By Emman Ovuakporie & Johnbosco Agbakwuru

ABUJA—AS the public investigative hearing on Rail Contract Scam continued yesterday, former minister of Transport,   Isah Ibrahim Biu, told the panel that he never awarded   the contract for the supply of five locomotive engines by General Electric, GE, in 2010 but was only a party to its commissioning.

Biu   also denied having any affinity with any of the companies given the contract throughout his tenure, insisting that whoever had evidence linking him to any of the companies should come forward and   make it public.

The former minister  at a point demanded for the Qur’an saying “I’m ready to take a second oath on this issue to further convince that I do not have any interest in any of the listed companies.”

  When asked the question by a lawmaker a second time  on his alleged interest in some of the companies, Biu repeated that: “Before I answer this question, I want to be given the Holy Qur’an to swear by it so that I will be on oath again. I’m saying without any equivocation that I have no affiliation whatsoever with any of the companies given the contracts, and if anybody has any proof to the contrary, let that person come forward and prove me wrong.”

He told the committee that his tenure as minister of transport was short-lived following the death of late President Yar’Adua who appointed him in 2010.

 According to him,  he was appointed on December 18, 2009 and was removed by Goodluck Jonathan on March 10, 2010.