The decay in government is systemic. The NDDC an agency that is set up to transform the lives of the deprived people of the Niger Delta has become a tool in the hands of greedy politicians. Below is a letter to the president from our organization highlighting major frauds in the commission and our prayers. We have also done our investigations and have attached some documents as proof. – NDCC, Warri
OPEN LETTER TO THE PRESIDENT –
Your Excellency, we wish to bring to your notice again the continued recklessness of the incompetent management of the Niger Delta Development Commission led by Dr. Chris Oboh and the highly inept board led by Dr. Tebipah Tarila.
The current board was inaugurated eight months ago and from that day till now no single project has been commissioned in the Niger Delta. What they did was to stampede on-going projects and removed them from the budget to give room for fresh contract awards to themselves, their alter-ego and their cronies. By stalling and frustrating previously awarded projects, they were able to reserve available funds for the payment of their own newly awarded projects. When we protested to the Presidency, this board began to release payments to contractors in bits and stopped after a few weeks. Presently, over two hundred contractors who have completed their projects are either waiting for mobilization fees or have their interim payment certificates stuck in the MD’s office for over 5 months now.
Mr. President, some months ago we petitioned you to intervene in the fraudulent structuring of the NDDC 2011 budget in which only 15% provision was approved for on-going projects, meaning that it will take at least 6 to 7 years to complete a project, no matter how small the project is. Whereas, the new projects awarded by the Dr. Chris Oboh led management which they sold for upfront payments of 155 of the contract sum per project, were fully funded in the budget. This very unattended issue raised then has resulted in the non-payment of contractors who have genuinely completed their projects or achieved defined milestones, for flimsy reasons of insufficient funding of the projects in the 2011 approved budget.
Projects are awarded recklessly because the Presidency in an unprecedented blunder raised the approval margin of the board of NDDC from N 250 Million to N 1 billion. See some few details:
1. Canalization of Agoba Bou Creek in Ogbeinama, Bomadi, Delta state was awarded on March 29, 2012 at the sum of N994.5m. This canalization only involves opening less than 100 metres of short mangrove. The maximum this project estimate after evaluation by our civil engineers is N84m. Who takes the N900m profit?
2. On the same date, the Construction and Equipping of the Niger Delta Regional Technical College/Craft Development Schools (Pilot schemes for Rivers, Ondo, Bayelsa, Delta) was awarded to Joraga Ltd, Ancome Integrated and Hammakopp Consortium fronted by the Managing Director, each at the value of N997.645m. This was no mistake. Mobilization has been paid to all companies.
3. Internal roads in a Edemeya community, in Akwa Ibom state, with population of less than 300o people was awarded at N800m to Kanash Engineering and Construction. Edemaya just has a stretch of 1.6km of unpaved roads. Same was done for Ukpum Okon internal roads which was awarded at N600m to Aniekpong Integrated Services. Okpum Okon in fact has a cumulative length of 1.3km of unpaved roads. The rehabilitation of Mbikpong Ikot Udo Ekpo-Mbiokporo Road, a road being undertaken by Gov. Goodswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom state was awarded to Benest Tech Services Ltd for N999.99million. This road is 2.5km long. All the projects in Akwa Ibom (the EDP’s zone) followed suit.
4. In Bayelsa, the Chairman did his bit. He awarded the electrical project for the connection of three linear communities in Ekeremor LGA to the National Grid at N670M to Deastern Elect & Mech; (the same electrical company fronting for the Chairman was awarded a silly project Construction of St. Saviour Street in Edo state at N3.17bn. Governor Oshiomhole would have done a 40km road with this amount). Laughable is the award for the installation of 64 (poles) solar lights in Sagbama for N448,453,675.08 to Emarid Ventures (meaning each solar pole costs N 7Million). He further awarded the Opokuma Shore Protection (completion) to Ebitoks Nigeria Limited for 998.7m. This job had been fully funded by the previous board hitherto. All projects awarded by these board members followed in Bayelsa followed suit.
5. In Delta the 2km Ogbeinama community (Bomadi LGA) concrete pavement was awarded to Consolim Solution Ltd at N 949,552,600.45. The estimated actual cost for this project is N150M. Same was done for Ogriagbene community internal road awarded to Asigo Company Limited at N948,500,200.45. Ogriagbene community has a cumulative length of 1.73km of internal roads and no bridge is required. The estimated actual cost is N91.5m.
6. All the projects awarded by this board to themselves and fronts are flat-out dubious. The Managing Director awarded the N7.5 billion Ahoada-Izombe Road and Bridges (Phase 2) to himself at the sum of N7,419,942,200.00 (N7. 419B) using their family company PORTSMAN FOUNDATION & CIVIL WORKS LTD of which his siblings, including his younger brother, Mr. Kingsley Oboh Okechukwu, a staff of the NDDC are directors. (See attached as proof CAC documents showing the directors of the company).
