ENetSuD DRAGS NBRRI TO EFCC AND ICPC OVER HON. ATUNWA CONSTITUENCY PROJECT

ENetSuD, a Kwara-based registered Civil Society Organization, has dragged the Nigeria Building and Road Research Institute (NBRRI) to EFCC and ICPC over non-execution of Peke-Temidire road Constituency project facilitated by Rt. Hon. Razaq Atunwa representing Asa/Ilorin West Federal Constituency in the National Assembly. In a petition separately submitted to EFCC and ICPC, and signed by its Coordinator (Dr. Alagbonsi Abdullateef), ENetSuD said that it wrote a Freedom of Information (FOI) request dated 1st August, 2018 to Energy Commission of Nigeria (ECN) to ask for the execution details of the 3 km road project domiciled under her in the 2017 budget.


Quoting the response of ECN, ENetSuD said the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation directed ECN to transfer the project and the fund released to Nigeria Building and Road Research Institute (NBRRI) for execution. The ECN also established the fact that the fund was transferred to NBRRI barely 2 weeks after the receipt of the directive, which was timely enough for NBRRI to execute the project. However, when ENetSuD requested the execution details on the road from NBRRI, it responded that it neither initiated nor executed the road project because it only received notice of transfer of the project from ECN but did not receive any fund for it.


ENetSuD maintained that it has evidences of payment of the fund to NBRRI, which include a letter from NBRRI to ECN acknowledging the receipt of the sum of Ten Million Five Hundred Thousand naira (N10,500,000) into its Constituency Project Account, evidence of payment (outflow report) made to NBRRI through Remita Platform, and the directive from the office of the Accountant-General of the Federation to effect the transfer of fund to NBRRI.


Having established the fact that ECN released N10,500,000 to NBRRI to execute the 3 km road project while NBRRI denied the receipt of the fund and also admitted that the road was not executed, ENetSuD requested the EFCC and ICPC to further investigate the non-execution of the project and publish their findings for public knowledge; and if found wanting, to speedily do such other things they consider necessary to ensure that Kwara money works for Kwarans.