Umahi Demands Apology From Daily Trust Over Report On Abuja-Kaduna Road Contract

The Minister of Works, Engr. David Umahi, has demanded an apology from Daily Trust Newspapers over claims in their report that he awarded contract for the completion of a section of Abuja-Kaduna-Kano Expressway to an obscure and inactive company, Infoquest Nigeria Ltd.

Addressing a press conference on Tuesday in his office, Umahi described as mischievous, insensitively misleading and injurious the statement credited to him in the publication by the newspaper.

He stated that he never said Infoquest Nigeria Ltd secured a “No objection” of N252.89 billion from the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) for the rehabilitation contract as claim by Daily Trust.

Contrary to the claim, Umahi said the Ministry of Works had no business relationship with Infoquest Nigeria Ltd, but another company Infiouest International Limited

Umahi added that Infiouest is corporately active and is absolutely in compliance with all legal requirements and regulations set by the Companies and Allied Matters Act.

“He berated the mischief created by the publication as a deliberate orchestration by a cartel to malign the Ministry, undermine the efforts of the Renewed Hope administration in revolutionizing road infrastructure development and demarket the company that has proven capacity in road construction.

“The Minister demanded from Daily Trust Newspapers a public apology to the Federal Ministry of Works to be published in at least five national dailies for unjustifiably publishing falsehood against the Ministry of Works.

“The Honourable Minister also alluded to the mischiefs and deliberate misrepresentation of facts contained in the sponsored publications made in several national dailies by Julius Berger Plc recently on the reason why they reneged in their contractual obligations in respect of the section of Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano Road they were handling before it was determined.

Umahi also alleged that there have been a coordinated onslaught of falsehood, blackmail, gang-up 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.

He urged the public and the press to join in this desirable fight against national sabotage by some contractors.

Also, the minister of State for Works, Barrister Bello Goronyo said that he was delighted by the proactiveness and resoluteness shown by the Ministry in decapitating the intentions of those who made the false publication against the Ministry which according to him was intended to distract the Ministry and undermine its confidence before Nigerians.

Goronyo called on media operators not to allow themselves to be used by the fifth columnists to publish unfounded reports to undermine the Renewed Hope agenda but should always crosscheck their information with the appropriate authority so as to let out only the truth to the public.