NEFGAD Blames Legislative Interference For Relocation Of SDGs School Projects In Lagos

Network for the Actualisation of Social Growth and Viable Development (NEFGAD), a public procurement advocacy group has blamed undue legislative interference for the misprocurement that characterised the award of contract for the building of skill acquisition centre and school in Lagos.

The group through a statement on Thursday by its head of office Mr Akingunola Omoniyi said its assessment of the projects showed the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the president on SDGs complied with extant laws in the award of the contract but for legislative Interference.

The contracts involved construction of a skill acquisition centre and one block of 6 classrooms at Ajeromi Primary School/Ladi-Lak and or Metropolitan Schools, Lagos State by the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the president on SDGs headed by former deputy governor of Lagos State, Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire.

Problems started when the projects were relocated from Ajeromi to Apapa for what SDGs said was “necessitated by the insufficient space at the original location, to ensure the successful completion of the project,” in a statement issued by the media assistant to the SSAP-SDGs, Desmond Utomwen.

The contracts were awarded to Enseno Global Ventures Limited.

NEFGAD lauded the SDGs office for substantially complying with both the Public Procurement Act 2007 in the award of the contract and the Freedom of Information Act 2011 in the way and manner it promptly responded to its request for Certified True Copies (CTCs) of all procurement information leading to the award of the contract within legally stipulated 7 days period.

It explained that part of the contract documents evaluated include Technical and Financial Evaluation Report (TFER), copies of newspaper advertisement for the Expression of Interest including pictorial evidence of the completed projects.

The Group, however, blamed the relocation on undue legislative interference by Hon. Mufutau Adewale Egberongbe, a House of representative member representing Apapa Federal Constituency of Lagos State in the 9th National Assembly.

The group explained that in the letter titled ‘NOTICE OF PROJECTS SITE’ written and received by the SDGs office on 8th of November, 2021, Egberongbe requested for the project to be relocated from its original site of Ajeromi Primary School, Lagos State to Ladi-Lak Nursery & Primary School Apapa and Metropolitan Nursery/Primary School, Sari Iganmu, Orile Apapa LGA, Lagos State siting environmental degradation.

NEFGAD argued that the act constituted undue interference which was clearly against the fundamental principles of public procurement Act 2007.

“Apart from the fact that the constituency project in itself is an illegal conscription, interfering in a reasonably concluded procurement proceeding to an extent of altering its description, hijacked and redirected to an unknown destination is questionable and suspicious,” Akingunola said in the statement sent to THE WHISTLER.

The group lamented that constituency projects have become an endless drain-pipe through which some individuals manipulate the system to syphon public funds.

It called on relevant anti-corruption agencies (EFCC and ICPC) to investigate the issue of constituency projects/legislative interference in procurement proceedings starting from the SDGs-OSSAP contract.

When contacted however on the accusation, Egberongbe refuted all accusations saying, “I was only performing my oversight function.”

He explained to this paper that, “I gave them a site at Ajeromi Primary School. When the contractor got to the place, they phoned me that that place was not suitable for the project.

“I had to write back to them to give me another place which was Ladi-Lak primary school.

“That is the most I know about the project. I am not a contractor, I was only a legislator only interested in taking projects to my people,” he said.

He further explained that, “As a honourable member, what you take back to your constituency is what will count as your record as to what you did for your people.”