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From Fred Ezeh, Abuja
Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Usani Uguru Usani, has explained why the ministry directed all its parastatals particularly the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), to tighten the procurement process in the award of contracts in the region either by the ministry or the NDDC.
He said in a statement yesterday that people took advantage of the loose system in the past giving upper hand to incompetent contractors to handle huge developmental projects.
“The implications are high cases of abandoned projects across the nine states that make up the region,” the statement said.
It added: “The essence of the directive was to ensure that interested members of the public with financial and technical capabilities are allowed to take part in procurement process.
“The management of NDDC has also been directed to strictly abide by the Procurement Act (2007) in the procurement process by ensuring a level playing ground for all interested contractors.”
Uguru advised contractors and members of the public complaining about the difficulties being experienced in the process of procurement at the headquarters of NDDC in Port Harcourt to follow the due process and quit cutting corners.
He reminded them that it was no longer “business as usual” as the present administration believed in transparency and accountability in procurement process for the award of contracts in all government’s Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDAs).
