Reps stop N30bn ID Card contract

Posted by admin House, Legislature Thursday, October 6th, 2011

The House of Representatives on Thursday asked the Federal Government to suspend the fresh N30bn contract for National Identity Card Scheme.

It also ordered an investigation into the first ID Card scheme, which started in 2001 but was reported to be inconclusive.

In a resolution, the legislature described the fresh contract as strange, especially as it was coming at a time the controversies surrounding the first one had not been cleared.

The House therefore mandated its Committee on Interior and Committee on National Planning to “investigate the scheme, determine the amount of money expended on it so far, where the project is today and the challenge to its completion and report to the House within two weeks.”

It also noted that there was no provision for the fresh contract in the 2011 budget, a development the members said had raised a question over the transparency of the project.

The lawmakers expressed surprise that the Federal Executive Council awarded the new contract in September when government had not explained the state of the earlier contract.

A member of the House from Ekiti State, Mr. Bimbo Daramola, who sponsored a motion on the issue, recalled that the existing ID card scheme started in 2001 but was marred by corruption.

He stated that the Federal Government spent $214m on the project.

Daramola said, “There were allegations of high-profile personalities taking bribes from $200,000 to $330,000.

“The scheme has been characterised by huge financial resource allocation down the drain to conviction of those saddled with the project for corrupt charges.

“The new attempt by the Federal Government to pump another N30bn into this seemingly white elephant will further hurt the financial position of our country.”

He argued that Nigerians ought to have been told the state of the existing project and why it was necessary to spend another N30bn on a new scheme.

Daramola said, “How are we sure that we are not walking the same path that we started in 2001?”

-Punchwp_posts