From Isaac Anumihe, Abuja
Not happy with poor project performance in the country, the Federal Government is processing contract papers of contractors who failed to deliver their projects with a view to taking them to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Fielding questions from newsmen in Kogi State after inspecting some projects in Abaji (Abuja), Koton Karfe and Obajana in Kogi State, Minister of Works, Engineer David Umahi, expressed displeasure over the pace of work of the jobs awarded since 2023, threatening that any contractor found wanting would face EFCC and ICPC.
He equally blamed the staff of his ministry for not monitoring the contractors effectively.
The minister regretted that three jobs were awarded in 2023 but the pace of job is not encouraging, a situation that necessitated the inspection of the projects.
“You know these are the three jobs we gave out in 2023 (referring to an uncompleted flyover bridge in Obajana). They are quality but the pace is terrible. That’s why we decided to come by ourselves to see this thing. But we’re going to be very hard on ourselves as Ministry of Works. I think we need to turn a new leaf in terms of pushing these contractors.
“These three sections of the job have not gone anywhere since September 2023. So, how can we justify that? Our staff in the field are supposed to raise alarm and that is what we are going to be charging them to do now.
“If they don’t do so we’re going to hold them responsible. How many contractors are they likely to face here? When they come we give them time in line with the law. In line with the agreement and if they fail then we have no more choice than to hand over the fight to EFCC and ICPC to recover the funds.
“But let me say generally that I feel so sad with the route between Abuja and Lokoja.
“The situation is so frightening. But let me say that it’s not peculiar to this route. What the president inherited, like I said before, is very frightening that even if you put all the resources of the nation in rebuilding all these roads it won’t even be enough.
“So, we are doing the best that we can in the circumstance knowing that he inherited an economy that everything was a priority and yet he has given roads and bridges very high priority knowing that this is the sector that grows the gross domestic product (GDP) upon which other sectors depend on to grow. And you can see a lot of the reforms are yielding a lot of fruits,” he explained.
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