BY DAVID ADUGE-ANI, ABUJA
Chairman of Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), Hon Christopher Zakka Maikalangu has warned contractors against seeking upward review of contacts after they have been awarded.
Maikalangu gave the warning on Tuesday during the opening of tender for award of contracts to contractors desirous of facilitating projects for the council.
Represented by the director of administration in the council, Musa Sule Sarki, the chairman maintained that AMAC would not review any contract once they are awarded, adding that it is no longer business as usual.
He frowned that many contactors are fond of going to sleep once they secure contracts, only to come back in two or three months time to demand for an upward review of their contracts due to market forces.
In a statement by his senior special assistant on media and public affairs, Kingsley Madaki, Maikalangu said that his office would liaise with legal advisers of the council to compel contractors to sign documents against laxity and contract review.
Also speaking, chairman, Tender Board Committee, Hon. Ja’afaru Gwagwa, explained that the exercise is meant to create a level playing field and great opportunities for all interested Nigerians to participate in the development of the council.
Gwagwa said that the ceremony becomes expedient in view of the importance the council attaches to transparency and global best practices for the award of contracts, and also to meet up with the Public Procurement Act of 2007 that the council strictly adheres to.
He stated that as part of due process, AMAC is not an exception, adding that the council would do everything possible to follow it, in order to stand out among other area councils in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
He continued, “It may interest you to know that the Executive Chairman is desirous to deliver his campaign promises to the electorates, that is why the Council has shown a sense of equality and make the process so transparent that you will never regret participating in it.
“As a government, we want to assure you that we would continue the good works which we have started and we move ahead to actualize our dreams. Your coming here today has shown that AMAC is transparent in the award of contracts.”
Also speaking, the head of department (HOD) works, Arc. Andrew Gaza, said that projects captured in the 2024 budget of the council include, road construction, rural electrification, construction of primary healthcare centers (PHCs), building of classroom blocks, drilling of solar-powered boreholes, fencing of schools and fencing of PHCs, among others.
He advised the contractors to live up to expectations if they are lucky to win the biddings, which he said included building and construction, and quantity surveying.
Our reporter gathered that over 15 companies are participating in the bidding exercise.