The House of Representatives Public Accounts Committee on Tuesday queried the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Works, Yakubu Kofarmata, over the abandoned Gidanwaya-Guaran Dutse-Waman Rafi-Saminaka-Kano road project, for which the sum of N1.46bn was paid to the contractor.

Kofarmata appeared before the committee after failing to attend on two previous occasions.

It will be recalled that the committee issued a five-day ultimatum to the Permanent Secretary last week, threatening to use its legislative instruments to compel him to appear should he fail to do so on Tuesday.

The Committee Chairman, Bamidele Salam (PDP, Osun), noted at the hearing on Tuesday that the funding for the project was sourced from a loan taken by the Federal Government.

At the end of the hearing, the panel mandated the Permanent Secretary to return on Monday, November 5, 2024.

He was also directed to submit all relevant documents related to the project by Friday.

This, Salam said, would enable the committee to study them for a proper investigation of the matter.

?You were invited concerning an exercise that is about to commence, which is the inspection of critical national assets, especially roads constructed in the last five years.

?Information we received from the Debt Management Office indicated that some of these roads were undertaken with loans acquired by the Federal Government. In particular, a road titled Gidanwaya-Guaran Dutse-Waman Rafi-Saminaka-Kano in Kaduna State was awarded by the Federal Ministry of Works on October 5, 2022, for which the sum of N1.46bn was paid to Messrs Jam Jam Dynamic Platform Limited.

?This road was supposed to be completed within 12 months. There are allegations that the road awarded in 2022 has not yet been started, and full payment has been made by the Federal Ministry of Works to the contractor concerned.

?As a committee of equity, we strongly believe that we must give all parties a fair hearing. You should provide information on the status of the road. We asked for certain documents to be provided, and we expect that you will give us better insight so the committee can decide on the best way to ascertain the truth of the claim that the road has not been constructed while full payment has been made to the contractor,? he added.

The Permanent Secretary, who appeared alongside his team, stated that the construction of the Gidanwaya-Guaran, Dutse-Waman, and Rafi-Saminaka-Kano roads was divided into four phases.

Yakubu said that the project in question was the second phase of the road, which spans 3.5 kilometres and was awarded to Jam-Jam Dynamic Platform Ltd, valued at N1.46bn.

He affirmed that the project has been completed.

In his response, the Permanent Secretary clarified that the amount was not for the entire stretch, which is 133km, but for a portion of the road.

He stated that the road was done in phases due to a lack of funds.

The committee was not satisfied with the oral submissions and documents provided by the Permanent Secretary and agreed that the ministry should reappear with the following documents:

?All procurement and financial records related to the project, including a comprehensive brief about the scope of the project, evidence of advertisement, and payment for tender.

?Others are Ministerial Tender Board approval/Federal Executive Council?s/Bureau of Public Procurement?s approval, award letters and acceptance letters, various certificates raised (interim certificate/certificate of completion), an advance payment guarantee issued by a bank/insurance company, and evidence of payment of the mobilisation fee, if any.

?Performance bonds/guarantees issued by a bank, letters of request for payment by the contractor, letters of request for variation by the contractor, if any, total amounts paid to contractors so far, and the contractor?s account details,? among others. (The PUNCH)

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