The Federal Ministry of Works and Housing in what appears a shocking example of contract inflation that has helped undermine development in Nigeria has paid the sum of N82, 264,576.1, for the construction of a single security gate.
The fence that was constructed at the Federal Polytechnic Adikpo in Benue State was awarded to M/S Nartdana Investment Limited under the Sustainable Development Goals – SDGs.
Under the deal, the Ministry of works paid the sum of N41, 132,288.05 in December 2020 for the project, and in June 2021, it paid the sum of N41, 132,288.05 for the same project totaling an amount of N82, 264,576.1
The payment has since been published on https://www.govspend.ng/ a BudgIt platform that shows spending and payment on government spending.
Worse still, a check by MAWA Foundation shows the Ministry of works may have inflated the figure aside from making double payments for a single project.
Civil engineers who spoke to MAWA Foundation say that amount is enough to build a department in the school and wondered why the huge sum was used to build a single security gate.
For instance, Mr. Monday Ugba, a civil engineer who stoke to MAWA and claims to have built similar gates, says that amount is too outrageous and unbelievable. He accused the government of inflating contract figures, an action he said is been driven by corruption.