By Emmanuella Oghenetega
Contrary to the media reports, the Minister of Works, Engr. Nweze David Umahi has denied that the Federal Ministry of Works awarded a section of Abuja-Kaduna-Kano road dualization to Infoquest Nigeria Ltd.
At a press conference held at the Conference Hall of the Minister of Works and attended by the Minister of State for Works, Mohammed Bello Goronyo, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Works, Engr. Folunso O. Adebiyi and key directors of the Ministry, yesterday, the Minister described as mischievous, misleading and injurious, the statement credited to him in the said publication.
According to the Minister, he was wrongly quoted to have said that Infoquest Nigeria Ltd secured a “No objection” of N252.89 billion from the Bureau of Public Procurement ( BPP) for the rehabilitation of a section Abuja- Kaduna- Zaria-Kano road and where they described the Ministry as having awarded the said contract to an obscure company.
The Minister at the conference stated clearly, that the Ministry had no business relationship with Infoquest Nigeria Ltd.
In a statement signed by the Special Adviser (Media), Orji Uchenna Orji, it was revealed that the Minister further made it known that the company that has a contractual relationship with the Ministry on the said project is Infiouest International Limited and that the company is corporately active and is absolutely in compliance with all legal requirements and regulations set by the Companies and Allied Matters Act.
He berated the mischief created by the publication as a deliberate orchestration by a cartel to malign the Ministry, undermine the efforts of the Renewed Hope administration in revolutionizing road infrastructure development and demarket the company that has proven capacity in road construction. The minister demanded an apology from Daily Trust Newspapers to be published in at least five national dailies for unjustifiably publishing falsehood against the Ministry of Works.
According to the Minister, “It is a deliberate misrepresentation of facts contained in the sponsored publications made in several national dailies by Julius Berger Plc recently on the reason why they reneged in their contractual obligations in respect of the section of Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano road they were handling before it was determined.”
He, therefore, urged the public and the press to join in the desirable fight against national sabotage by some contractors.
In his remarks, the Minister of State for Works said he was delighted by the proactiveness and resoluteness shown by the Ministry in decapitating the intentions of those who made the false publication against the Ministry, which, according to him, was intended to distract the Ministry and undermine its confidence before Nigerians.
He called on the media operators not to allow themselves to be used by the fifth columnists to publish unfounded reports to undermine the Renewed Hope agenda, but to always crosscheck their information with the appropriate authority so as to let out only the truth to the public.
