The Nation Newspaper

Tag: road contractors

  • Why Nigerians must be patient with road contractors, by Fashola

    Minister of Power, Works and Housing Babatunde Fashola has called on Nigerians to be patient with contractors handling federal road projects over inconveniences caused by the on-going projects.

    Fashola spoke in Kano yesterday while he was inspecting Federal Government road projects in Kano State.

    The projects inspected by the minister were the expansion of Kano-Katsina Road and the Kano Western Bypass.

    He said the inconveniences, diversion and traffic on the roads being rehabilitated were “consequences of doing what we were supposed to do 15 years ago.

    “I want to appeal to Nigerians to be patient with us wherever that is happening, our contractors have been told to provide signage and traffic management strategies.

    “But whatever the inconveniences may be, we all know now that, it is for a better tomorrow,” he said.

    The minister  said the Kano-Katsina project was awarded in 2013 and the contractor moved to site in 2014 but had to stop work because he was not paid.

    He said work resumed on the project in 2016 when the Federal Government started implementing its budget for the year.

    He said the road was a 74km project leading to the border between Nigeria and Niger Republic, adding that it was a single carriageway  in spite of its connectivity to an international border.

    “So what we want to do here is to expand the width of the road to carry more vehicles and allow freer movement to strengthen local and international trade.

    “The contractor has said that funding has improved and has promised that, 18 months from now, the project will be completed,” he added.

    Fashola expressed satisfaction with the quality and pace of work at the two project sites visited in the state.

    The Kano-Katsina project is being handled by CCECC Nigeria Limited while Dantata and Sawoe Nigeria Limited is handling the Kano Western Bypass.

  • Federal Govt owes road contractors N2.7trn, says Fashola

    Federal Govt owes road contractors N2.7trn, says Fashola

    The Federal Government owes road contractors over N2.7 trillion,  Minister of Power, Works and Housing Babatunde Fashola has said.

    Fashola spoke yesterday during an oversight assessment visit of the 2017 budget by members of the Toby Okechukwu-headed House Committee on Works to the Federal Ministry of Works.

    According to the minister, a major portion of the debt was inherited from previous administrations and that poor budgetary allocation made it impossible to settle.

    The debts, he said, are made up of completed projects, inherited claims of previous years and ongoing projects across the country.

    “N2.792tn is the total contractual liability,” he said.

    Fashola also revealed that N265.5bn worth of certificates had been generated for completed projects for the 2017 capital implementation.

    “We have not paid this money, but we have continued to work.There is no state in the country that one federal road project or another is not going on. We are present in every state and the Federal Capital Territory.

    “The difference may be that the projects are not located in places where each of us may want them to be. So, the fact that payment has not been made does not mean that work is not being done,” he added.

    He said the generated certificates indicates that 2017 budget performance on roads is 73 per cent and that efforts are ongoing to pay part of the liability.

    N120 billion, he said, was released in December 2017 for second quarter, adding that the difficult procurement process as contained in the Public Procurement Act had stunted the take off of many road contracts earlier awarded.

    But Okechukwu and other members like chairman of Committee on Finance, Babangida Ibrahim, Pat Asadu, Solomon Bulus-Maren, Abubakar Kannike and Emmanuel Ekon expressed displeasure on why the government’s new 25 road projects were yet to take off.

    To the observations of the members, Fashola said:”At both the informal and formal interactions with our parliamentarians, I have raised this issue of the lengthy procurement processes.It is an area that we all have to look into to see what can be done to fast-track the work before us.

    “We have challenges with the award processes. Most of the time, the procurement process is very difficult. You have to do a lot of things. If you can come to our aid and amend the process, that will be helpful.”

    He added that any state that wishes to repair federal roads will be given the chance by the Federal Government the federal government . He gave examples of Lagos and Kaduna States, that have done such in their states with much success.

  • FG owes road contractors N2.7trn, says Fashola

    FG owes road contractors N2.7trn, says Fashola

    The Federal Government is owing road contractors over N2.7 trillion for projects executed over the years. Minister of Power, Works and Housing. Babatunde Fashola has said.

    Fashola made the disclosure yesterday during an oversight assessment visit of the 2017 budget by members of the Toby Okechukwu- headed House Committee on Works to the Federal Ministry of Works.

