Works Minister David Umahi has directed construction firm GELD to mobilise fully to its segment of the Abuja-Lokoja Highway within 72 hours.
He also called the contractors working on the federal road project for a performance and financial assessment following complaints over delayed project completion, reported The Nation.
Also, the minister issued a threat of sanctions against personnel of the Federal Ministry of Works who were accused of poorly supervising the projects, cautioning that engineers and project managers who fail to successfully supervise contractors will be dismissed from their offices.
This was as Umahi, during a joint inspection of the Abuja-Lokoja highway with the chairmen of the Senate and House of Representatives Committees on Works, expressed worry yesterday over delays, poor supervision and funding challenges facing road projects.
GELD Construction Limited was working on the minister’s part of the highway but the minister was not happy with the pace of construction.
He stated that roughly 8.2 kilometres of concrete pavement had been completed on a 28-kilometre stretch, despite the contractor having spent several years on site.
“The original contract was for 49.28 kilometres but was later reduced to 28 kilometres due to funding constraints,’’ Umahi said.
“GELD is so far behind on this project. The contractor has been on this job for years and the progress recorded is not comparable with the time spent on site,” he said.
The minister instructed the ministry’s officials to use the available advance payment monies to select the worst sections of the roadway for quick action, adding that motorists should not suffer because of the delay in the projects.
He condemned ongoing traffic problems due to construction and said no part of a federal highway should be closed for longer than 14 days without sufficient other routes.
“I feel so sad when I see this road totally blocked. “Contractors have no right to make road users suffer. Ministry officials “do not have the right to keep quiet” as that unfolds, he said.
Umahi said some ministry officials were to blame for the poor supervision of projects, adding that several engineers handling many projects could not give lawmakers basic information about the contracts they were supervising.
He cautioned contractors who still had advance payments from the government to spend the money on projects under way or face punishment from anti-corruption organisations.
In view of the issues being faced as a result of delayed payments, the minister called to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to accelerate the distribution of cash for the road projects being funded under its Tax Credit Scheme arrangement with the Federal Government.
He said President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had approved measures to ease payments but voiced concern about the delay in its execution.
“It’s the road users who are feeling the pinch. “Some sections of this corridor could deteriorate considerably in a few months if urgent action is not taken,” he warned.
Umahi said: “If contractors are not willing or are unable to continue work after receiving the government’s funds, they can be replaced.”
The minister said Tinubu’s administration was dedicated to completing important road projects across the country.
Chairman, House Committee on Works, Akin Alabi, also backed the minister’s viewpoint, saying successful delivery of road development needs commitment from contractors, ministry personnel and funding agencies.
“Lawmakers are concerned about the gap between reports submitted to the ministry and realities observed in sites of projects,” he said.
“The president cannot be everywhere and neither can the minister. That’s why engineers; controllers and supervisors are on site. “What we have seen here suggests that reports that gets to the minister do not quite reflect realities on ground,” Alabi said.
The senator urged contractors to forge forward with work despite cash flow problems, and appealed to NNPC Limited, Ministry of Finance and other relevant agencies to fast-track payment for work already done.
The Chairman, Senate Committee on Works, Onyekachi Nwaebonyi also called on ministry personnel to be diligent in the fulfilment of their duties, noting that public bashing was often on elected officials despite the fact that failures were as a result of poor implementation and oversight.
He also called on organisations making contractor payments not to undermine the administration’s infrastructure initiative with unwarranted delays.
“Payments should be made when approvals are received. “Nigerians want results; Nigerians are fed up with excuses,” he remarked.
The senator said the National Assembly committees will resume for further scrutiny and vowed that the legislators would make their findings public if sufficient changes were not recorded.
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