SOCIO-ECONOMIC Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has asked the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, to account for the missing N18.6 billion meant for the construction of the National Assembly Commission Office Complex, as documented in the latest 2022 yearly report by the Auditor-General of the Federation.
 
SERAP urged the duo to disclose the name of the alleged ‘fictitious construction company’ that reportedly collected N18.6 billion for the construction of the National Assembly Commission Office Complex, including the names and details of the directors, shareholders and the company’s address.
 
SERAP also urged them to explain the failure to follow the Procurement Act, including the failure to carry out any needs assessment before the award of the contract, to advertise the bidding, to issue a contract agreement, and to issue bidders’ quotations before the construction company was paid N18.6 billion.
 
In the letter at the weekend signed by SERAP’s Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, the organisation said the grim allegations by the Auditor-General suggested grave violations of the public trust, the Nigerian Constitution 1999 (as amended), and national and international anticorruption obligations.
 
SERAP stated that the National Assembly could only effectively perform its oversight and anti-corruption roles if it could demonstrate exemplary leadership to probe the allegations of corruption and mismanagement involving the NASS Commission.
 
According to the body, the National Assembly ought to live up to its constitutional responsibilities by upholding and defending the basic principles of transparency, accountability and the rule of law.
 
Addressing the allegations, SERAP said, would improve public confidence and trust in the ability of the National Assembly to exercise its constitutional and oversight responsibilities, and to adhere to the highest standards of integrity, transparency and accountability in the management of public funds.
 
“It would also show that the National Assembly is acting in the best interest of the people, and not for personal interest. It noted that the contract was reportedly awarded without a Bill of Quantity (BOQ) for the upward of the contract, and the “BOQ for the contract of N11.6 billion was not priced.”

SERAP maintained that both contracts were reportedly awarded without any needs assessment, newspaper advertisements, bidding process, contract agreement, bidders’ quotations and without any approval by the Federal Executive Council (FEC), noting that there was also no ‘Bureau of Public Procurement’s Certificate of ‘No Objection’.
 
SERAP expressed concern that the money might have been misappropriated, diverted, or stolen, lamenting that the grave violations reflected the continuing failure of the National Assembly and its commission to uphold the principles of transparency and accountability.