The Senate Committee on Federal Capital Territory, FCT, has summoned 25 construction companies to appear before it today and give detailed accounts on their bills of quantity even as it said there was institutional corruption in the sector.
Also expected to appear are engineers under the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Briefing journalists yesterday, Chairman of the Committee, Senator Smart Adeyemi said the exercise will expose the institutionalised corruption inherent in the construction industry.
He questioned the high cost of contracts in the industry, citing that all the materials needed for construction, including granite, laterite and bitumen were locally sourced.
He said “Most of the materials they need for their work like granite, laterite and bitumen are usually included in their bill of quantity and we pay for them. But when they get to site they are locally sourced. Billions of naira are siphoned in the process, running into billions of naira.
Chief among the invited companies include – Julius Berger, Dantata and Sowe, Arab Contractors, Salini, Gilmor, etc.
Meanwhile, the Senate Committee on Power, Steel and Metallurgy has expressed reservation over the planned increase of power supply tarriff by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) in April.