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| A photo combination of Rotimi Ameachi & Abubakar Malami |
The Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi and the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami (SAN) have been dragged before a Federal High Court in Abuja over an alleged unlawful award of 190 km rail line construction to a Chinese firm without due process of law.
They were sued along with the Federal Ministry of Transportation and the benefitting firm, China Civil Engineering Construction Company (CCECC).
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Plaintiffs in the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1426/2021 Duluidas Nigeria Limited, Duliz Dredging and Construction Limited and Consortium of Duluidas Nigeria Limited, Duliz dredging and Construction Limited/Hebbelyixin Fastener Company Limited, China.
In their writ of summons issued by their lead counsel, James Okoh, the plaintiffs are asking the Federal High Court to cancel the letter of “no objection” issued by the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) in favour of CCECC for the award of the N91.5bn rail line contract in breach of procurement laws and re-issue same in their favour.
The disputed contract is for the reconstruction of the narrow gauge track from Minna in Niger State to Baro with an extension to the Baro River Port at a whopping sum of N91.5 billion and a completion period of 36 months.
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The plaintiffs prayed the court for an injunction restraining the defendants from awarding or purporting to award the contract to the Chinese firm or any third party on the basis of the flawed bidding process.
In the alternative, they sought an order setting aside any purported award on the basis of the flawed and heavily compromised bid process by the Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC) with the concurrence of other defendants.
Meanwhile, a hearing in the matter has been fixed for February 17, 2022, by Justice Ahmed Ramat Mohammed.
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