Why CCB abandoned N9bn headquarters

Chairman of the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB), Mr. Sam Saba said non diligent execution and poor budgetary releases were the reasons behind the abandonment of the bureau’s N9 billion headquarters project.

The Senate had in November last year mandated its Committees on FCT, Public Procurement and Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions to probe the abandoned project.

The probe followed the decision of the CCB to abandon the project after paying N1.4bn to the contractor and decided to acquire a new office building at the cost of N4.4billion.

The original contract was awarded to Burnel Engineering Limited at the cost of N3.5billion in 2010 and it was reviewed upward to N8.7billion in 2012.

Speaking when he appeared before a joint Senate committee yesterday, Saba said the National Assembly appropriated N4.4billion in the 2016 budget for the purchase of the office building and that the bureau is still awaiting the release of the funds.

“During the defense of the 2016 budget at the National Assembly, the committee reviewed the issue of inadequate funding of the headquarters building project on one hand and lack of diligent execution of the project by the contractor on the other hand and resolved to appropriate fund for outright purchase of office building,” he said.

Faulting the decision of the CCB, Senator Matthew Urhoghide (PDP, Edo) said the reasons given by Saba were not tenable.

He said with the payment of N1.4billion to the contractor, the Bureau shouldn’t have abandoned the project for a new one.

Also, speaking Senator Dino Melaye (APC, Kogi) who chaired the session said abandoned projects are retarding the development of the country.

He said the Senate would come up with a legislation to compel successive governments to continue with programmes and projects initiated by their predecessors.