Leadership (Abuja)
Juliet Alohan
4 November 2009
Abuja — The Minister of Transport, Ibrahim Isa Bio, has denied allegations that he breached due process in the award of some contracts.
He made this disclosure yesterday in Abuja, while fielding questions from journalists during the contract signing ceremony of the Lagos-Jebba railway modernisation project.
On allegations that due process was breached in the award of the railway contracts to CCECC, Bio clarified that price alone does not determine who gets a contract.
He explained that track record of performance, delivery time, equipment and expertise, financial base amongst others, are part of criteria to winning a contract.
The minister maintained that at this crucial state of the nation's unrelenting efforts to reposition the railways for effective transportation, the federal government cannot afford to waste time and other resources, by just awarding contracts to the lowest bidders, without putting into considerations their ability to deliver.
Recalling the case of Lokoja port dredging project which was awarded to Fobi Construction Company, for quoting the least price of N2.3bn in April 2007, Bio said: "The execution of that project has become a huge problem on our hands, it may have to be terminated and re-awarded".
Emphasising that he is not ready to go down the road of abandoned projects, by awarding contracts to low bidders who lack the ability and expertise to deliver.
the minister said: "I want to serve this country with all sense of sincerity and transparency, going by the oath I took, I want to finish my assignment as a minister without any blemish".
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