The contractor handling Governor Simon Lalong‘s Legacy Projects, Bleneson Services Nig Ltd, has rejected the termination of his contract by the State Government.
The firm said the termination of contract via the media was an abuse of process that it will resist.
Managing Director of the firm Engr Lawanson Ngoa stated this while speaking with journalists in Jos on Monday.
According to Ngoa: “There was an attempt by the State Government to terminate the contract of N2.6 billion given to me known as the Lalong Legacy Project. I want to state clearly that the Governor or his agencies have no right to terminate my contract while I am still alive.
“I also learnt government has re-awarded the same contract to another contractor and it sound abnormal to me.”
Ngoa said that the project cannot be re-awarded to a new contractor because there is a pending case before the court of law on the project.
Read Also: Plateau gets $50m French grant to expand water supply
“Litigation is on between the State Government and the Contractor and also a case between the contractor and other sub-contractors as such it is not possible for the same project to be re-awarded,” he pointed out.
He further faulted the government for saying it was terminating or have terminated the contract on the grounds of non-performance after Lalong was quoted in interviews saying the project was 70percent to completion.
“If we have done 70percent like they say, what then will stop us from completing the project?
“We don’t need to compound this issue, bringing in another contractor now when the main contractor is still alive, and the case is still before the court of law. We will only compound the issues more as bringing in the new contractor will amount to more litigation, and the more we go into litigation the more the project will still not be done”.
“This case is before the court of law and we have not been paid a dime by anyone neither has anyone been sent to me nor approached me for settlement and there is no consent agreement made all through the one year that the case has been in court,” he added.
The Projects, 21 in all, were dubbed ‘Lalong’s Legacy Projects and they include 9 primary schools, 6 secondary schools and 6 hospitals, all of world-standard and located across the 17 local government areas of Plateau.
Recently, the Plateau State Executive Council at a meeting approved a new contractor for the completion of the Lalong Legacy Projects.
The Executive Council said it approved the award of the contract for the completion of the projects at N26.6 billion following the termination of the contract with the previous contractor.
Bleneson Services Ltd on March 16 instituted a suit seeking to restrain the Plateau Government from terminating its contract with the company for the construction of schools and hospitals under the Lalong Legacy Projects.
The institution of the suit was after the Plateau State government issued a 30-day “Notice of Termination of Contract” on the Company on March 9, following the failure of the company to deliver a phase of the project.
Reacting to the claims of the contractor, Commissioner for information Hon Dan Manjang said as far as government was concerned, Bleneson Services Nig Ltd is no longer handling the project.
“We have followed the rules of law in terminating the contract,” he said.