The federal government says it has fully completed the N1 billion contracts for the installation of solar street lights in Adamawa state.
In reaction to an online report that the project was not completed, the office of the senior special assistant to the president on sustainable development goals (OSSAP-SDGs) said the contract was fully and duly executed with strict adherence to due process and for the benefit of the good people of Adamawa.
In a statement on Sunday, Rotimi Ajayi, head of communications unit, OSSAP-SDGs, said the contracts were executed in line with the terms of the award.
“The attention of the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals, OSSAP-SDGs has been drawn to a story published by an online platform and regurgitated word for word without independent verification of the facts contained therein by some other online publications on the alleged award of N1billion contracts for the installation of solar street lights in Adamawa State,” the statement reads.
“OSSAP-SDGs, hereby, categorically denied insinuations that the contracts were not carried out as stated in the terms of the award.
“For the avoidance of doubts, OSSAP-SDGs wishes to state emphatically that the contract was fully and duly executed with strict adherence to due process and for the benefit of the good people of Adamawa.”
The Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on SDGs is headed by Adejoke Orelope Adefulire, a former deputy governor of Lagos State between 2011 and 2015.
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Recall on Sunday, Sahara Reporters claimed four out of the five contractors that received over N1billion for the installation of solar street lights in Adamawa State are the same individuals but the projects were allegedly never executed.
The projects were purportedly meant to boost development in line with SDGs goal 7 which required governments to “ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all.”
The online publication revealed that four of the five companies belonged to the same individuals and the streetlights were never installed as proposed. They claimed the OSSAP-SDGs made five suspicious payments totaling over N1billion for installation of solar street lights in Adamawa State but the projects were allegedly never executed;
Had the projects been implemented in Adamawa State as claimed, the streetlights would have contributed to beefing up security in parts of the state which have been battered by insurgency and other crimes.
