Reps investigate N42bn universities rural electrification schemes

THE House of Representatives on Tuesday mandated its committees on Power and Public Procurement, to investigate an alleged fraudulent award of contracts amounting to N42 billion on Rural Electrification Schemes in some federal universities.

The committees were given three weeks to report back to the House for further legislative action.

The House also urged the Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing to immediately stop further procurement processes on the projects, pending the outcome of the investigation.

The resolution of the House was sequel to a motion by Hon Darlington Nwokocha.

The lawmaker while moving the motion, noted that the Rural Electrification Access program in the federal universities was a pilot scheme designed by the federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing to electrify eight federal universities in the first instance and later replicate same across the remaining universities.

“The sum of nine billion, five hundred million Naira (9,500,000,000) was appropriated for the projects in the 2017 Appropriation Act,” Nwokocha said.

He further stated: “That the projects which were supposed to be spread across the six geo-political zones of the country were not evenly distributed, but mainly concentrated in some zones to the disadvantage of the others, which is against the principle of federal character enshrined in Section 14 (3) of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999.

“Aware that the projects which were initially approved for N9.5 billion in the Appropriation Act, were later awarded at the cost of N42 billion in violation of the Public Procurement Act.”

According to the lawmaker, the contracts were selectively awarded to two contracting companies that do not have any records of achievement in the field, which he said is tantamount to further violation of the Public Procurement and Act.

When the Speaker of the House, Hon Yakubu Dogara called for a vote on the motion, it was passed by a majority of the legislators and the Power and Public Procurement committees were given the mandate to investigate the matter.