•Minister of Works David Umahi
The federal government has re-awarded the revoked section of the Abuja-Kaduna highway to an inactive and obscure company, investigations reveal.
The company, Infoquest Nigeria Limited as announced by the Minister of Works, David Umahi, had secured the contract for the completion of the remaining sector of Section 2 of the Abuja-Kaduna highway, reports Daily Trust.
The section of the road was revoked from Julius Berger Construction Company over a price dispute and completion timeline. However, the construction company in an advertorial placed in the national dailies blamed the adjustment in cost on inflation which led to increases in energy and material costs. It also claimed that it had not received payment for works executed since November 2023.
Umahi had during an inspection of the road last week said Infoquest Nigeria Limited secured a “No objection” of N252.89 billion from the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) and the contract would be presented for ratification at the next sitting of the Federal Executive Council (FEC).
A “No Objection,” according to the Public Procurement Act, 2007, means the procurement process was conducted in accordance with the provisions of the Act and that the Bureau of Public Procurement had no objections to the award of the contract. This essentially serves as an approval for the procuring entity to proceed with the contract award and make payments to contractors or suppliers.
Status of Infoquest
However, it was discovered the status of Infoquest Nigeria Limited is inactive on the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) website.
This means that the decision to award the contract to the company violates the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) 2020.
Additional information about the company shows its total ordinary shares is N100,000 and its total share capital is N100,000. Also, the company has never paid annual returns since its establishment according to information accessed by this paper from the CAC website
What the Act says
According to the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) 2020, an inactive company is legally incapable of executing contracts or undertaking new business activities.
Therefore, the decision to award a contract for the Abuja-Kaduna highway to Messer Infoquest Nigeria Limited contradicts Section 525(3) & (4) of the CAMA 2020 which empowers the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) to remove such companies from the register.
Once struck off the register, the company ceases to exist legally and cannot enter into or enforce contracts.
Also, section 526 states that once a company is struck off, all its assets become bona vacantia (ownerless property) and vest in the government.
Similarly, section 583 states that companies that fail to meet statutory requirements lose the right to enforce contracts and carry out business activities. The only way for an inactive company to regain such rights, according to Section 583(a) of the law, is through a High Court order restoring it to the register.
Umahi announced last week that Infoquest Nigeria Limited emerged winner among the six companies that placed bids for the road.
According to the minister, the six contractors that indicated interest include: Messers Julius Berger Nig. Plc, Messers Hitech Construction Company Limited, Messers Infoquest Nigeria Limited, Messers CBC Nigeria Limited, Messers CCECC Nigeria Limited and Messers CGC Nigeria Limited.
Further checks by our reporters revealed that Messers Infoquest Nigeria Limited was registered on 16 June 1997, with the registration number RC 315362. The company’s status on the CAC website is inactive and its listed address is 39, Falohun Street, Orile, Lagos. The company has three directors listed as Omeruwa Onyekachi, Olubodun Benson, and Kuforiji Moses.
Infoquest Nigeria Limited lacks a digital presence, raising questions about its capacity and legitimacy to execute such a significant multi-billion naira national project. Similarly, there was little digital information on the names of the listed directors.
Tracing company address in Lagos
A reporter was dispatched to trace the address of Infoquest Nigeria Limited, listed on the CAC as 39, Falohun Street, Orile, Lagos. Our correspondent who was at 39 Falohun Street, off Baale junction located in Orile Iganmu, reports that the building is on a tarred road that stretches to Surulere.
The residential storey building with boys’ quarters built behind it is painted green, displaying glaringly No. 39 handwritten with blue colour. Our correspondent asked the woman selling fruits and sandals at the front of the building and she said there was no office known as Infoquest Nigeria Limited there.
“There is no company here, you can check Aguda”, she said while another woman selling fruits in front of the building said the same thing.
Our correspondent reports that there was no sign of any construction company or construction work at Falohun Street. Also, a search on Google Maps did not produce any results for Infoquest.
•The supposed company premises
Sources at CAC told one of our correspondents that the details found on their website are up to date.
“The Corporate Affairs Commission’s website is not lagging behind, all the information you see there is the latest.
“If you see ‘inactive’ under a company, it means it is not up to date in the payment of its obligations to the federal government.
“This could be in payment of taxes or other things required by law,” one of the sources said.
Ministry denies awarding contract
When contacted on why the ministry selected Infoquest Nigeria Limited for the project, the Director of Press for the Ministry of Works, Mohammed A. Ahmed, said the minister did not announce that the contract was awarded. According to him, the minister only said he got a certificate.
While poor connectivity prevented further explanation by the director, our reporter made several attempts to reach him but his number was unreachable. Hours later, several attempts were made to reach the director but he did not answer the calls. He also did not reply to a text message to clarify what he meant by the minister getting a certificate.
There are complaints about the company – BPP
The Director-General of the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), Dr. Adebowale Adedokun told our correspondent yesterday that he was aware of some complaints on the matter. He also acknowledged that the BPP granted the certificate of no objection to Infoquest Nigeria Limited.
He maintained that the certificate of no objection issued to the company met all the requirements without any political considerations or interference.
“As at April 2024, we had the record from CAC on the company’s performance. We also have the record, which we verified on the multi-billion naira contracts the company had executed, including with FCDA, Ministry of Water Resources and other organisations.
“There was no political consideration or external influence in our decisions. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu gave us the mandate to do the right thing and he does not interfere with our work. This is why we can reject applications or biddings, even when they come from renowned organisations which do not meet the legal requirements or approve those of some organisations which met the requirements, even when some do not see them as heavy weight so to say, in as much as they are qualified and competent to do the job,” Adedokun said.
