Frustrated, Reps ask Amaechi to produce $195m waterways contract documents in 72hrs

After fruitless attempts to get the $195 million waterways contract documents to aid its probe, the House of Representatives on Tuesday directed the Minister of Transportation, Chief Rotimi Amaechi, to make the papers available within 72 hours.

The House is probing waterways security contract awarded to an Israeli firm, HLSI Security Systems and Technologies, by the Federal Government in October 2017.

The contract involves the procurement of security equipment, training of the country’s security operatives, particularly, the Navy, on how to combat waterways crimes.

The House however, decided to probe the contract after about 10 civil society organisations wrote petitions against Amaechi, demanding that the Federal Government should not proceed with the contract.

The petitioners had argued that such contracts could have security implications for the country by exposing its waterways to foreign hands.

The House Committee on Public Petitions which is investigating the contract and chaired by a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Mr. Uzoma Nkem – Abonta, had its session on the matter at the National Assembly in Abuja on Tuesday stalled as the lawmakers could not lay their hands on the contract papers.

Frustrated with the development, Nkem-Abonta said, “We have been demanding these documents and we have received no responses. This is about the 8th hearing on this issue.

“If the contractual documents and agreements cannot be produced within the next 72 hours , we will be forced to close this matter and make our recommendations to the House.”

Commenting also, a member of the committee from Lagos State, Mr. Rotimi Agunsoye, said, “There is no point giving the stakeholders extra 72 hours since tax payers’ money is involved. We should just close the matter.”

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According to Agunsoye, giving the minister and other stakeholders in the matter another 72 hours was a waste of parliamentary time.

But Nkem – Abonta intervening pleaded, “Let us still give them the benefit of the doubt; after 72 hours we can close the matter. For now, my ruling is that all relevant stakeholders should stay action in all activities pending the outcome of House resolution on the issue.

“We have wasted so much parliamentary time on this issue that we will close the matter immediately after 72 hours.”

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