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Fact Check: Did Wike Drag Former FCT Minister Bello to EFCC, ICPC over Award of 1km Road Contract at N4bn, ‘Monumental Corruption’? 

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1 year ago

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Claim: A Text Going Viral on Facebook and WhatsApp claims that the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike has written to Nigeria’s Anti Graft agencies to invite his predecessor, Mallam Muhammed Bello over alleged monumental corrupt practices including award of a 1km Road in Abuja at a cost of N1bn.

Full Text: The claim which is now circulating across social media platforms reads as follows:
“BREAKING…
Hon Minister Of FCT Hon Wike write to EFCC and ICPC to Invite former Minister of FCT Mallam Muhammed M Bello to explain how he Award 1kM Road from Gaduwa Estate juntion to NCDC Office at the Cost of 4Billion Naira and paid in full
Also Awarded a contract of N10 Billion and later jacked up to N119 Billion,
Awarded Contract of N50 Billion later jack up to N200 Billion,
Awarded contract of N6 Billion and later jack up to 70 Billion,
Awarded an emergency maitanance of Usman Dam at the cost of N9 Billion and paid in full without any BOQ and so many procurement infraction.
Left debt of over N1.2 trillion to FCT without anything show.
Approval of green areas to residential houses and Converting Residential Houses in Wuse 2, Maitama Gana Street, Garki into Commercial in contrary to the Abuja master plan.”
Observations:
In his first speech in office, Nyesom Wike, the new Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, has sent a warning to Abuja residents whose properties violate the city’s masterplan.
He further threatened that he was battle-ready for anyone whose property sat on any location in the city in violation of the Abuja masterplan.
On September 4th, the minister expressed dissatisfaction with the N85 billion contract to provide infrastructure for the Wasa Affordable Housing project in Wasa District, Abuja.
Earlier, Olusegun Olusan, acting coordinator of the Satellite Town Development Department, explained that the contract for the provision of the infrastructure was awarded in 2014 at N26 billion but revised to N85 billion in 2018.
Mr Olusan told the minister that so far, a total of N21 billion had been paid to the contractor with a balance of N64 billion, adding that the percentage of work done so far is 21.4 per cent.
Verification: In reading through the text making the rounds, PRNigeria observed both grammatical and punctuation errors in its composition.
Further keyword search results reveal that no reputable media platforms reported the matter.
The Fact-Check Desk then reached out to the FCT Minister’s office who confirmed they have seen the claim and have already issued a debunk.
PRNigeria was then sent a copy of the statement put out by the Minister’s office and signed by the Director of Press, Anthony Ogunleye, on behalf of the FCT Minister and it reads:
“FCTA PRESS STATEMENT
RE: FALSE ONLINE MEDIA REPORTS REGARDING ALLEGED INVITATION OF EFCC AND ICPC TO INVESTIGATE FORMER FCT MINISTER
  The Office of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister wishes to address recent online media reports that have surfaced, claiming that the FCT Minister, Barrister Ezenwo Nyesom Wike plans to invite the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to investigate the immediate past FCT Minister, Malam Muhammad Musa Bello, in relation to certain irregularities in the award of contracts and other such matters.
  We categorically and unequivocally state that these reports are entirely baseless and without any merit whatsoever. The FCT Minister, during his routine inspections of various projects within the FCT, has indeed expressed concerns and frustrations regarding irregularities observed in the procurement and execution of certain projects, amongst other observations which he very publicly expressed.
However, at no point did he contemplate or authorize any action by anyone within or outside the FCT Administration to invite the EFCC or ICPC to investigate the former FCT Minister in connection with these or any other matters.
  The online story in question is nothing more than a product of the imagination of its authors and is clearly designed to mischievously sow discord and confusion among the general public.
  We view such misinformation with great concern and urge the public and well-meaning Nigerians to exercise caution and discernment when encountering such unfounded reports.
  The FCT Minister remains focused on his responsibilities to ensure the efficient and transparent administration of the Federal Capital Territory. Any actions or decisions taken by the FCTA in this regard will be communicated through official channels and in accordance with due process.
  We hereby advise the general public to disregard the story in its entirety, as it is nothing but a deliberate attempt to spread fake news and create unnecessary tensions.
  Barrister Nyesom Wike remains committed to upholding the highest standards of integrity and accountability in the discharge of his duties and remains committed to building the FCT of our collective dreams.
Conclusion: Findings by PRNigeria reveal that the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike did not carry out or authorize any action to invite the EFCC or ICPC to investigate the former FCT Minister in connection with the award of any road contract as this has been debunked by the Minister’s office in addition to the fact that no reputable media reported such matter.
PRNigeria therefore concludes that the claim that the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike wrote to Nigeria’s Anti Graft agencies to invite former FCT Minister, Mallam Muhammed Bello over alleged monumental corruption during his tenure is FALSE.
By PRNigeria.
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