PUTIN WOOS AFRICAN LEADERS AT SHOWCASE SUMMIT, SAYS RUSSIA IS BETTER PARTNER THAN 'COLONIAL' WEST. (PHOTO).

Image
 Putin woos African leaders at showcase summit, says Russia is better partner than 'colonial' West President Vladimir Putin told African leaders ​on Wednesday that Russia was their best partner, accusing what he cast as a colonial West of still trying ‌to exploit the continent's resources and using debt to hold back development, Reuters reported. The Kremlin chief was speaking at the third Russia-Africa Summit in Moscow, a two-day event attended by African leaders and government delegations from 48 countries, during which he will hold one-on-one talks with many of the 22 individual African leaders ​attending on everything from trade to security, arms deals and grain supplies. "Africa is increasingly asserting itself as one of the key players in the global economy and politics. However, the emergence of a multipolar world is, of ​course, no easy task; it faces resistance from countries that are not prepared to accept this reality: those who are accustomed to ​thinking i...

FG BREAKS SILENCE ON LAGOS-CALABAR HIGHWAY CONTROVERSY. (PHOTO).


 FG breaks silence on Lagos-Calabar Highway controversy


The Federal Government has defended its decision to award the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project to Hitech Construction Company Ltd., dismissing concerns over the bidding process.

Minister of Works, Sen. Dave Umahi, addressed the matter on Saturday during an inspection tour of the project in Lagos, insisting that due process was followed.

“Some people say that the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway didn’t go through a competitive bidding,” Umahi said. “I want to explain this: we have three types of procurement allowed by law.”

He outlined these as restrictive procurement, selective/competitive bidding, and open bidding.

The minister explained that the government specifically sought companies with advanced concrete paving technology, a method that was uncommon in Nigeria before the project commenced.

“When we started this project, we asked for companies that have up to five written concrete pavers,” he said. “You will agree with me that until we started this, the concrete paver was not common in Nigeria as it is today.”

According to Umahi, Hitech was selected because of its experience in handling similar large-scale projects, including the reconstruction of the Oworonshoki-Apapa Road.

“We saw that they got it right; so, we called them on Section 1,” he stated.

He further explained that the ministry employed restrictive bidding for this section, a process reviewed and approved by both the Bureau for Public Procurement (BPP) and the Federal Executive Council.

As more companies began acquiring concrete paving equipment in response to the government’s insistence on using the method in areas with a high water table, Umahi said the government opened Section 2 to selective bidding.

“We selected some companies and they bid. Hitech won the bidding,” he noted.

The same approach, he said, was applied to Sections 3A and 3B.

“We have not gone outside the law, we have not gone outside the Procurement Act,” Umahi stressed.

He also dismissed claims that President Bola Tinubu influenced the selection of Hitech.

“I want to say that there is no corruption in it. It is very transparent,” he declared.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

THE NEW OONI OF ILE-IFE,WILL NOT EAT THE HEART OF THE LATE OONI-PALACE CHIEFS.

SHAKIRA COVERS WOMEN'S HEALTH MAGAZINE,APRIL ISSUE.

AMBODE,SOYINKA & OTHERS AT THE OFFICIAL LAUNCH OF LAGOS AT 50 YEARS ANNIVERSARY AGAINST 2017.{PHOTOS}.