Contrary to claims in some quarters, the Surveyor General of the Federation, Samuel Adeniran Taiwo, has said dismissed allegations of graft and impropriety against him and officials of the Extra Ministerial Department in the awards of Right of Way (RoW) contracts, amounting to over 300 million naira.
Taiwo said the projects was executed as an on-going projects under the supervision of the Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola.
He therefore absolved himself of any blame or acts of impropriety over the awards of the contract.
Speaking with newsmen in his office in Abuja on petitions filed against him at the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offence Commission, (ICPC) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Taiwo said he had paid his dues as a committed and forthright civil servant for more than 33 years.
He noted that the petitions which was filed against him by Al-Mahdi and Co. Mallittafi Chambers, Abuja, was also copied to the Minister of Works, Babatunde Fashola and the Head of Service of the Federation, asserting that he had done nothing wrong since his appointment in 2019.
“Let me tell you, since I was appointed, it had been petitions upon petitions. Some people even petitioned that I wanted to temper with my age. Yet, the good thing is that our achievements here have put this Department in positive reckoning, ” he asserted.
Taiwo said there was no iota of truth in the allegations contained in the petitions, stressing that he had not committed any infractions by executing projects that were appropriated in the budgets for the Office of the Surveyor General of the Federation.
The petitions were however raised from auditor’s queries on projects executed by the Agency some of which pre-dated his appointment. It was also discovered that the procurement officer who signed some of the contracts in question passed away early in the year. The RoW contracts were said to be on going works in some parts of the country.
Highlights of the petitions were payment of 10 million naira as rent to Surveyor Council of the Federation, awards and execution of 302 million naira Right of Way contract without passing through due process, and award of 92 million naira contract to companies not qualified for the jobs, among others.
The petitions which had the signatures of Mr Emeka Nwabuchie, were said to have been received by the anti-graft agencies as well as the supervising Minister and the Head of Service of the Federation.
Taiwo said he is ready to defend himself in any court as he had nothing to hide. He said the presence of all his directors and other subordinate officers at the briefing is testimony that the operations of the Agency under him were transparent and in the best interests of the country.
