The Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Works, Dr.Yakubu Adam Kofarmata may be arrested over the alleged abandonment of a federal road construction project in Kaduna State, valued at over N1.46bn.
Findings revealed that the Public Accounts Committee of the House of Representatives, on Thursday, issued a five-day ultimatum to the permanent secretary to appear to provide clarification regarding the alleged abandonment of the road.
Chairman of PAC, Bamidele Salam, announced a directive following the Permanent Secretary’s failure to respond to two prior invitations.
The committee reached this resolution while addressing concerns related to non-compliance with financial regulations and the Procurement Act, as well as assessing the value for money regarding the project in question.
The road construction contract, which spans 115 kilometres and was awarded to Jam-Jam Dynamic Platform Ltd on October 5, 2022, was expected to be completed within 12 months.
The committee frowned at the attitude of the Permanent Secretary whom it said has formed the habit of treating the invitation of the committee with levity and stated that, this time, it will never be business as usual.
Our correspondent observed that the Permanent Secretary did not appear or respond to invitations sent on August 5 and October 11, 2024, respectively.
Salam emphasised that the committee requires an explanation for the full payment made to Jam-Jam Dynamic Platform Ltd. despite no evidence of project execution.
Consequently, a motion to the effect was moved by Dauda Nyampa amended and seconded by Ari Mohammed and was unanimously supported by the members.
“Public Accounts Committee of the House of Representatives has issued a five-day ultimatum to the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Works to show cause why a warrant of arrest should not be issued against him by the House of Representatives for failure to respond either in writing or to appear before this constitutional committee to explain why a sum of N1.4 billion was paid to Jam-Jam Dynamic platform Ltd. for the construction of Gidanwanya-Guaran, Dutse-Waman, Ravi-Saminaka-Kano Road awarded on the 5th October 2022 to be completed within 12 months received full payment without execution of the project”, the Chairman maintained.
PAC has issued a clear warning to the Permanent Secretary regarding the allegations surrounding substantial payments made for an abandoned road project. If the Permanent Secretary fails to appear or respond by Tuesday, October 29, 2024, the committee will seek a warrant for his arrest.
The committee has said that the Permanent Secretary has until the specified date to provide a response and appear before them to address these serious allegations.