Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike has accused the Federal Government of fostering corruption by failing to provide the entire amount necessary for a project within the specified time limit from the yearly budget.
On Saturday, the governor made the accusations during his remarks during the launching of the GRA Junction Flyover project in Port Harcourt.
Mike Ozekhome, a top attorney in Nigeria, commissioned the project.
According to the Governor, the Federal Government’s conduct increases project value fluctuation and leads to project abandonment.
“You know, I don’t like the word variation. It is not in my dictionary. That is where you see corruption. That is why when you see Federal Government budget; how can you award a job of N60 billion, then in the budget of the year, you put N2 billion.
“What kind of contract is that? Why will there not be a variation? That job will last in the next ten years and that is the problem we have in our contract execution,” he said.
According to the Governor, in such cases, inflation may affect the value of the contract leading to a likelihood of adjustment of the items and eventually breeds corruption.
He also noted that he discourages that under his administration.
“Now, if you’re putting N2 billion each year, that means in ten years time, it’s N20 billion. So you cannot finish the project in 20 years. And then, looking at the inflation trend, every year, the contractor will put variation. Why?
“Because the price of things has gone up. So, they’ll put variation and at the end of the day, the job will not be N60 billion. It will go to N80 billion,” he added.
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