The House of Representatives has resolved to beam its searchlight on the N72.34bn contract awarded for the 1443km Port Harcourt–Maiduguri section of the eastern rail line.
At plenary on Wednesday, a representative from Benue State, Mzondu Bem, said the contract was awarded to Messrs Esser Contracting and Industry Company from Turkey, CGGC Global Projects Nigeria Limited and Lingo Nigeria Limited, in association with Strasky Husty and Partners Ltd of Czech Republic in 2011.
Bem, while moving the motion at the plenary presided over by the Deputy Speaker, Idris Wase, claimed that 10 years after the award of the contract, there was no evidence that work commenced on the site, with investigations revealing budgetary provisions in that regard from 2010 to 2012.
He further claimed that despite the budgetary provisions, there were claims that the contract awarded to Esser for the rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt–Makurdi segment was abandoned, and recently re-awarded to another company.
This, he said, suggested irregularities on the part of the parties involved, including similar concerns on the remaining segments of the rehabilitation from Port Harcourt to Maiduguri.
Consequently, the house resolved to set up an ad hoc committee to probe the issue.
While adopting a motion sponsored by Miriam Onuoha, the house urged the relevant agencies to provide functional disability desks to ease the sufferings of Persons Living with Disability at all airports in Nigeria.
Enjoining airline operators, in collaboration with the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria, to provide relevant assistive devices for PWDs at the airports, the lawmakers mandated the Committee on Disabilities to look into the issue, with particular reference to the allegation by Dr Chike Okogwu against Dana Airline, and report back within four weeks for further legislative action.
