Funso Doherty serves pre-action discover to BPP over alleged bidding violations in Lagos-Calabar Freeway mission
Former Lagos State ADC gubernatorial candidate Funso Doherty, via his legal professionals, has served a pre-action discover to the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), citing alleged violations of bidding processes within the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Freeway mission.
Doherty posted this by way of his X (previously Twitter) deal with on Saturday, sharing two footage.
One image reveals the pre-action discover, dated July 4, 2024, served to the BPP for awarding the N15 trillion mission to Hitech with out aggressive bidding, opposite to the provisions of the Public Procurement Act 2007.
The opposite image, a press release dated March 15, 2024, introduced his plan to serve pre-action notices to the BPP, Environmental Safety Company, and the Legal professional Normal of the Federation if they didn’t tackle violations of public procurement processes and environmental impression evaluation necessities inside 30 days.
“As you’ll recall, the Federal Authorities via the Federal Ministry of Works procured the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Freeway mission to Hitech Development Firm Restricted with out open aggressive bidding in flagrant breach of varied sections 16 and 24 of the Public Procurement Act 2007 (the Act) together with Sections 16 and 24 of the Public Procurement Act 2007,” the pre-action discover to the BPP learn partially.
Particulars of the alleged violations
The alleged violations within the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Freeway mission that Doherty seeks to take authorized motion towards pertain to contraventions of the Public Procurement Act and the Environmental Influence Evaluation Act.
Relating to the Public Procurement Act 2007, Doherty’s X submit acknowledged that the Coastal Highway mission, estimated at over N15 trillion, was awarded to Hitech, a Chagoury Group firm, with out aggressive bidding. This motion violates Sections 5, 6, 16, 14(1), and 24 of the Act, particularly amidst Nigeria’s extreme {economic} challenges.
In regards to the Environmental Influence Evaluation Act violations, Doherty argues that the ten-lane freeway traverses 100km of coastal wetlands in Lagos, which offer pure water drainage and management.
Regardless of extreme environmental hazards like flooding and associated ailments affecting Lagosians, no environmental impression evaluation has been printed for this mission, as required by regulation, Doherty’s assertion reveals.
What it’s best to know
- The 700 km Lagos-Calabar Coastal Freeway mission was awarded to Hitech Development Firm Restricted beneath an Engineering, Procurement, Development, and Financing (EPC+F) association, with most dangers borne by the contractor and the federal authorities offering counterpart funding.
- Development started in March 2024, beginning with the primary section, a 47.7 km stretch inside Lagos State.
- The Minister of Works, David Umahi, beforehand disclosed that Part 2 of the mission, which runs from Lekki Deep Seaport to the Dangote Refinery, is about to start quickly.
- Sections 3 and 4 of the coastal freeway mission will start in Akwa Ibom and Cross River States as soon as procurement, approvals, and different related processes are accomplished. Akwa Ibom State will profit from 107 km of the highway inside its boundaries.
- Development will proceed concurrently on completely different subsections of the highway in numerous states as soon as the required approvals and processes for the next sections are finalized.
