–        

–         

Chuks Okocha in Abuja

The Conference of Professionals in the Peoples Democratic Party (CP-PDP) has petitioned the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) over the N39 billion claimed to have been spent in the renovation of the already functioning International Conference Center (ICC) under the Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Chief Nyesom Wike.

The decision to petition the EFCC is part of the outcome of the CP-PDP’s emergency Governance Policy and Monitoring Review Roundtable in Abuja, yesterday

According to a statement by the chairman of the PDP Professionals, Obinna Nwachukeu, ”After a thorough review by our body of engineers, architects, quantity and quality control experts, the CP-PDP declares the N39 billion renovation contract as questionable and apparent case of Advanced Treasury Swindle (ATS).

”As professionals, we find the attempts by the minister to defend such humongous sum for the renovation project as disturbing”, the statement said.

The Conference said that it is appalled that in the face of wide-spread queries by Nigerians, given the overwhelming comparative global indicators of contract overprice, the minister had no answers but chose diversionary dismissive denunciations of critics as not having “good taste”.

The CP-PDP demanded that ”the FCT Minister must come clean to Nigerians by providing the details of the contract including the official Invitation to Tender, showing the Bids by contractors, the Bill of Quantities, the scope of job and the due process certification documents warranting the N39 billion claimed to have been spent for the renovation of the ICC, four times higher than the N8.3 billion allocation for Agriculture for the entire over 3 million FCT residents in the 2025 budget.

”The failure to provide these details tends to validate the wide-spread allegations of treasury looting, opaque award and inflation of contracts and non-compliance with public spending due process by FCT officials in the last two years especially since the politically motivated removal of the FCT from the monitoring mechanisms of the Treasury Single Account (TSA).

”It is completely unacceptable that in the FCT that is plagued by disturbing moribund health and education infrastructure, and where security of lives and property has become a major issue, the FCT authorities are sweating to justify claims of renovating a conference center with a colossal N39 billion?

”Perhaps for FCT officials, good taste refers to approval of sleaze, misplacement of priority and loud showboating. For CP-PDP, good taste can only come with transparency, prudence and proper priorities that better serve the interest of the people,” the PDP Professionals said.

Moreover, the FCT Minister, the PDP Professionals said must know that renaming the International Conference Center to Bola Ahmed Tinubu International Conference Center, a decision that has been widely condemned by Nigerians following President Tinubu’s abysmal failure in office, does not confer immunity and will not deter the demand for investigation into the alleged rip-off.