The Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Julius Berger Nigeria Plc have resolved their misunderstanding over abandoned projects being handled by the construction giant.
Following the amicable resolution, the Senate has withdrawn the warrant of arrest it issued against the Managing Director of Julius Berger, Peer Lubasch, for failure to appear before its committee on works for explanation on abandoned projects.
The Senate had on December 12, 2024 issued a warrant of arrest against the Managing Director of Julius Berger Nigeria Plc for refusing to appear before its committee on Works.
The issuance of Warrant of Arrest against MD of Julius Berger, followed a motion moved by the Senate Minority Whip, Senator Osita Ngwu (Enugu West) and co-sponsored by Senators Asuquo Ekpenyong (Cross River South) and Mpigi Barinada (Rivers South East) in which they informed the Upper chamber of the National Assembly that Julius Berger Plc has blatantly refused to appear before the Senate Committee on Works for needed explanations on projects abandonment and alarming contract variation from N54 billion to N195 billion.
However, the Senate at plenary on Tuesday, January 14, 2025, vacated the Warrant of Arrest on the strength of a written apology forwarded to it by Julius Berger.
Julius Berger in the letter addressed to the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, through the Chairman, Senate Committee on Works, Senator Barinada Mpigi, tendered an apology for its inability to honour invitations which was as a result of leadership transition in the company.
The letter dated January 10, 2025 and signed by Dr Peer Lubasch, Managing Director and Dr Abdulaziz Isa Kaita, Director Administration, while acknowledging receipt of the instructions regarding the investigative hearing on the Odukpani-ltu-Ikot Ekpene Road, apologized for their absence at previous meetings due to miscommunication during its leadership transition.
The letter further stated; “Our new Managing Director, Engr. Dr. Peer Lubasch, had just assumed office and was being briefed on ongoing projects. We assure you of our utmost respect for the National Assembly and our commitment to collaborative governance.
“JBN remains committed to partnering with the National Assembly and Federal Government to deliver projects that benefit Nigerians, address infrastructural challenges, and create jobs.
“We assure you of our attendance at the next committee meeting and look forward to continued collaboration,” it concluded.
Following the apology letter, the Senate at the plenary voted for its acceptance when put to voice votes and Julius Berger’s apology was also accepted by the Senate investigative panel headed by Senator Barinada Mpigi.
The MD of Julius Berger in his explanations to the committee, said that slow payment of advances on contracts and cost variation etc., created the misunderstanding between the company and Federal Ministry of Works.
He said; “JBN has an unquestionable track record of consistency on quality projects execution and delivery in Nigeria since 1965 with over 10,000 work force and more than 150, 000 indirect workers”.
The committee assured that it would resolve the disagreement between Julius Berger and the Federal Ministry of Works.
