The Director General (D-G) of the National Metallurgical Development Centre (NMDC) Jos, Linus Asuquo, has said he followed due process in the award and execution of contracts in the centre.
Mr Asuquo was reacting to a petition signed by 54 members of staff of NMDC, accusing him of fraudulent activities at the centre, in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), on Sunday, in Jos.
The members of staff, under the aegis of Concerned Staff of NMDC, accused the director general of embezzlement, misappropriation, diversion of public funds, gross violation of public service rules and shady reappointment.
In his reaction, however, Mr Asuquo said that there had never been one case where management awarded contracts without following the laid down procedures.
“The first process is the procurement planning committee. After that is appropriation, and finally advert. It is mandatory for these projects to be advertised.
“After that, we have tenders purchase, and tenders opening, and after that, we have technical evaluation, by the technical committee.
“After the contracts are viewed by a board, the winners of the contracts are then awarded the contracts and there is no single time where I awarded any contract without following due process,” Mr Asuquo maintained.
Also defending the allegation of awarding multiple contracts to a single contractor with different companies, Mr Asuquo described the contractor as someone who “is competent, who produces results, and he wins the contracts”.
According to him, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), had checked and confirmed that there was no funny business in the award of the contracts, so the contracts had to be given.
Reacting to the allegation that no single research was conducted in his five-year tenure, Mr Asuquo said that research could not be carried out because the centre was in disarray and all the equipment was obsolete when he assumed office.
“I brought in professionals to see how we could reactivate the equipment, and the report was that less than 20 per cent of the equipment were functional.
“So my efforts all this time were put into the reactivation of the equipment. So why would they accuse me now, when I am putting in efforts for real research to take place?
“If I were not interested in research, we wouldn’t have procured the scanning electron microscope or the polishing machine. Things must be put in the right perspective before research commences.
“I applied to the World Bank, I pled my case and they inspected the centre, all this was done before the procurement of the electron microscope and the polishing machine.
“Very expensive state-of-the-art machines, but the accessories have not been supplied. We have applied for those accessories to be supplied but it is a long process, which could take about 11 months,’’ he further explained.
The director general alleged that some of the people complaining about the lack of equipment were the ones sabotaging his efforts.
