for the construction of the road; adding that part of why the road was abandoned between 2013 and 2017 was because there was no budgetary allocation for the project. Fashola who explained that the contract for the road was awarded to Cartil Construction in December 2010 for N600 million as one of the several Constituency projects executed under the Ministry of Works; five years before the Buhari administration, adding that based on Section 36 of the Public Procurement Act, the contractor was entitled to 15% as mobilisation fee. He said the contractor initiated for the 15% and the then Minister graciously approved and paid Carti Construction Limited N 99.4 billion.
According to him, having moved to site, a second payment of N52 million was made on the 29th of December, 2011; bringing the total to N151 million which according to him was erroneously claimed to have been paid in 2016 by RCCG, just as he gave Cartil Construction Limited, a clean bill of health when he testified in its favour that it did not claim any money between 2016-2018 because as at that time the contract had already being terminated in 2015. Fashola who told the Committee that the Ministry did nothing wrong, acted according to its mandate and is not liable to the petition, said that there was no proof that an unjust claim was made by the contractor or made by the Ministry and that there was no bases for the petition which bothers on falsehood and defamation. Consequently, the Petitioner, Pastor Niyi Adebanjo apologised on behalf of the General Overseer of RCCG, Pastor Enoch Adeboye to the Minister of Works, Babatunde Raji Fashola when he realised the errors that were made. Adebanjo who admitted that he has no evidence to back up claims that funds were released in 2011 to Cartil Construction Limited, however insisted that it constructed the 15 kilometer road and asked that Cartil Construction Limited should refund what it had collected to the government.
In his contribution, Senator Smart Adeyemi, APC, Kogi West who agreed with the Minister that there is a need to strengthen the laws with stiffer punishment for erring contractors, stressed that RCCG should be commended for drawing attention to high level corruption in contract awards in the country. The Petition by RCCG had read, ” In the petition dated 25 November 2020, the Redeemed Christian Church of God [RCCG] claimed that it had good reasons to believe that Cartill Construzioni Nigeria Limited [Cartill] had claimed the sum of N151,508,901.22 as reimbursement for the rehabilitation of Ife-Ifewara Road Osun State [the Road].
“It is the case of RCCG that Cartill made a claim for the rehabilitation of the Road and was subsequently paid the sum of N151,508,901.22 as refund for the project which it did not work on between 2016 and 2019, the period within which Pastor E. A. Adeboye, the General Overseer of the RCCG awarded and paid for the rehabilitation of the Road. It is also the case of the RCCG that the rehabilitation of the Road was carried out by its Camp Project Department in various stages between 2016 and 2019, and not Cartill that was paid for the work. The RCCG prayed that the money paid to Cartill be refunded by the company and that if any reimbursement is to be paid same should be paid to Pastor Adeboye who financed the project. The Road.The Ife-Ifewara Road is not a Federal Road. It is a State road within Osun State in the South-West Nigeria. It is a 6.3m wide single carriageway, 15km long with 1.5m earth shoulders on either side. The road originates from Enuwa (Ooni’s palace) in Ile-Ife and traverses several agricultural settlements like Mosarajo, Elekiri, Agara Owena, Orunto, Agbabiaka and Bogunjo villages before terminating at Ifewara town, all in Osun State.
“The Contract. The contract in respect of the road was awarded five years before the Buhari Administration, specifically on 21 December 2010 to Messrs Cartill Construction Nigeria Limited in the sum of N662,760,771.75 with a commencement date of 7 March 2011 and a completion date of 7 November 2011. The rehabilitation works was expected to include the scarification of failed sections, desilting of blocked drainage structures, provision of surface dressed shoulders and complete rehabilitation of the entire stretch with asphaltic concrete overlay. In accordance with the provision of section 36 of the Public Procurement Act relating to provision of security for advance payments, the contractor thereafter submitted Advance Payment Guarantee from then BankPHB Plc in the sum of N99,414,155.76 representing 15% of the contract value. Consequent upon the APG, the then Minister approved Interim Statement in the sum of N99,414,115.76 which was paid on 31 March 2011. The second Interim Statement in the sum of N52,094,785.46 was later approved and was paid on 29 December 2011. These payments were all made four years before the Buhari Administration.
“However, the contractor only achieved 26.21% project completion since the commencement of the project in 2011. Following the stoppage of work by the contractor, the contract has been recommended for termination for breach of contract after warning letters were served on the Contractor. By its letter dated March 5, 2014, the Ministry warned the Contractor that: “Failure to improve on this dismal performance of yours will attract sanctions in line with Clause 63(b) of the Standard Conditions of Contract (Roadwork)…”. By its letter dated June 15, 2015, the Ministry issued the Contractor its final warning letter.”
