Umahi denies awarding Abuja-Kaduna road contract to Infoquest Nigeria Ltd

David Umahi, minister of works, has denied awarding a section of the Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano road dualisation project to Infoquest Nigeria Ltd.

The minister addressed the claim on Tuesday in a statement by Orji Uchenna, Umahi’s spokesperson.

Earlier today, a report claimed that Umahi said a portion of the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano road project was awarded to Infoquest Nigeria Ltd, as the company received a “No Objection” certificate for the amount of N252.89 billion from the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) for the rehabilitation of the section.

Umahi said he was misquoted, and clarified that the ministry did not award the contract to an obscure company, as was suggested, but to Infiouest International Limited.

The minister described the report as “mischievous, insensitively misleading, and injurious,” saying the ministry has no business relationship with Infoquest Nigeria Ltd.

“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,” the statement reads.

Umahi said the report was deliberately orchestrated “by a cartel to malign the mnistry, undermine the efforts of the Renewed Hope administration in revolutionizing road infrastructure development and demarket the company that has proven capacity in road construction”.

‘JULIUS BERGER MISREPRESENTING FACTS’

Umahi also addressed recent publications by Julius Berger Plc, alleging misrepresentation of facts concerning their former contractual obligations on the Abuja-Kaduna road project.  

According to Umahi, he wondered why “the coordinated onslaught of falsehood, blackmail, gangup by adversaries to the policy of government just because of the Ministry’s insistence on a new order of value for money, quality assurance and best practices in project pricing and execution”.

“These actions by contractors and their allies aim to undermine the government’s efforts to bring accountability and quality to infrastructure projects,” he added.

Umahi also urged the public to join in his desirable fight against national sabotage by some contractors.