For the second time within one week, the House of Representatives Public Accounts Committee has queried the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Works, Yakubu Adam, over the abandoned Gidanwaya-Guaran Dutse-Waman Rafi-Saminaka-Kano Road project, for which the full contract amount of N1.46 billion had been fully paid.
Recall that the Permanent Secretary was queried in absentia last Thursday, over the abandonment of another road and summoned to appear before the committee.
Adam has twice failed to honour the invitation of the committee. But at Monday’s investigation, where the Permanent Secretary appeared, the Chairman of the PAC, Bamidele Salam disclosed that the money for the project was a loan from the Federal Government.
Interrogating the permanent secretary, the Chairman said, “You were invited concerning an exercise that is about to commence, which is the inspection of critical national assets especially roads that were constructed in the last five years.
“Information we received from the debt management office indicated the number of roads were even undertaken with loans taken by the federal government.
“But in particular, a particular road with the title Gidanwaya-Guaran Dutse-Waman Rafi-Saminaka-Kano road in Kaduna State awarded by the Federal Ministry of Works on the 5th of October 2022 and the sum of N1.461 billion to Messrs Jam Jam Dynamic Platform Limited.
“This road was supposed to be completed within 12 months. There’s an allegation that the road awarded in 2022 has not been started as we speak and there has been full payment of the sum by the Federal Ministry of Works to the contractor concerned.
“As a committee of equity, we believe strongly that we must give all parties a fair hearing. You should provide information on the status of the road. We asked for certain documents to be provided and we expect that you would provide us with better insight so the committee can make a decision on the best way to ascertain the truthfulness of the claim that the road has been done, while full payment has been effected to the contractor.”
Responding, the permanent secretary explained that the amount was not for the entire stretch, which is 133km but a portion of the road.
He said the road was done in phases due to paucity of funds and expressed surprise that the road had not been done.
He apologised for not coming following the previous invitations, as he said they did not get to him.
