allAfrica.com: Nigeria: How Due Process DG Deceived House (Page 1 of 2)

Contrary to claims by the Director-General of the Due Process Office, Mr. Emeka Eze that projects under the National Integra-ted Power Project (NIPP) were not certified by the Due Process Office, documents obtained weekend showed that at least 29 firms went through the process and were issued due process certificates.

Eze had last Tuesday before the House of Repre-sentatives Committee on Power and Steel probing expenditure on the power sector between 2000 and 2007, said the $3.54 billion NIPP projects being a presidential intervention did not pass through the Due Process

Office for payment.

But documents obtained by THISDAY showed 29 companies awarded contracts under the NIPP project were issued with certificates for contract award. The certificates issued by the Budget Monitoring and Price Intelligence Unit (BMPIU) stated that "the project(s) satisfied all due process requirements for proceeding to seek Federal Executive Council (FEC) consideration."

Copies of due process certificates obtained by THISDAY include those of Lahmeyer (NIPP Design Consultancy), Elens Konsult (Distribution Consultancy, Lot 1 Abuja), Himios (Distribution Consultancy, Lot 2 Benin), Waltech Engineering (Distribution Consultancy, Lot 4), Alpha Consortium (Distribution Consultancy, Lot 5), Valenz Holdings (Distribution Consultancy, Lot 6), Yaroson Partnership (Distribution Consultancy, Lot 8) and Steag Encotec (Distribution Consultancy, Lot 9).

Others are Chemo Technics Ltd. (Transmission EPC, Lot 1), Chrome Consortium (Transmission EPC, Lot 2), Energo Nig. Ltd. (Transmission EPC, Lot 3), Payma Bargh (Transmission EPC, Lot 4), Hoquado Nigeria Ltd.

(Transmission EPC, Lot 5), Gitto Construction (Transmi-ssion EPC, Lot 6), KEC International (Transmission EPC, Lot 7), Pivot-Kal (Transmission EPC, Lot 8), Matelec (Transmission EPC, Lot 9) and Charnnel (Transmission EPC, Lot 10).

Also issued with due process certificates are Lahm-eyer International/O. T. Otis Engineering Consortium (Design Consultancy), General Electric International (Gas Turbine and Transformers), Steag/AENL (Consultancy Services, Lot 3), Rockson Engineering/Burns McDonnel (EPC of BoP, Lot 2), Marubeni Engineering (West Africa) Limited (EPC of BoP, Lot 1) and (EPC of BoP, Lot 6), John Brown /SGI (Project Consultancy, Lot 1), Steag Encotec GmbH/AENL

(Project Consultancy, Lot 2), Marubeni Engineering (West Africa) Limited (EPC of BoP, Lot 3), Rockson Engineering/Burns McDonnel (EPC of BoP, Lot 4) and Lahmeyer International/O. T. Otis Engineering Consortium (Design Consultancy, Distribution Network).

The value of the contracts issued with due process certificates obtained by THISDAY totals N255,482,693,168.55. The United States Dollar component is $188,445,082.90 while the Euro component totals #195,219,227.08 Euro. The documents stated that funding for the projects will come from the Consolidated Federation Account, Excess Crude Funds.

World Bank Vice President and erstwhile Senior Special Assistant to former president Olusegun Obasanjo and Head of defunct BMPIU, Mrs. Obiageli Ezekwesili and Tajudeen Oyawoye, Special Assistant to the former president and member of BMPIU signed one of the due process certificates - that of Lahmeyer International for design consultancy valued at N789,606,373.22.

The certificate dated June 22, 2005 has reference No. 2519/S.19/Vol.111/05/2085.

Eleven of the certificates were signed by Prof. Kunle Ade Wahab, Special Adviser to former President Obasanjo and Ezekwesili's successor at BMPIU and Abimbola Ogunseitan, Snr. Special Assistant to former President Obasanjo and Deputy Head of the defunct BMPIU. Two of the certificates were dated November 22, 2005, one December 1, 2005, one June 22, 2006, six dated July 4, 2006, and one dated December 22, 2006.

Seventeen other due process certificates were signed by Oyawoye and Prof. Wahab.

Eze had during his appearance before the House Committee on Power and Steel said the Due Process Office (now known as the Bureau for Public Procurement) did not certify any project because they were borne out of a presidential intervention.

Eze, who observed that the NIPP initiative was started before the enactment of the Public Procurement Act said "there are laws in place and people who have been found wanting should be punished if they break it."

He told the House Committee probing expenditure on power sector between 2000 and 2007 that "since the funds were not from the Presidency, but from the Excess Crude Account, they did not come to us for payment. Due Process started July 2002 but became effective 2003."

However, Governor of Cross River State and former Minister of Power and Steel, Mr Liyel Imoke had told the probe panel last Monday that all contracts under the NIPP were approved by the Federal Executive Council, passed through Due Process and were duly issued with Due Process Certificates.

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