    According to the Minister, a major portion of the debt was inherited from previous administrations and that poor budgetary allocation made it impossible to settle.
    The debts, he said are made up of completed projects, inherited claims of previous years and ongoing projects across the country. “N2.792tn is the total contractual liability”, he said.

    Fashola also revealed that N265.5bn worth of certificates had been generated for completed projects for the 2017 capital implementation, “We have not paid this money, but we have continued to work.There is no state in the country that one federal road project or another is not going on. We are present in every state and the Federal Capital Territory.

    “The difference may be that the projects are not located in places where each of us may want them to be. So, the fact that payment has not been made does not mean that work is not being done”, he added.

    He said the generated certificates indicates that 2017 budget performance on roads is 73 per cent and that efforts are ongoing to pay part of the liability.

    The sum of N120 billion, he said was released in December 2017 for second quarter, adding that the difficult procurement process as contained in the Public Procurement Act had stunted the take off of many road contracts earlier awarded.

    But Okechukwu and other members like chairman of Committee on Finance, Babangida Ibrahim, Pat Asadu, Solomon Bulus-Maren, Abubakar Kannike and Emmanuel Ekon expressed displeasure on why the government’s new 25 road projects were yet to take off.

    To the observations of the members, Fashola said:
    “”At both the informal and formal interactions with our parliamentarians, I have raised this issue of the lengthy procurement processes.It is an area that we all have to look into to see what can be done to fast-track the work before us.

    “We have challenges with the award processes. Most of the time, the procurement process is very difficult. You have to do a lot of things. If you can come to our aid and amend the process, that will be helpful,” he said.

    He added that any state that wishes to repair federal roads will be given the chance by the Federal Government the federal government . He gave examples of Lagos and Kaduna States, that have done such in their states with much success.
    Okechukwu, Chairman of the committee said there is the need to enable the ministry work effectively and hence there might be need to review the the procurement act.

    He said: “We’re aware of how the procurement process is. Most of the time, when you go to ministries, you see long queues of people waiting for the process. But on our part, we’ll have to look at the procurement process.

    “The long process of procurement is not helpful. We need to look at the law again”.

  • ‘Our Girls, Our people’; Road Contractors/gov supervisors/ Ogere FRSC; N87/l; Prepare to Vote

    Our Girls and Our People are now being mentioned with hope of release even by government sources even though we are facing more and more incidents suggesting Boko Haram’s impunity and malicious vengefulness using 10-year old female suicide bombers perhaps even sold to Boko Haram by their parents according to one report and the raids in The Cameroons and Potiskum. The politics of the election or no election in the three north-eastern states appears to revolve around the fact that they are non-PDP states and it pays the PDP government if the election cannot hold ‘because of safety concerns for the local people’. These local people are from many ethnic groups and religions. Yes, many have relocated to Maiduguri as Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), but many more fled South and hold jobs as security and other staff, unrecorded by the Refugee Register of either RED Cross/ UNHCR or Government’s Agency –NEMA.

    The disgraceful petty-trading of casualty numbers between the federal government and NGOs is a pitiful dance around the dead and an insult to those forced to give up their lives for Nigeria’s survival now numbering in the tens of thousands not to talk of the unregistered IDPs. Who ever knew that the Niga-Sat could also be used to count the dead in the streets and the destroyed homes in vandalised villages and towns?

