BY OLUSOLA OLUDIRAN
Once again, Engineer Seyi Makinde’s government engaged contractors for unspecified projects, this time 42 of them worth ₦5 billion;The Oyo State Bureau of Public Procurement (Oyo BPP) has some questions to answer for publishing expenditure with unactionable data, from location to quantity;Not to mention this act contravened the state’s public open contracting and procurement regulations;In all, while the state’s adoption of open contracting is laudable, it’s the finer details that scream the loudest; thus, championing transparency to its fullest extent is the way to go for Governor Makinde.
It seems to be one step forward, two-step backwards for Governor Makinde’s administration. The recent 42 vaguely detailed projects worth ₦5 billion observed in Oyo state’s Open Contracting Portal speaks to this. And while the state’s express use of open contracting, one of the select few, is commendable, its choice to omit critical details hinders accountability.
For instance, with what metric can a civic organisation track the “construction of classrooms” worth over ₦19 million? How many classrooms did the government engage Alia Engineering for, and in what location? Without gainsaying, this negligence contravenes part 2 section 10(a) of the State’s Procurements law which states that the “objectives of the bureau (Oyo State Bureau of Public Procurement) are: harmonisation of existing government policies, public procurement and ensuring, accountability and transparency in the process.”
In the end, Engineer Seyi Makinde’s entrance as Oyo state governor was on the platform of transparency and accountability. To this effect, his administration posted 198 projects, worth ₦145 billion over the fiscal year on its portal—a most impressive feat, signalling a repositioning towards fiscal accountability and open governance. However, contradicting Makinde’s progress is the state’s constant omission of crucial details from government expenditure.
Dataphyte’s analysis below shows the breakdown of these unspecified projects.
58 motorised boreholes without site information
The Oyo government spent a whopping sum of ₦146 million (146,614,948.47) to construct 58 motorised boreholes. However, omitting award dates for said projects hinders accountability. Not to mention, location details are also absent. In the end, the only thing present is unactionable text or vague descriptions.
Again, given the importance of this project- providing water- why did the Oyo State BPP pass it without information that would ensure public scrutiny. For Pete’s sake, it is a Sustainable Development Goal (SDGs).
Construction of “Unlocated” classrooms with ₦212 million
Another discrepancy discovered on the Oyo social contract portal is classrooms’ construction with no discernible location for any building. The Executive Governor of Oyo State’s office signed off on eleven instances of “construction of classrooms” worth ₦212 million (₦212,817,963.64) on June 14th.
Yet, the government refused to indicate the particular location of the projects. Also absent are the numbers of classrooms contracted. Are they for the same institution or…? It is all up in the air for speculation.
In truth, this level of ambiguity in project specifications is sadly not uncommon. And experts have since decried its recurrence as it furthers corruption. Not to mention it frustrates accountability. For instance, how can the government ensure its ministries truthfully follow up on projects with no trackable metrics.
School Furniture and Books without actual enumerations
Oyo State Education Trust Funds awarded a ₦73 million contract in the same vein for “Production of sets of furniture for public schools in the state” to different contractors. Still, they failed to specify categorically which public schools would be benefitting from the projects.
The Trust once again awarded another ₦104 million (₦104,621,710) for “Production of the 2nd batch of customised exercise books for students of public secondary schools in the states.” And still omitted actionable figures, like the numbers of books purchased and its beneficiaries. One could only wonder if these consistent omissions are deliberate or a question of due diligence. Either way, it is uncharacteristic of the mandate for the state’s BPP.
Rehabilitation of 3.2km and 5.5km roads for the same amount
Continuing the discrepancies trail is the state’s Ministry of Works and Transports which engaged two contractors to rehabilitate Ecobank Bode Isalu-AHIS, 3.2km and 5.5km roads. But the shocker was that the agency procured both projects for the same amount, ₦2.5 billion. A 3km road project worth ₦2 billion is questionable, to say nothing of the same amount for just repair work. Moreover, why did the state contract both roads for the same amount?
Government remains mute
Given the preceding, Dataphyte reached out to the Oyo state government for clarification. However, this reporter awaits a response from the chief press secretary to the state governor, Mr Taiwo Adisa, despite several calls and texts sent at different times. All efforts to reach out to the Director of Oyo State Bureau of Public Procurements were futile. Not only does the Oyo BPP website omit this information, but its staff were not forthcoming either.
Expert commends government, demands accountability.
For Olanrenwaju Suraj, Makinde’s administration’s efforts towards transparency are commendable. Nonetheless, the team lead, Human and Environmental Development Agency, urged the state to be mindful of the finer details as they often hinder ‘good work.’
“I think we should first commend the state government for publishing its expenses on the open portal. However, we can only demand that proper documentation of these projects be done for proper follow-ups both on the projects, and the contractors who benefited from the contract”.
