The Minister of Environment, Mrs. Lawrencia Mallam said during an inspection to the Velodrome of the National Stadium where the stoves are being assembled that Mr. President would commission the stoves on May 26th.
Mallam who blamed the media for publishing falsehood capable of misleading the public on the good intension of government, however failed to tell journalists how many out of the 750,000 clean cook stoves ordered by government had arrived for Mr. President to commission.
She also refused to entertain questions from journalist saying that anybody that has a question on the stoves should come to the Velodrome on the 26th.
“You media people have been publishing lies and misleading the public on the situation of the stoves. Did you people come to the ministry to ask the relevant officials? I’m aware you people have sources within the ministry that tell you things but do you bother to ask the permanent secretary or me? She asked.Daily Trust recalls that the federal executive council in November last year awarded the contract to Integra Renewable Energy Services Ltd to procure 750,000 stoves and 18,000 wonderbags.
A sources at the company told Daily Trust that the company is unable to bring in the wonderbags because the ministry had not fulfilled its promise of getting a waiver for them.
The President will on the 26th, two days before leaving office be commissioning about 100, 000 pieces of the stoves as against the 750,000 and none of the wonderbags will be on ground for the President to commission.
When asked how many stoves the contractor supplied the Minister said: “If you want to know come when we are going to count them.”
Mallam confirmed that the contractor was paid N1.3 billion so far for the job out of the N5 billion the ministry got for the execution of the contract.
She said the ministry will be distributing the stoves, a situation stakeholders had also kicked against saying the stoves will not get to the rural women.
-Daily Trust