    Seeing all the helicopters flying political VIP around the country, I have always personally wanted a helicopter, or even a Niga-Sat view of the misnamed Lagos-Ibadan Expressway during a six-lane wide 20-40km long traffic jams. These almost constant traffic jams are most recently caused by federal government employed construction wizards, RCC and Julius Berger, either not being available to widen the very narrow areas when a breakdown or accident occurs forcing immediate closure of one of only 1 ½ or two lanes. Since vehicles pass at the rate of 60-100/minute, the tail back can easily grow to 50 km within an hour. The reason why the tailback is not even longer is because Nigerian drivers always queue jump always overtaking on the shoulders and thus leaving behind and making fools of all those who stay in line. One must ask, having survived yet another massive traffic jam on Sat January 17, what exactly the government supervisors do to protect the interest of the millions of commuters on the road? The FRSC is preoccupied with ‘Stop and Particulars’ and has proven itself disinterested in maintaining traffic flow. Nowadays even stuck in a go-slow, one may be pulled off the road, and lose your place,  for ‘Stop and Particulars’ by FRSC even though other vehicles are overtaking on the sides. This FRSC technique has far outstripped the menace of Police checkpoints in the psyche of the travelling public. No doubt many dream of this new menace. Personally I have been stopped in and around Ogere six times to date and I have witnessed hundreds of vehicles stopped at Ogere in particular and several other places in general including Epe and near Redemption Camp. The FRSC would do well to adhere more to the guiding principles of the founding fathers. The FRSC should encourage and disperse its staff with briefing on and strategies and instructions or directives to spend, and be seen to spend, as much time keeping traffic moving as they do hindering the free movement of traffic and citizens. Constant ‘Stop and Particulars’ checking is sapping the enjoyment of the drive for many law abiding citizens driving safely between ‘A and B’.  FRSC gains nothing by joining those who target female drivers and expatriates driving without drivers on Sundays in for example Lekki or vehicles full of family members. Of course there are traffic offenders, most of whom can be corrected quickly, efficiently and cost effectively simply by a verbal warning or advice. In Nigeria, the abuse of the uniform and the ‘right to oppress’ are taken as rights by uniformed authorities. The new FRSC dispensation, in addition to deserved better emoluments, housing, promotion prospects and other perks for staff should also extract a ‘We Serve Contract’ and get a better educated workforce on the ‘Human Rights of Traffic Users’ ready to serve the nation and its citizens on the road. Having an FRSC post checking vehicles on exiting all motor parks may be a way forward if FRSC wants to quickly fulfil a daily quota of checks demanded by the authorities. The FRSC was not founded to replace the police but to make our journeys safer. The good work and dedication of many FRSC officers needs to be complemented by controlling and streamlining and refocusing the activities of those who fall short of the ‘keep traffic moving safely’ mantra.

    The cut in the price of fuel from N97 to N87 is welcome. The Public Complaints Bureau and the Consumer Associations need to investigate this ‘Government offer’ considering that the price of a barrel of oil has fallen by over 40% it requires us to question the mathematics to ensure we are getting the full benefit of this fall.

    We thought the big multi-billion ‘Victims Fund’ was going to do something. Shame! Nigeria is wealthy enough to overcome its problems if the money is not stolen. To kill corruption, get every eligible voter, especially young voter, 18+ a PVC and to the polling booth on election day. Prepare all eligible complacent youth to VOTE, VOTE!!!

  • Ondo threatens to sack road contractors

    Ondo State Government has threatened to sack contractors who are delaying the completion of  on-going road projects  in the state.

    There had been criticisms from various quarters on the poor condition of roads in the state, particularly in Akoko area of the state.

    The state Commissioner for Works, Gboye Adegbenro, gave the warning during a meeting with consultants and contractors handling major road projects in the state.

    He directed the contractors to take the advantage of the dry season to move their equipment, materials and personnel to their various sites for serious business.

    He said: “We are using this opportunity to advise all contractors to maximise the advantage of the current dry season to deliver their projects as schedule because the state government will not hesitate to sack any erring contractors”.

    He said the administration has been living up to its responsibilities by paying contractors promptly whenever their certificates are raised and duly certified by the consultants and government officials.

    The Commissioner said there should be no excuse for any contractor not to perform by delivering projects being handled by them to alleviate the pains and sufferings of people who are plying the roads.

    He maintained that the Mimiko administration would not deviate from delivering quality service, urging contractors to adhere strictly to the specifications while executing the projects.

    Adegbenro reiterated the commitment of the state government to complete projects as scheduled and promised that the administration would deliver more dividends of democracy to the people of the state in its second term.

    He said his ministry will, in the next few days, embark on site inspection and that the contract of any contractors whose job was considered unsatisfactory, would be reviewed.

    Some representatives of the various firms handling road projects in the state, who spoke on the occasion, commended the state government for the prompt payment of their bills.

    They pledged to move more personnel and equipment to sites immediately to maximise the advantage of the dry season.