Sel Vydra limited, the company Governor Seyi Makinde re-awarded the N138 billion Ibadan circular road project to was registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission just 51 days ago, OYOINSIGHT.COM has independently confirmed.
This newspaper reported on Thursday that despite threats by the former contractor, Messrs ENL Consortium, to drag the state government to court, Makinde approved the award of the contract for the construction of the 110km road to a new concessionaire.
In February, the state government ordered the termination of the contract and asked the former contractor handling the project, ENL Consortium, to stop all activities on the site following the initial notice of termination of contract on August 31st, 2020.
However, a check on the site of the Corporate Affairs Commission revealed that as at February when the project was terminated, the new contracting firm was not a registered company.
According to findings from the CAC site including details of the result from a paid request for information by OYOINSIGHT.COM, the company with registration number RC1792174 was registered on the 11th of May, 2021.
The names of people with significant control of the company, its incorporated trustee and officers were all missing from the overview of the company provided by the CAC.
Financial Company With No Track Record In Construction
Before a company can be awarded a contract by any government agency in the country, it must satisfy certain basic conditions like a proven track record, registration with the CAC and up-to-date Tax records.
After discovering the company was registered less than two months ago, OYOINSIGHT.COM proceeded to check the tax status of the company.
Using the Tax Identification Number verification system, this reporter traced the company’s registration number provided by CAC to a Sel Vydra limited with Federal Inland Revenue Service TIN 2394011-0001.
The official mail of the company provided through the TIN system was o.opaleye@selcapitalpartners.com, which indicates that the company’s mail is hosted by selcapitalpartners.com
Here comes the controversy. A visit to the website revealed that Sel Capital is not a construction company.
“SEL Capital is a multi faceted financial services company offering tailored financial services and solutions to individuals, companies and the public sector. We provide a diversified range of financial services including Consumer Finance, Commercial and SME Finance, Corporate Finance and Financial Advisory and Wealth Management Services,” a statement on the ‘who we are’ segment of the website indicated.
“We are committed to providing outstanding services to our clients through the use of technology and be leveraging our principal officers’ significant experience and track record covering investment banking, commercial banking, project & infrastructure finance, business strategy and transformation in meeting our clients’ needs,” the statement added.
A closer look at services rendered by the company indicated that it does nothing directly related with construction of major roads, like the multi-billion naira project the governor just commissioned it for.
Makinde’s Media Adviser Makes Questionable Claim
After some residents of the state raised questions about the date the company was registered on popular microblogging app, Twitter, the Special Assistant on New Media to Makinde, Olorundare Olamide, in a tweet claimed two different construction companies — Daewoo and Julius Berger — are related to the company.
However, checks by OYOINSIGHT.COM revealed that even though the Board of both Sel Vydra and Julius Berger is chaired by Monsuru Sunmonu, the companies are actively registered separately with the CAC with no indication that they are the same entity. According to CAC, Julius Berger Nigeria Plc, with registration number RC – 6852, was registered on the 18th of February, 1970.
As for Daewoo Nigeria, though currently inactive, the CAC says it was registered on the 18th of August, 1978, with registration number RC25840. The company’s profile on its official website corroborates this.
Company Not Registered With Bureau Of Public Procurement
In 2007, the Bureau of Public Procurement was established, through the Public Procurement Act 2007, as the regulatory authority responsible for the monitoring and oversight of public procurement, harmonizing the existing government policies and practices by regulating, setting standards and developing the legal framework and professional capacity for public procurement in Nigeria.
Any company not registered with the company is ineligible to be awarded a project by the federal government as it is a primary measure to ensure probity, accountability and transparency in the procurement process.
The agency keeps a national database that “Registers, Categorizes and Classifies Contractors, Consultants and Service Providers (CCSPs) doing business or intending to do business with the Federal Government of Nigeria.”
To get registered, a company must provide its “CAC Registration Number, Company Type, FIRS (TIN), Company Address Details and Company’s Contact Information.”
It must also provide other details which include: Board of Directors; Group Company Registration; Business Category Information; Professional Regulatory Bodies Information (For Services Companies only); Manufacturer Representation Information (For Goods category only); Construction Equipment List (For Works category only); Financial Capacity; Key Human Resources; Projects Completed and Terms & Conditions.
All details provided will be subjected to verification before the company’s registration is approved.
In a bid to further reveal the level of Sel Vydra’s track record, OYOINSIGHT.COM checked the database of the BPP to check if the company is registered with it.
“No record found,” the search result said.