7. For the first time in the history of the commission, some staff and serving directors refused to compromise on these fraudulent awards and resisted the pressure of the board, especially the Managing Director. They were all redeployed to state offices as retribution for standing up to evil. For instance, an emergency road repair project in Abia State which was awarded to one of the numerous companies owned by Mr. Alloy Nwagboso, the Abia State Representative on the board at a contract sum of N224 million and was allegedly completed in less than 2 weeks was found to have an actual value of N28 million by Project Monitoring officials who went for inspection. When it was time to raise payment certificate, they valued the work done to be N28 million amidst threats of sac from the State Representative, the closest ally in the board to the Managing Director. The Project Monitoring Director and all the officers that refuse to pay for the over-bloated contract were redeployed from the NDDC head office to various State offices and demoted.
8. Finally, just to show how systemic the corruption within the commission is, see the attached Appendix- a letter of award to OKMAA (WA) Ltd, for Emergency Transportation a tank and tower from Structec Warehouse in Lagos to NDDC Warehouse in Port Harcourt for a whooping N94, 500,000.00 (Ninety Million, Five Hundred thousand Naira only). Your Excellency, it would cost less than a million naira to haul the tank and tower. There is no such thing as ‘Emergency Transportation’ in the procurement act. We no longer use donkeys, and the tank in question isn’t freighted by air or sea from a European country to Port Harcourt.
9. The Contract for the Otuoke Multipurpose Market valued at N2.1b and contract for the Construction of Palm Road worth N2.8 billion are shamelessly being hawked through agents for 15 %.
10. This board has removed over 800 already awarded projects from the draft list of projects approved by the Parastatals Tender Board of the commission in 2010, therefore making it impossible to execute those projects. Instead, they have squeezed in over 900 of such dubious projects which they have either sold at between 15 to 20% to contractors, or awarded to themselves.
11. In a breach of the Procurement Act of 2007, (and for the first in NDDC history) 85 consultancy contracts were awarded without prequalification. The contracts were flagrantly awarded in lump sums ranging from N25m N240m instead of the FG approved scale of fees.
10. Hundreds of contractors have still not been mobilized over a year after projects have been awarded. Water, electricity, canalization, health and education projects have been stalled all across the Niger Delta. No single project has been commissioned in one year by the NDDC. Contractors and banks have lost confidence in the commission and since payment to contractors have become a problem, almost all contractors have abandoned their project sites. The people of the region are now asking if indeed Mr. President is working, because charity begins at home, and in his tenure, the region is witnessing the worst level of under-development.
Mr. President, we pray as follows:
1. That all projects awarded by this board be investigated by the EFCC, ICPC and the Presidential Committee on the NDDC. We do not say the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) because that institution has been severely compromised and its leadership is a share-holder in the loot. We did not say the SGF’s office, because he has a lion share of the loot.
2. That all projects unjustly removed from the 2011 draft budget and all on-going projects for which agreements have been signed between the commission and the contractors, be included in the 2012 budget which is presently before the national assembly, and adequately funded.
3. That all directors and staff unjustly sent to state offices for challenging corruption be returned immediately.
4. That the selective mobilization/payment of contractors be investigated.
5. That all recently awarded over-bloated contracts that has almost grounded the commission, especially those between 300m to 1 billion and those between 1 billion and above be thoroughly investigated by a presidential team of reputable and experienced projects professionals. I bet you, you will surely discover cans of worms.
We have always volunteered as whistle blowers in the region to relate vital issues bedevilling the delicate Niger Delta region and its development to you, even with our own funds. But this time, if you treat this with kid gloves, posterity will never forgive you. You got it wrong from the onset when you picked a set of corrupt, greedy and irresponsible team to man the management of a developmental agency as important as NDDC. This should be a big lesson to you.
We wish you success and God’s guidance in your tenure as you steer the ship of the country towards transformation.
SEE THESE links for documents in proof of above allegations:
http://www.elombah.com/PortmanLtd.pdf
http://www.elombah.com/PortmanProject.pdf
http://www.elombah.com/TankTransportnAward.pdf
Signed.
Engr. Evwierhurhoma Agbagoro (MNSE)Engr. Unyime H. Enang (MNSE)
PresidentSecretary
NIGER DELTA CONTRACTORS COALITION
45 Sapele Road, Enerhen- Warri Delta State Email : ndcc2001@gmail.com .
Also notified.
Secretary to the Government of the Federation
Senate Committee Chairman on Niger Delta
Senate Committee Chairman on Public Account
House Committee Chairman on Niger Delta
House Committee Chairman on Public Account
