The consultant handling Ilesa water project in Osun state, Engineer Tawa William has accused the state House of Assembly of demanding a bribe grant of five million dollars from her on the project.

Engineer William made the accusation on Thursday in Osogbo, the Osun state capital while answering questions on a private Television station, Western Spring Television during Morning Spring programme monitored in Osogbo.

According to her, “the Chairman of the House Committee on Water Resources demanded the $5m bribe on behalf of the assembly.”

The consultant stated that, the lawmakers had invited her and the team working on the site after an earlier inspection, lauding the quality of work done so far but, wondered why they made a sudden change to say that, they will go to the press and say that, the quality of work that had been done is not good when the bribe demanded was not given to them.

She said, “The House is asking for five million dollars and I said I don’t have five million dollars to give to anybody. They asked for it for themselves. They are asking for takeaway grant and they are saying that they will go to the press and say that the quality of work that we have done is not good.

“I told them that one year ago, you were on the site. You were commending us. Now, you will go back to the press and say we have not done well, what would be your reason?

“Yes. They demanded the bribe. I am saying it from all sense of responsibility. It did not come from the house as a whole. The Chairman of the House Committee on Water Supply and members of his committee called us to the meeting. They were saying that we didn’t give them money, and I was saying we do not have money to give to them. The money I have is to do the job,” she alleged.

She also said that the Islamic development bank, Federal Ministry of Water Resources, the Accountant General of the Federation department, the auditor in Federal Ministry of Water Resources had come to inspect the project adding that she didn’t know where the government got the information from.

Engineer Williams, however denied using a 75 million naira project vehicle, as claimed by the Governor Ademola Adeleke’s administration maintaining that, the project vehicle, cost only 45 million naira. (Nigerian Tribune)

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