The Senate Public Accounts Committee has queried the Niger Delta Basin Development Authority (NDBDA) over N220 million unexecuted contracts.
The contracts were awarded in 2012, according to the Auditor-General’s report submitted to the panel. The committee is probing spendings by federal agencies in the last four years.
- Army Arrests Soldier Who Asked Colleagues Not To Shoot Protesters
- Army Denies Deploying Soldiers To Lekki Tollgate, But Videos Show Soldiers On The Scene
The report said a contract for the construction of 10 hand-pump boreholes in Obo-Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State was awarded to a firm at a cost of N9.2 million through letter reference AD/NDBDS/C/20/12/050 and dated 18th October, 2012.
“It was claimed that the job has been completed and payment effected. However, audit inspection revealed the boreholes on the sites were inexistent,” it said.
The report said the contract for construction of solar-powered water project at Ekwetortor, Delta State was awarded to a company on October 18, 2012 at a contract price of N10 million with completion of six and half weeks.
“The total contract sum had been paid but a visit to the site showed that the solar power was not working as the residents confirmed.
“N3.8 million value of the contract has not been done,” it said.
The audit query also listed other projects not executed to include N13 million Otir Ewhu water rehabilitation projects and N14 million solar-powered water projects in Ebenedebiri and Trofani, Bayelsa.
According to the Auditor-General’s report, all the issues raised were communicated to the Managing Director of NDBDA through Audit inspection report in July 2016.
The Managing Director, Mr. Tonye David-West, was unable to defend all the queries issued to him by Senate Committee on Public Account chaired by Senator Mathew urhoghide. The Committee therefore sustained all the queries issued by the Office of Auditor General of the Federation.
