Irked by the continued upward review of the contract sum for the Idu industrial project, the House of Representatives Committee on FCT has resolved to investigate the project.
The contract for the project was awarded in 2003 in the sum of N3 billion and 73 million Euros but was reviewed to N6 billion in 2009.
The Chairman of the Committee, Emmanuel Jimeh, announced the decision to investigate the project when members visited the site on oversight function.
He said, “This is about the largest industrial layout in this country and id properly executed would go along way is creating job opportunities for Nigerians.
“That is why we are concerned about the current status of the project. Though we demanded for some information that would aid us in determining areas where we can intervene, we have to wait for that information”.
Also, of serious concern to the committee members is the foreign component of the contract sum, which they noted contravene government’s policy.
“Furthermore, from the little at our disposal so far, we are not comfortable with the foreign component of the project because from the documents given to us, we see that some aspects of the project were paid in foreign currency.
“This is contrary to government policy that all contracts must be paid for in our own currency. We need further information on that to determine the justification for such payment,” the chairman said.
Briefing the committee, a Deputy Director, Federal Capital Development Administration (FCDA), Ukpong Benedict explained that the project was currently in liability of N4b because of Variation of Price and Labour (VoP)
He said “With adequate funding, the project that began since 2003 can be completed within two years”, adding that there were challenges in accessing the $323m counterpart funding from the Nigerian government as $158m has been accessed so far.
The Committee gave the contractor and the FCDA till Tuesday to make available to it all the requested information.
