ABUJA— The House of Representatives Ad Hoc Committee
on Failed Rail Contracts, yesterday, unearthed 169 ghost
companies that registered as contractors with the Nigeria
Railway Corporation, NRC, for projects valued at N1 trillion.
House of Representatives
The ad hoc committee raised the alarm during the
investigative hearing at the National Assembly, that none
of the 169 companies invited by the committee had shown
up.
Chairman of the committee, Johnson Agbonnayinman,
(Ikpoba/Okha federal constituency), said the need to invite
the contractors was important, but lamented that efforts to
reach them had so far proven fruitless.
He added that so far, only the China Civil Engineering
Construction Corporation, CCECC, responded to the
committee’s letter.
He said: “You are duty bound to produce the contractors.
They are nowhere to be found; they are not faceless but
yet they cannot be reached.
“You gave them the job, so you should produce them; we
are holding you responsible.”
The committee also asked the corporation’s MD, Mr.
Adeseyi Sijuwade, to make available the agency’s record
of Internally Generated Revenue, IGR, between 2010 and
2014, and was also asked to tell the committee what the
IGR was used for.
In response, the MD said the IGR was used to augment the
agency’s overhead budget.
... as MD denies N2bn pension fund request
Drama, however, started when the committee, acting on
documents before it, asked the MD to explain all he knew
and reason behind his request to the Office of the
Accountant-General of the Federation for a return of N2
billion or 20 percent of the corporation’s pension fund to
the corporation in December 2014.
Responding, Sijuwade, who was reminded of being on oath,
denied making such request to either the Accountant-
General or Minister of Finance.
“I never at any time made any request to the AGF to
return N2 billion pension fund to the corporation,” he said.
Insistent on getting to the root of the matter, the
committee asked the Director of Finance, Felix Njoku, to
take an oath in order to take questions regarding the issue.
Njoku did and insisted that there was never any
correspondence from his office to the Accountant-
General’s on return of the said money.
Not satisfied, the committee veered into what the
organisation did with N2 billion that was in the
corporation's coffers around the period under review.
The Finance Director explained that the money was not
related to pension and was used to fund ongoing contracts
at the time.
He was asked to list the contracts. He promised to make
available the records.
The committee also faulted the award of rail contract to
Costain Construction Company, claiming that it had no
competence in railway projects.
Sijuwade replied that Costain went
through due process
and was found competent by the Federal Executive Council,
FEC, adding that it successfully completed its project.
Chairman of the committee adjourned the hearing and
stressed justice and fairness, stating that the probe was
not a witch-hunt.
ABUJA— The House of Representatives Ad Hoc Committee
on Failed Rail Contracts, yesterday, unearthed 169 ghost
companies that registered as contractors with the Nigeria
Railway Corporation, NRC, for projects valued at N1 trillion.
House of Representatives
The ad hoc committee raised the alarm during the
investigative hearing at the National Assembly, that none
of the 169 companies invited by the committee had shown
up.
Chairman of the committee, Johnson Agbonnayinman,
(Ikpoba/Okha federal constituency), said the need to invite
the contractors was important, but lamented that efforts to
reach them had so far proven fruitless.
He added that so far, only the China Civil Engineering
Construction Corporation, CCECC, responded to the
committee’s letter.
He said: “You are duty bound to produce the contractors.
They are nowhere to be found; they are not faceless but
yet they cannot be reached.
“You gave them the job, so you should produce them; we
are holding you responsible.”
The committee also asked the corporation’s MD, Mr.
Adeseyi Sijuwade, to make available the agency’s record
of Internally Generated Revenue, IGR, between 2010 and
2014, and was also asked to tell the committee what the
IGR was used for.
In response, the MD said the IGR was used to augment the
agency’s overhead budget.
... as MD denies N2bn pension fund request
Drama, however, started when the committee, acting on
documents before it, asked the MD to explain all he knew
and reason behind his request to the Office of the
Accountant-General of the Federation for a return of N2
billion or 20 percent of the corporation’s pension fund to
the corporation in December 2014.
Responding, Sijuwade, who was reminded of being on oath,
denied making such request to either the Accountant-
General or Minister of Finance.
“I never at any time made any request to the AGF to
return N2 billion pension fund to the corporation,” he said.
Insistent on getting to the root of the matter, the
committee asked the Director of Finance, Felix Njoku, to
take an oath in order to take questions regarding the issue.
Njoku did and insisted that there was never any
correspondence from his office to the Accountant-
General’s on return of the said money.
Not satisfied, the committee veered into what the
organisation did with N2 billion that was in the
corporation's coffers around the period under review.
The Finance Director explained that the money was not
related to pension and was used to fund ongoing contracts
at the time.
He was asked to list the contracts. He promised to make
available the records.
The committee also faulted the award of rail contract to
Costain Construction Company, claiming that it had no
competence in railway projects.
Sijuwade replied that Costain went through due process
and was found competent by the Federal Executive Council,
FEC, adding that it successfully completed its project.
Chairman of the committee adjourned the hearing and
stressed justice and fairness, stating that the probe was
not a witch-hunt.
http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/02/reps-uncover-169-ghost-companies-on-n1trn-rail-contracts/

Kinda money you guys they call anyhow is confusing. is too much naaw!

funny and scary but true. the country was in shambles
169 ghost companies applied for contracts in the cooperation