The Consortium, it was gathered, may head for court to seek a refund of what it had spent on the project.
A source, who pleaded not to be named, told our correspondent that the government wielded the big stick after some meetings with representatives of Bi-Courtney at the Presidential Villa.
The source said: “Since 2009, the government has tolerated Bi-Courtney Consortium, but it has become obvious that it can not source funds from banks and other financial institutions to execute the project.
“I think the reforms of the banking industry by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) since 2008 made banks and other lenders to be careful in investing in the PPP project.
“Secondly, while the project was dragging, many people were dying on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. This development created an image challenge for the Federal Government, with most people erroneously assuming that the administration was deliberately discriminating against the Southwest. So, Nigerians were suffering and the project was suffering.
“Thirdly, the firm is also technically handicapped. The government discovered that the company does not have a history of road construction; it is quite good in building construction.
“We realised that it has been sourcing for foreign technical partners. The last of such expertise was from Borni Prono, which specialises in bridge construction. Borni Prono was part of those that built the Third Mainland Bridge and the Jebba Bridge.
Bi-Courtney Consortium also allegedly committed about six breaches. Some of the notable conditions breached by the company in the agreement with the Federal Government over the Lagos-Ibadan expressway concession includes: failure to submit: duly completed performance bond as contained in the agreement; •copies of the construction contract as required by the agreement; • copies of the financial Agreement as provided in the agreement; •copies of the Operations and Maintenance (O.M) Contract as stated in the agreement; •Carry out construction work despite access to the site since September 2009, and •abandonment of the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the site, among others.
Asked whether the government discussed the allaeged laoses with Bi-Courtney, the source said: “We had several meetings at the Villa. One of them was about two months ago. If you ask Bi-Courtney management, it would admit that the Minister of Works, Mr. Mike Onolememen, did a lot to make sure the contract succeeded to prove that a Nigerian firm could handle such a big project.
“Initially, the company alleged that some states in the Southwest were against the project. The government tried to intervene but later became impatient when it was obvious that it might take a long time to execute the 25-year contract of Design, Build, Operate and Transfer (DBOT).”
On the likelihood of refunding over “the N3billion” spent on the project by Bi-Courtney, the source added: “There is no such plan because the firm did not keep to the terms of the agreement.
“Even the design of the road brought to the government was not too appealing.”
Bi-Courtney Consortium maygo to court over the termination of the concession.
A source said: “If a project is supposedly not being well-executed, the appropriate thing is for the government to go to an arbitration panel and take up issues with the erring firm.
“What they have done now is to use executive fiat without consultations with Bi-Courtney Consortium to cancel the concession. This is never done anywhere in the world. This kind of attitude might scare away foreign investors.
“Surely, Bi-Courtney will go to court to recover what it spent on the road. The termination of the concession was faulty and illegal.
“To say that there will be no compensation is just unfortunate.”
Responding to a question, the source added: “The decision might not be far-fetched from politics because the concession businesses of a member of the consortium are being targeted for review.
“I think some people might want to settle political scores. Bi-Courtn
ey has just paid huge sums to Borni Prono and suddenly the contract was terminated.”
In an advertorial, the Bi-Courtney Highway Services Limited said it had not been formally intimated of the cancellation of the contract and the process, that led to it. It however added: “We have no doubt that the issues would be resolved in a manner that would rekindle the Nigeria spirit of enterprises, scholar arrange and constituency.
SOURCE: 21 November 2012.
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