The Office of Senior Special Assistant to the President on OSSAP-MDGs has spent N106.45 million to construct three classrooms’ blocks at Loboro Community School Turaa Mowe in Ogun State.
In what appears a shocking example of contract inflation that has helped undermine Nigeria’s country’s ability to achieve its SDG goals, the OSSAP-SDGs under the office of the presidency, claims to have paid N106,452,783.99 for the construction of three classrooms blocks with six classes each. An amount that has been published on Govspend.ng a platform owned by budget.
Worse still, Mr. Francis Oboh a civil engineer and a quantity surveyor while speaking to MAWA FOUNDATION said that amount is too huge for a three-classroom block.
Oboh told MAWA that building a block of classrooms with six classes averages N10 million and that includes payments for consultancies, labour, and furnishing.
Still, OSSAP – SDGs claims to have built a three classrooms block for N106.44 million.
Some development workers who spoke to MAWA Foundation pointed out that poor execution of projects, racketeering, inflation of contracts, and many contractual breaches are major impediments that are responsible for Nigeria’s inability to achieve its MDG goals.
The contract was awarded to Innovatives Jeeves Int’l Concept Ltd, a company registered on April 4th, 2017, with operational headquarters in Gwagwalad area of Abuja the Nigerian capital city.
Worse still, a visit to the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) website shows that Innovatives Jeeves Int’l Concept Ltd, a company that carried out the classrooms’ construction has since been declared inactive by the CAC.
Declaring a company inactive by the CAC, shows that it is a tax-evading company and ought not to have gotten a contract from government institutions for not paying tax.
However, how, Innovatives Jeeves Int’l Concept Ltd, a tax invading company got a multi-million-naira contract in Nigeria calls for an investigation as that is a total violation of the country’s procurement Act.
When MAWA Foundation sought the response of OSSAP SDGs, regarding the construction of three classrooms for N106.45 million, its senior official who does not want his identity disclosed, said he will not make comments on any issue regarding the contract.
Please note: Picture not real, used for an illustration.