The Elites Network for Sustainable Development (ENetSuD), an anti-corruption Civil Society Organisation known in Kwara for its #FollowKwaraMoney, has alleged that the renovation of the Government High School, Ilorin was inflated by over N40 million.
The state government had approved the sum of N361,957,439 for the comprehensive renovation of the school which is under the Ministry of Education.
In a letter addressed to Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq and signed by ENetSuD Coordinator, Dr Alagbonsi Abdullateef, the group said that: “Our re-calculation of the BoQ shows that the accurate contract sum was supposed to be Three Hundred and Twenty-One Million, Four Hundred and Twenty-Seven Thousand, Two Hundred and Thirty-Three Naira (N321,427,233) instead of the N361,957,439 approved by the Ministry for the LOTS 1 and 2 of the GHS project.
ENetSuD noted that apart from the substantive works (items) billed in each project’s BoQ, the only additions that should normally reflect before arriving at the total are the preliminaries, contingency and VAT.
The group listed the irrelevant items that amounted to N40,530,208 as supervision, monitoring and evaluation, project design and production of BoQ and photographs for each projects’ bills among others.
It, therefore, prayed the governor to consider and approve the revision of the contract sum of the Government High School Ilorin from the approved N361,957,439 to N321,427,233.
It also advised the governor to use the excess ₦40,530,208 for other people-oriented projects like the provision of water to marginalized communities across Kwara State without access to potable water.
ENetSuD, however, maintained that the miscalculation of the contract sum is only on the re-assessment of the BoQ, not yet a judgement from the technical re-measurement of the work done at the site, expected to be revisited on completion.
ENetSuD had earlier raised concern on N31,980,799 that was the total amount for similar ‘irrelevant’ items inserted in the BoQ of the project of Patigi Secondary School, Patigi.
When contacted for comment, the Press Secretary in the Ministry, Kamaldeen Aliagan, said the project was done prior to the resumption of the Permanent Secretary, adding that only the Chief Press Secretary (CPS) to the governor, Rafiu Ajakaye, could make comments on the issue.
Response to the text message sent to the CPS was still being awaited at the time of filing this report.
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