Abia State Government, ABSG has warned all Government Ministries, Departments, and Agencies, MDAs to strictly adhere to the annual budget estimates approved by the State House of Assembly for each fiscal year when embarking on Capital Projects.
The Senior Special Assistant to Abia State Governor on Due Process and Procurement, Dr Oluebube Chukwu, handed down this warning while addressing the Commissioner for Environment, Mr. Philemon Asonye Ogbonna, and members of the Management team of the Ministry, who came on a fact-finding interactive meeting in the Due Process office at Government House Umuahia.
The Governor’s aide, who underscored the importance of budgetary adherence, commended the Ministry for their commitment to ensuring that every project undertaken by the Ministry strictly adheres to the Financial Regulations of the state.
He emphasized that the era of unregulated projects exceeding MDA’s thresholds without adhering to the necessary due process procedures had come to an end, as it had previously led to financial wastage and misappropriation of government funds, orchestrated by individuals with malicious intentions against the state.
Dr Chukwu, who outlined the stringent Due Process procedures, which include the Ministry’s Tenders Board conducting preliminary checks on projects and contractors and the issuance of a Certificate Of No Objection to successful contractors, said, “Governor Alex Chioma Otti’s administration has jettisoned every form of shortcuts and practices that have impeded development in the state, and has made it mandatory for all contracts to be executed by all Ministries and Agencies to pass the Due Process tests.”
“For any Project to be executed in the state, the Ministry’s Tenders Board, after publishing adverts for bids, will conduct all necessary pre-qualification preliminary checks of the Project and the Contractors and will forward the details of the successful Contractor to the Due Process Office, who will at that stage, issue a Certificate Of No Objection to the successful Contractor.
“For Capital projects above the threshold of each Ministry, the Due Process Office will forward the Contract documents to the State Finance and General Purpose Committee (F&GPC), who, after satisfactory checks, will issue a recommendation letter to the Due Process Office.
“The Due Process Office then prepares the Due Process Compliance Certificate in company with the Recommendation Letter from F&GPC, which will be forwarded to the State Executive Council through the State F&GPC and receives approval from them before sending it back to the MDA.
“The MDA then forwards it to the Ministry of Justice for vetting, agreement, and other official actions. The contract documents will finally be brought back to the Due Process Office, who issues the Due Process Certificate, authenticating that required steps were taken in line with approved standards”, Chukwu explained.
He noted that the Due Process office, with the directive of the state Governor, is building a Data Bank of all government Registered Contractors in the state and urged Ministries executing projects in the state to liaise with the Due Process Office for easy assessment.
Dr Chukwu added that his office will soon embark on a performance review program for all government projects in the state to ensure quality compliance.
Speaking earlier, the leader of the delegation and the Abia State Commissioner for Environment, Mr. Philemon Ogbonna, expressed their commitment to aligning with the state government’s approved standards in contract awards and formalities.
Ogbonna, who applauded Dr. Chukwu for his guidance on current contract award trends, assured that the Ministry of Environment would ensure strict compliance with all the required processes and added that they will not hesitate to consult the Due Process Office for further guidance.
. TheWitness
