FCTA Awards N265m Contract For Saraki’s Residence
I’m Not Aware of it – Senate President
The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), through the Abuja Metropolitan Management Council (AMMC), spent N265million to secure a house for Senate President Bukola Saraki, official documents obtained by Daily Trust on Sunday have revealed.
The documents, including contract approval, tenancy agreement and payment details, showed that the transaction gulped N265million.
The expenditure is outside the N115bn budgeted for the National Assembly in 2016. There has been public outcry over the huge budgetary allocation of the federal lawmakers.
According to the documents, the house is located at Plot 973, Mban Close, Off Pope John Paul Street, Maitama, Abuja. It is on the same district where Saraki’s personal residence is located.
The house, which goes for N50million per annum, is a five-bedroom detached duplex, comprising two rooms of guest chalet, boys’ quarters and a swimming pool.
The tenancy agreement showed that the money was for a fouryear rent at N55m per annum, five per cent legal fee of N11m, 10 per cent agency fee of N22m and five per cent Value Added Tax (VAT) of N12,650,000,totalling N265,650,000.
One of the documents showed that the contract was awarded by the AMMC to Legendark Consultants.
The approval, dated March 30, 2016, titled, “Provisional award of contract for rented house in Maitama AO5 for two years,” was signed by the secretary, Tenders Board, Ibrahim Ibrahim Gusau, for the coordinator of the AMMC.
It reads: “I am directed to inform you that provisional approval has been given for an emergency award of contract to your company in line with PPA section 42(1b & 1f) for rented house for the Senate President in Maitama AO5(Plot No 973 Mban Close) for two years at the contract sum of N125m.
“You are requested to proceed with the service and note that the notification of provisional award is subject to the ratification by the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) Tenders Board.”
The council asked the consultant to indicate in writing, the acceptance or otherwise of the contract and thereafter report to the coordinator of the AMMC for further instruction.
Daily Trust on Sunday gathered that Legendark Consultants wrote an acceptance letter on Tuesday, April 5, 2016. The acceptance letter, seen by our correspondent, was signed by the director of the firm, Architect Felix O. Akpoti.
Titled, “Acceptance of award of contract for rented house for the Senate President in Maitama AO5 for two years,” the Legendark Consultants accepted the offer and promised to deliver the required service within the time limit.
In the tenancy agreement, dated May 2, 2016, the consultants requested that the rent be paid into a Guaranty Trust Bank account number 021211999, sort code 058083228, and account name, Legendark Consultants.
It was observed that there are discrepancies in the amount quoted in the contract approval and tenancy agreement documents. In the approval, N125m was quoted for two years, but in the tenancy agreement, N265million was quoted for four years.
Our reporter, through an online banking platform, verified the authenticity of the bank details. However, he was unable to verify whether the payment was made or not.
The tenancy agreement was signed by Mr. Akpoti for the consultants while the coordinator of the AMMC signed for the tenant. Engineer Omoniyi M. Olaloye of the Department of Facilities Management served as witness.
Parts of the agreement read, “To hold the same unto the tenant for a term of two years certain, commencing from the 7th day of May, 2016 and expiring on the 6th of May 2018 at an annual rent of N50m per annum, of which the tenant has paid N100m in advance for two years before the execution of this agreement (the receipt of which sum the landlord hereby acknowledges).”
The documents countered the claims by Saraki and the chairman of the Senate Committee on Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Senator Dino Melaye (Kogi, APC) that there was no such contract.
Daily Trust on Sunday reports that weeks ago when the Citizen Action to Take Back Nigeria (CATBAN) alleged that four presiding officers of the National Assembly, namely Saraki; the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara; Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu and Deputy Speaker Yussuf Lasun, collected N630m for rent from the FCDA, Saraki, through his media aide, Yusuph Olaniyonu, denied it.
Also, last week, Senator Dino Melaye exonerated the presiding officers and challenged the group to come forward with documents to back their claims.
A visited to the house at Maitama showed that there is also a police post in front of the house while a policeman was seen inside.
Contacted yesterday, Olaniyonu said he was unaware of the rent and the house. “I’m not aware of it. All I know is that he (Saraki) owns the house where he lives in Maitama, Abuja. That is the one I know. I don’t know the house you are talking about,” he said in a phone interview.
Responding through a WhatsApp message last night, Melaye said, “It is a fake document. Probe the document, it is made in Taiwan.”
When our reporter dialed the number on the letterhead of Legendark Consultants, the person who answered said he did not know the firm.
“Wrong number please. I don’t know Legendark Consultants,” he said and dropped the call. When he was called for the second time, he repeated same.
But a check on True Caller revealed that the number belongs to “Legend Arkitects.”
All efforts to get the response of the FCTA failed. When our reporter contacted the acting director of the AMMC, Hajiya Safiya Umar, she said she needed a little time before reacting as she was out of town and “needed to give an accurate answer.” She, however, did not get back as promised, up to the time of going to press and did not respond to subsequent calls and messages to her telephone.