Senators and members of the House of Representatives have expressed reservations about the capacity of the firm awarded the N42bn contract for the renovation of the National Assembly Complex.
There have been controversies over the amount earmarked for the contract. Senate President Ahmad Lawan had, last year, told Daily Trust that the contract sum was reduced from N37bn to N9.2bn.
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But multiple sources said it was increased to N42bn this year and that a company, Messrs Visible Construction Limited, had been awarded the contract by the Federal Capital Development Authority.
A serving senator as well as a member of the House of Representatives, who shared their concerns with one of our reporters in Abuja, queried the decision to award the contract to the company.
They said ITB Nigeria Limited, which originally built the first phase of the National Assembly Complex, had quoted N26.9bn for the renovation work.
A Google search on the company, Visible Construction Limited, showed that it was incorporated with an office address given as No 1 Ashabi Cole Street Opposite Daily Times, Agidingbi Lagos.
But when our correspondent visited the address, the big compound opposite Daily Times and adjacent a popular filling station at Agidingbi accommodates many offices and firms.
There are no fewer than four law firms in the office as well as two real estate firms while there are other small offices inside the compound.
None of the occupiers in the compound had information about the said company.
When one of our reporters visited the FCDA) yesterday, the Executive Secretary, Shehu Hadi Ahmad, was said not to be on seat so also the Director of Information, Richard Nduul.
Repeated calls and text messages to his mobile phone line were not responded to.
The spokesman of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Okezie Kalu, also did not respond to calls and messages sent to him by one of our correspondents.
By Hussein Yahaya, Itodo Daniel Sule (Abuja) & Abdullateef Aliyu (Lagos)
