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THE Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA), has vowed to call up contract bonds from companies prolonging the execution of projects awarded with the hope of triggering `variation clause’.
Prof. Adesoji Adesugba, the Managing Director of NEPZA said this when he received the NEPZA 2017-2021 capital projects report from the Joint Capital Projects Monitoring Committee.
The committee comprised members from the Authority and Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that a variation is an alteration to a construction contract’s scope of work that involves addition, substitute, or omission from the initial scope of work.
According to a statement issued on Thursday in Abuja by Martins Odeh, Head, Corporate Communications, NEPZA, Adesugba insisted on transparent conducts of contracts bidding processes.
He said that the management of NEPZA would not hesitate in sanctioning erring contractors.
“I have for these past years stood on my resolve to ensure transparency and due process and probity in the manner in which all contracts are handled here.
“We shall, therefore, not waste time in retrieving contract bonds from contracted companies that needlessly breach agreed terms.
“We have to insist that the Federal Government obtains quality service from the huge spending it is making to improve the infrastructure of the country’s Free Trade Zone,’’ the NEPZA boss said.
While expressing delight on the supervision tours embarked by the committee, Adesugba said that the report had brought out all the grey areas that required urgent handling.
He said that the report would serve as an evaluation guide, adding that it was also opened to the public and all relevant institutions of government to study.
According to Adesugba, the report will be updated in February 2023 after a follow-up assessment of the remaining ongoing projects will have been conducted.
“It would be recalled that the committee rounded-off scheduled inspections of 112 approved projects for the Authority in September.
These projects, came under the NEPZA Tender Board of 2017-2021, direct Federal Executive Council approval and the Ministerial Tender Board of Capital Projects respectively.
“Out of these 112 projects, a total of 76 have been completed with the Calabar Free Trade Zone (FTZ) accounting for 28; and Kano FTZ 38.
“Lekki Special Economic Zone (SEZ) five, Ilorin SEZ five, while others are at different levels of completion. (NAN)
A.I
Tags: Martins Odeh NEPZA Prof. Adesoji Adesugba
