ABUJA — THE Federal Government yesterday expressed doubts on the capability of the contractor handling the Onitsha-Owerri road, even as it has released the sum of N5.8 billion to the Ministry of Works for the commencement of maintenance on 1,000 roads across the country.
Minister of Works, Chief Adeseye Ogunlewe who disclosed this news at State House while speaking on the state of roads in the Southeast however, ruled out the possibility of government terminating the contract, saying it would be difficult to recover the N6 billion already paid to the contractor, CCC. He said that the contractor would be summoned before the end of the month to Abuja to explain why the construction company is embarrassing the Federal Government by the shoddy jobs.
“We have given N6 billion to that contractor till today. But the contractor is just not moving. And I’ve been repeatedly saying this. I am not comfortable or happy with that contractor. And I cannot terminate the contract because how would I get the N6 billion back? Where will I get the N6 billion? At the appropriate time, I will call the contractor before the end of this month and all of you will be there to ask questions. The contractor is CCC. In 2005, we have planned to allocate a lot of money to that contractor but I’m still sceptical. My philosophy is that where you have a bad situation, you manage it. That is the reality on the ground”, the minister lamented.
Ogunlewe who briefed newsmen on the outcome of the Federal Executive Council meeting yesterday with Minister of State for Finance, Mrs. Nenadi Usman, reassured that the South-east is not abandoned as widely claimed and would never be abandoned in road maintenance.
Blaming the existing delays on the rains, he said “We had a small lull during the raining season because you cannot repair roads during the wet season covering May to October. And in an attempt not to go full blast between May and October we applied to the Ministry of Finance and they have given us N5.8 billion to embark on massive road maintenance through the New Year and Sallah to March. We want to commend the Ministry of Finance on this. And the president has approved the commencement of work on four bridges at least between now and the New Year. They are the Second Niger Bridge, the Ikom Bridge, the Ibi Bridge and the Loko-Oweto Bridge. This will bring an improvement in national linkages.”
