The media space has been agog for some months over the allegation of a phantom multi-million naira contract awarded by the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) to a non existence company.
A report by an online Newspaper, alleged that NRC awarded the contract to rehabilitate the 463km Port Harcourt-Makurdi section of the Eastern Railway line for N19.2b in March 2011 to an unregistered company Eser Contracting and Industry Company Incorporated, promoted by Turkish firm in order to fleece the Federal Government.
It was alleged that the company had no legal capacity when it was awarded the contract as it has no required certificate of incorporation, as a CAC search revealed and this has led a section of the media to speculate on the personalities behind the unregistered company.
Unfortunately, a couple Mr. and Mrs. Ola Alokolaro were speculated to have links with the company. Whereas further investigations have exonerated the couple from knowing anything about the company.
But the harbingers of the speculations had hinged their assertions on the premise that Mrs Adekemi Alokolaro, now Sijuade is related to the then Managing Director of the NRC, Mr Adeseyi Sijuade.
Apart from independent investigations that revealed that the Alokolaros were innocent it was also revealed that the purveyors of the unfounded allegations had yet to be disclosed reasons for the campaign of calumny.