CSNAC petitions EFCC, seeks prosecution of defaulting contractors in Niger Delta

The Civil Society Network Against Corruption,
which is a coalition of over 150 anti-corruption
organizations, has urged the Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission to commence the
prosecution of some defaulting contractors on
projects in the Niger Delta region.
In a petition forwarded to the anti-graft agency,
signed by its Chairman, Olanrewaju Suraju,
CSNAC said it is furnishing the commission with
a list of some of the projects after its on-the-
spot-assessment of the projects.
The petition reads: “You will recall that during the
Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo’s visit to
Yenagoa, Bayelsa State on the 10th day of
February, 2017 following a peace mission to
Niger Delta, he gave assurances of the Federal
Government’s commitment to the rapid
development of oil producing communities in the
Niger Delta.
“In addition to the above, the Acting President
stated at a town hall meeting in furtherance of
his fact-finding mission in Benin City, Edo State
that defaulting contractors who were meant to
handle the failed and abandoned projects in the
Niger Delta region will face prosecution, as a
reiteration of the Federal Government’s
commitment to a new way of doing things,
especially in the oil producing communities and
other parts of the country.
“It is in line with the above that we hereby
furnish your commission with our on-the-spot
assessment report and demand your independent
investigation and the prosecution of all
contractors who had been duly mobilized by the
federal government in respect of some relevant
education, health, electrification and road works
project in different communities in the Niger
Delta.”
The projects defaulted on is found in education,
health, electrification and road works in different
communities in the Niger Delta.
Among the projects are Federal Science
Technical College, Ahoada; renovation of Kugbo
Primary School, Rivers State; Omuma Oroyo
Health Centre, Cross Rivers State; and Ediba-
Itigidi Bridge, Cross Rivers State, among others.
CSNAC noted further that the call for the
prosecution of the said contractors is in line with
the Federal Government’s professed zero
tolerance for corrupt practices of neglect,
abandoned or outright refusal to carry out
projects for which mobilization were received.
The prosecution of the contractors will send a
strong message to all contractors handling
government projects on the need to ensure that
projects are carried out diligently and with the
required commitment, CSNAC said.
The coalition said the projects have been
abandoned within the current status range of 5
per cent to 60 per cent completion rate, while
there are also some isolated cases of non-
existent projects.
“We hereby demand that contractors found to be
in default be made scape goats in other to
sanitize the system and rid same of greedy
individuals who sabotage federal government’s
efforts at boosting the infrastructural
development of the country, thus depriving
citizens of the dividends of democracy,” CSNAC
said.
Alabatvnews.