The House of Representatives ad hoc committee investigating the slow pace of 45km Ijebu-Igbo Ita Ibadan road in Oyo State has summoned officials of the Federal Ministry of Works to appear before it on Sept 28.
This is to explain controversies surrounding the re-award of the road project to another contractor without terminating the earlier one awarded to the first contractor.
Rep. Kwamoti Laori, the chairman of the committee said in Abuja at the resumed hearing of the investigation after its oversight visit to the site on Sept 21 in Oyo and part of Ogun State.
Those summoned are the Director of Engineering Highways, South West, Director of Finance and Legal Departments.
Laori said the probe panel would not hesitate to summon the minister of works if the officials failed to give necessary explanation regarding the controversies over the re-award of the said project.
The committee had requested the representatives of ministry of works to give explanation regarding the re-award of the 45km Ijebu-Igbo Ibadan road project to another company when the original contractor was still on site.
Mr Adedamola Kuti, Director, Highway South West, Ministry of Works had told the committee during its inaugural sitting on Sept 7 that the contract being handled by DC Engineering Ltd. had been terminated since September 2022
He said it had been re-awarded to two other companies, while promising he lawmakers to make a copy of the termination letter available within 72 hours.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that three weeks later, neither Kuti nor any official of the ministry of works was able to make a copy of the termination letter available to the committee.
Mr Ade Adedeji, Executive Director of DC Engineering Ltd, told the committee that he did not receive any letter of termination of contract from the ministry of works.
He said their equipment and workers were still on the project site, adding that the same ministry had certified their work and just paid them in Aug. 2023.(NAN). READ ALSO:
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