Muftau Open Salawu, an engineer and chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, is to head the newly created Project Monitoring Agency.
The bill creating the agency was into law Thursday evening by ‘Seyi Makinde, governor of Oyo State.
Explaining that his administration met a Bureau of Public Procurement and Governor’s Monitoring Team on the ground when it came on board in 2019, he revealed that there was no value for money paid on projects.
According to Makinde, the major legacy of his administration will be the creation of institutions that will ensure that the state continues well into the future.
He said, “People ask me what will be my legacy? Our legacy will be the institutions that we are able to create to ensure that Oyo State will continue well into the future to enjoy good governance.
“We do not want strong men or strong governors but strong institutions that will stand the test of time. So, this is one of the institutions that are being created.”
Speaking about project monitoring, Governor Makinde said “We must extract value for the people of the state. So, this is one institution that will ensure that values are extracted for our projects in terms of schedule and quality.”
The governor lauded the House of Assembly for demonstrating togetherness and working hand in hand with the executive to ensure that the people of the state have value for their money.
“Let me use this opportunity to say thank you to the House. It is a demonstration of the togetherness between the legislature and executive arms of government. This is Oyo State and this is how we will continue to operate,” he added.
Speaking earlier, the Speaker of the House of Assembly, Rt. Hon Adebo Ogundoyin, said the House was excited about the Bill, stating that the Assembly is confident that the agency will work in partnership with the Assembly, as project monitoring is part of the lawmakers’ oversight functions.
He commended Governor Makinde on the new agency, which he described as an extra layer of protection to ensure that projects are delivered to time and with utmost quality.
The Speaker said: “We, as a House, are excited about this. The only thing we are concerned about is whether this agency will be usurping the function of the House but knowing the kind of government we run and the partnership we have, we believe that we will work hand in hand, especially with the Chairman of the Committee, as long as the directive of His Excellency is clear.
“We look forward to working together in a way that will not usurp the duty of each other. I am sure that this is an extra layer of protection for the contracts awarded and we are working on the same page to ensure that quality projects are delivered in good time.
“So, we are excited by the prospects of working together in cooperation with the executive on this matter.”
The Ogbomoso-born Civil Engineer, who is fellow of the Nigeria Society of Engineer, holds Master Degree in Civil Engineering, Registered with COREN,, Fellow Nigerian Institution of Civil engineers (FNICE), Fellow Nigerian Association of Technologist in Engineering (FNATE), Member Nigeria Institute of Management (NIM), Chartered Institute of Waste Management UK. (CIWM) and Justice of Peace.
Directly under the supervision of the governor, the agency has the power to conduct periodic inspection of all projects in the states, undertake quality control inspection, to ensure compliance with the terms of the contract, issuance of certificate of completion on all projects, examine the book and others machineries used by a contractor in the performance of a contract.
Where occasion demands, the agency can conduct an investigation into the award of any contract to ascertain the integrity of the process, inspect and enter any premises where a contract is being executed.
In attendance at the signing ceremony were the Deputy Governor, Barr. Bayo Lawal; Secretary to the State Governor, Prof. Olanike Adeyemo; Chief of Staff to the governor, Hon. Segun Ogunwuyi and the Head of Service, Mrs Olubunmi Oni.
Others were the Deputy Speaker, Hon. Abiodun Fadeyi; Commissioner for Justice, Barr. Biodun Aikomo; Commissioner for Works, Prof. Kehinde Dahud Shangodoyin and the Commissioner for Special Duties, Alhaja Faosat Ajoke Sanni.
