DUTCH REFEREE ROB DIEPERINK DIES WEEKS AFTER REMOVAL FROM WORLD CUP OFFICIATING LIST. (PHOTO).

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 Dutch referee Rob Dieperink dies weeks after removal from World Cup officiating list Dutch referee Rob Dieperink has died at the age of 38, weeks after FIFA removed him from its list of officials for the World Cup. The Dutch Football Association (KNVB) confirmed his death in a statement, saying it was “shocked and deeply saddened” by the news. His cause of death has not been disclosed. Dieperink was arrested in April by the Metropolitan Police in the United Kingdom following a report of an alleged sexual assault involving a teenage boy in London. A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said officers responded on April 9 to a report of sexual assault at an address in Croydon and arrested a man in his 30s on suspicion of the offence. Police later said that after reviewing available evidence, including CCTV footage and digital devices, the investigation had concluded that “the evidential threshold had not been met” and no further action would be taken. Following the investigation, FIFA co...

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.

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