The National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) has defended the 30 per cent mobilisation fee paid to the contractor handling its ongoing NASENI Campus project, describing recent media reports questioning the payment as false, malicious and designed to mislead the public.
NASENI was reacting to publications by two online platforms, Sahara Reporters and Secret Reporters, which suggested financial impropriety in the project.
Secret Reporters claimed NASENI hurriedly paid N10.648 billion, representing 30 per cent of the contract sum, to CGC Nigeria Limited in December 2025 in order to mop up funds. Sahara Reporters treated a 15 per cent mobilisation benchmark as the limit NASENI had breached.
The agency, in a statement on Tuesday its Director of Information, Mr. Olusegun Ayeoyenikan, said both claims were wrong.
According to the agency, the 15 per cent figure comes from an outdated provision of the procurement law. It explained that the Finance Act 2020 amended the Public Procurement Act 2007 and raised the maximum allowable mobilisation fee for public contracts from 15 per cent to 30 per cent.
The agency also accused the two outlets of publishing without waiting for clarification from its management, which it said would have produced a balanced report.
How the contract was awarded
NASENI said that in 2025 it sought consultancy from reputable and qualified companies to construct the NASENI Campus, a flagship Science, Technology and Innovation Complex meant to strengthen Nigeria’s innovation ecosystem. The facility is to be located at the Abuja Technology Village in Lugbe, Abuja.
According to the agency, CGC Nigeria Limited emerged after meeting all technical and financial requirements of the procurement process and receiving the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) Certificate of No Objection.
The Federal Executive Council approved the contract award in November 2025. The company was then mobilised with 30 per cent of the total contract sum to enable it to move to site, which NASENI said complied with BPP financial regulations and procedures.
NASENI added that before it made the payment, the contractor provided a bank guarantee from a reputable Nigerian commercial bank, in line with approved procedures.
What the law says
The agency cited Part XIV of the Finance Act 2020, which amended Section 35 of the Public Procurement Act. Under the amended provision, a mobilisation fee of up to 30 per cent may be paid to a supplier or contractor, in addition to any other regulation the Bureau may prescribe.
The payment must be backed by an unconditional bank guarantee or an insurance bond issued by an institution acceptable to the procuring entity, and it remains in force until the fee is fully amortised or recovered.
NASENI said this showed the payment met all statutory, legal and procurement requirements. It advised the media to seek clarification before publishing what it called unfounded and malicious stories about government agencies and insisted it follows due process in awarding public contracts.
Project progress
The agency said construction of the campus is progressing steadily. The complex is being developed to help promising Nigerian ideas move beyond research and prototypes into market ready products, businesses and industries.
When completed, it will house research laboratories, advanced prototyping and fabrication facilities, coworking spaces and collaborative learning areas where innovators, researchers, engineers and industry players can work together.
NASENI said the project reflects its 3Cs of Creation, Collaboration and Commercialization. It will give innovators, including those emerging from initiatives such as #InnovateNaija and Futuremakers, a pathway to develop, test and advance their solutions towards the market.
“As construction progresses, each milestone brings NASENI closer to creating the infrastructure needed to turn homegrown innovation into economic and industrial value,” the agency said.
