The Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals, has debunked the report going viral online, claiming it awarded contract to an Abuja-based restaurant two weeks before the expiration of the Muhammadu Buhari administration without due process.
The agency in a statement by its media aide, Desmond Utowen, described the report by an online medium as inaccurate and an attempt to misrepresent the issue.
He noted that the reports carried a “distorted account of the procedure and shows the ignorance of the writer on how things operate in government institutions”.
He said, “We wish to state categorically that the information contained in the said publication are inaccurate and very likely a deliberate attempt to misrepresent the issues with the intent to embarrass the Office of the senior special assistant to the president, as there was no issue of fraud or abuse of process on the said project.”
The agency said the company in question is duly registered with valid incorporation and tax documents with the Corporate Affairs Commission, noting that the decision to relocate the project from its original site in Ajeromi was necessitated by the insufficient space at the original location, to ensure the successful completion of the project.
The agency’s spokesperson said, “The allegation of it being a mere restaurant is equally from the figment of the imagination of the author, as the TIN of the company will expose if such anomaly exists. The project was executed by a team of professionals with the necessary qualifications and expertise in construction and engineering. The structures were built in accordance with specifications and industry standards, as confirmed by photographic evidence and GPS coordinates provided.
“Contrary to the claims in the report, the project was executed as specified, and the block of classrooms and skills acquisition centre were completed and commissioned for use. We assert that the report is marred by inaccuracies, as the award of the contract followed due process and was not arbitrary.”
