Funso Doherty to sue BPP over Lagos-Calabar highway procurement

Funso Doherty, a former governorship candidate of the Action Democratic Congress (ADC) in Lagos, has threatened to sue the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP).

Doherty said the bureau failed to enforce the compliance of the Public Procurement Act 2007 with the award of the Lagos-Calabar coastal highway project.

In May, President Bola Tinubu flagged off the construction of the 700 kilometre highway.

The construction of the road began in March. The first phase of the project, made up of 47.47 kilometres of dual carriageway, was awarded to Hitech Construction Company Ltd.

The project, which is expected to cost N15.6 trillion, has generated plenty of controversy, amid the demolition of structures on its right of way and allegations of lack of transparency in the award and cost.

In April, Doherty asked the national assembly to probe the project, saying the award process violates the Public Procurement Act “as due process was not followed”.

In a letter dated July 4 and addressed to the bureau through Legal Lead, his counsel, Doherty said there was “no open competitive bidding” before the project was awarded to Hitech.

“Our client who is a taxpayer with special interest in how his tax monies are spent by the government, has his cause of action against the Bureau of Public Procurement (“the Bureau”) embedded in the Bureau’s failure to carry out its duties as specified under Sections 5 & 6 of the Public Procurement Act,” the pre-action notice reads.

“Especially as they relate to the duty of the Bureau to implement strict compliance with the provisions of the Act in order to ensure that the most viable and affordable options in undertaking are selected in a manner which promotes competition, economy and efficiency.”