President Muhammadu Buhari and outgoing Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole.
The Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige, has again lambasted the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Adams Oshiomhole.
Oshiomhole had threatened to expel Ngige or any other minister that failed to carry out his directive to inaugurated their boards.
Reacting in a statement by the Director of Press, Ministry of Labour and Employment, Samuel Olowookere, the minister said those that say he has not inaugurated the Board of the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) because he was awarding contracts were ignorant of the Procurement Act.
The statement reads: “The attention of the Hon. Minister of labour and Employment, Sen. Dr. Chris Ngige has been drawn to media reports that his office appropriated the powers of the Board of the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund, NSITF, in the award of contracts, hence the delay in inaugurating the board of the agency.
“Such a blatant falsehood is either on account of fertile ignorance or outright mischief or both by the originator as well as the peddlers. It is therefore imperative that the provisions of the Procurement Act 2010 which is clear and unambiguous on the process for the award of contracts be re-emphasized.
“For clarity purpose, the Ministerial Tenders Board (MTB) for the award of contracts in any Ministry is made up of the Permanent Secretary as chairman and his Directors, while in the parastatals, the Parastatals Tenders Board consists of the Chief Executive Officer (Director General or Managing Director) and his Directors
“The Minister is not a member and therefore does not award contracts. Similarly, members of Board of Directors being non-members of the Tenders Board of the parastatals do not also award contracts. It is therefore a stunningly crass ignorance for anyone to claim that part of the reasons for the delay in the inauguration of the board of the NSITF or any parastatal was to enable the Minister usurp the role of the board as regards the award of contracts.
“When the threshold of the award is above a parastatal, such contracts are referred to the MTB for final approval. Such also is the case with the Ministerial Tenders Board threshold which is referred to the Bureau for Public Procurement and from there, to the Council of Ministers called the Federal Executive Council for treatment and ratification.
“So in effect, the Federal Executive Council is not a contract awarding body and hence Ministers do not award contracts stricto senso!”