FCT: PRESIDENCY PROBES N147BN KUBWA EXPRESSWAY EXPANSION CONTRACT

The Presidency has waded into the N147 billion fraud in the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) over duplicity in the award of contract for the expansion of Kubwa-Abuja Road. The contract is for the rehabilitation and expansion of outer Northern Expressway Lot 11 by the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA).

In October, the Senator Smart Adeyemi-led Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Committee discovered that the same road, with the same length and design was awarded to two different companies at the whooping sum of N147 billion.

One kilometre of road, the committee discovered, was estimated at N4 billion.

These facts were uncovered by the Senate FCT committee during an oversight  on the road projects designed to ease the traffic congestion along the Kubwa -Abuja axis of the nation's capital.

Daily Sun gathered that the alleged fraud concerning the two projects had been raised in the Federal Executive Council (FEC) in the past but nothing was done about it.

Coming on the heels of the exposure of the fraud by the Senate committee, the Presidency has now waded into the matter and ordered a probe almost two months after the Senate FCT Committee announced it was going to investigate the fraud.

National Assembly sources disclosed that in addition to the Kubwa Expressway road expansion project, the unending Airport abroad expansion is also under investigation

But there is already immense pressure on President Goodluck Jonathan 'to discontinue the probe. Lobby groups have sprung up from the FCDA and contractors handling the two projects.

'The President has, however, directed all government officials involved in the projects to go to a special committee that would be set up to go and clear their names. Those indicted by the special committee will be prosecuted,' Daily Sun learnt.

Details showed that ministry allegedly awarded the construction of the 19.5 kilometre road to CGC, a Chinese company at N81 billion in 2009 with the completion date put at November 2011.

Thereafter, the same road was awarded to an indigenous company, Dantata and  Sawoe at N66 billion.

The only difference in both projects, Daily Sun gathered, was that one has to construct a bridge across the road and the other has 800 metres added to it's contract.

Completion date of the road project has been shifted to March 2012.

Contacted on telephone about the latest development on the contracts, Committee Chairman, Smart refused to confirm the presidential intervention on the matter.

He simply replied: 'We await the outcome of the investigation,' and the line went dead.