House Probes N19bn 2011 Rail Contract Award to Ghost Firm
The award of rail contract to the tune of N19.2bn in 2011 for the rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt-Makurdi section of the Eastern Rail Line is to be probed by the House of Representatives.
The suspicion is that the contract may have been awarded to a ghost firm.
The plan to probe the rail contract followed a motion moved by the Minority Leader, Ndudi Elumelu Monday for urgent public concern.
According to Elumelu, “The House notes that Eser Contracting and Industry Company Incorporated was awarded the contract to rehabilitate the 463km Port Harcourt-Makurdi section of the Eastern Railway Line for N19.2bn in March 2011. The railway rehabilitation work was divided into three sections, namely 463km Port Harcourt-Makurdi track, 1016km Makurdi-Kuru track and 640km Kuru-Maiduguri track, and the three sections were awarded to three different companies.
“There are allegations that while carrying out due diligence on Eser Contracting and Industry Company Incorporated, it was discovered that the company was not in existence, as it was not duly registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission.
“The House is worried that the Bureau for Public Procurement failed in its responsibility by issuing a Certificate of No Objection to clear the way for the Railway Corporation to award a job of such magnitude to a company without any legal status.”
He said that it was only after the contract was awarded that the promoters of the project moved to register the company in the name of Eser West Africa Limited in June 2011.
The suspicion is that the contract may have been awarded to a ghost firm.
The plan to probe the rail contract followed a motion moved by the Minority Leader, Ndudi Elumelu Monday for urgent public concern.
According to Elumelu, “The House notes that Eser Contracting and Industry Company Incorporated was awarded the contract to rehabilitate the 463km Port Harcourt-Makurdi section of the Eastern Railway Line for N19.2bn in March 2011. The railway rehabilitation work was divided into three sections, namely 463km Port Harcourt-Makurdi track, 1016km Makurdi-Kuru track and 640km Kuru-Maiduguri track, and the three sections were awarded to three different companies.
“There are allegations that while carrying out due diligence on Eser Contracting and Industry Company Incorporated, it was discovered that the company was not in existence, as it was not duly registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission.
“The House is worried that the Bureau for Public Procurement failed in its responsibility by issuing a Certificate of No Objection to clear the way for the Railway Corporation to award a job of such magnitude to a company without any legal status.”
He said that it was only after the contract was awarded that the promoters of the project moved to register the company in the name of Eser West Africa Limited in June 2011.
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