The
The corporation also dismissed allegation that the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK)
A statement by the Corporation's Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs, Kennie Obateru, stated that the NNPC was considering instituting legal actions against the medium.
NNPC stated in the release that the corporation brought the unfounded accusation to the attention of the
"This is clearly a concocted analysis aimed at attacking the character of the Group Managing Director (GMD) of NNPC, Mallam Mele Kolo Kyari, and the integrity of the
"Mallam Mele Kyari did not become the GMD until
The release explained that BPP, "following a detailed review and analysis of the procurement bid, confirmed that the unit costs for line pipes adopted by the NNPC for the project were reasonable when compared with current market prices for 40", 36", 20" and 14" steel pipes".
The statement added that it was on that basis that BPP confirmed and granted certificate of no objection dated
NNPC stated that the AKK project underwent a transparent and open competitive tender process that resulted in the emergence of the most competitive bidders. It wondered how a competitive tender process could be inflated.
"Approval of all relevant authorities were obtained after an intense scrutiny by the various agencies. This is a deliberate attempt to mislead the Nigerian public with baseless information," the statement exclaimed.
NNPC said the AKK pipeline project was one of the key landmark projects that have had transparent processes from inception to date, with the entire evaluation exercise carried out by
The corporation cited the various stringent due process reviews and scrutiny, internally and externally, which the AKK pipeline project was subjected to.
According to the corporation, "these include a project bankability study, conducted at project's conception in 2013, undertaken by
"There also was execution of project feasibility and Front End Engineering Design (FEED) by a reputable international company, ILF of
The NNPC said there was also advertisement of the project in both local and foreign print media in 2013, "and competitive tendering and evaluation of the bids by both NNPC and transaction advisers, extensive review of the project design and the final cost in 2017 by the BPP, receipt of due process certificates for the project."
It listed other steps to include "renegotiation of the contract when financing was not to be provided by the contractors following a stalemate due to the inability of the company awarded the contract to progress financing in 2019, and formation of a Steering Committee in
NNPC stated that after several failed attempts in the last 13 years to commence the AKK project activities, "the leadership of Mr Kyari within one year of stewardship brought the project on track leading to the award of the contract at a competitive price and eventual flag off of construction that the world witnessed in June 2020".
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