FACT CHECK: Did Jonathan Spend Only N100bn On Infrastructure?

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo stirred the hornets’ nest on Monday when speaking at the 7th Quarterly Business Forum (QBF) held at the State House, Abuja, alleging that the government of former President Goodluck Jonathan spent only N100 billion on infrastructure in three years.

Osinbajo reiterated this at the Ogun Economic Summit on Tuesday.

“In one single transaction, a few weeks to the elections in 2015, the sum of N100 billion and $289 million in cash were embezzled by a few. When you consider that in 2014, when oil prices were an average of $110 per barrel, only N99 billion was spent on Power, Works and Housing, and in one day, N100 billion was issued and people essentially shared it and N99 billion was spent on Power, Works and Housing. When we talk about our economy, we talk about it like it is normal but it is abnormal by every standard, completely abnormal. Nobody should talk about the economy when you have these huge leakages and corruption; corruption that makes what you allocate to capital and infrastructure nonsense,” the vice president said.

But is the vice president correct with his position?

THE WHISTLER’s investigation shows that Jonathan’s Presidency in 10 months as at July 22, 2012 had awarded N927 billion in contracts in just 10 months.

According to a report by SUNDAY PUNCH investigation revealed that the contract figures are contained in a document entitled: Federal Executive Council Approved Contract.

The report indicted that the contracts were awarded by the Federal Executive Council between August 10, 2011 and June 13, 2012.

An analysis of Jonathan administration’s contracts revealed that N470bn worth of contracts was awarded in November 2011, the highest in any given month.

Other 2011 contracts were the N10.76bn awarded in August 2011; September had N72.89bn; October N94.97bn; and December N128.34bn.

In 2012, January contract award was N27.23bn; February N16.62bn, April N74.47bn, and May N30.40bn.

Of the total contracts awarded, the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs with a contract of about N246bn got a huge chunk of the amount.

The N246bn contract, awarded to Setraco Nigeria Limited on August 10 2011, has 28 months completion period.

According to the document, the contract is meant for the construction of sections 1 and 2 of the East-West road spanning Warri, Rivers and Bayelsa.

Similarly, the Ministry of Works, within the period under review, awarded contracts for three major projects worth N144bn, while the Federal Capital Territory Administration awarded N70.2bn contract.

The N144bn contract is for the dualisation of the Abuja-Lokoja road, which the FEC approved on September 28, and awarded to Dantata and Sawoe and other firms.

Section III of the dualisation of the same road was awarded by FEC on November 23 to two construction firms for N56.8bn.

The firms are Bulletin Construction Limited (N28.5bn) and Gitto Nigeria Limited (N31.09bn).

The Oju/Loko Bridge project in Nassarawa State, which cost N36bn, was awarded to Raynolds Construction. It has a completion period of 48 months.

For the FCTA, the provisions of infrastructure at Kubwa and Karshi would gulp N42bn and N28.2bn respectively.

Both contracts were awarded to SCC Nigeria Limited and had a completion period of 24 months and 20 months respectively.

Going by available records, it is not factual that the Jonathan administration spent only N100 billion on infrastructure.