SIR: I hereby call the attention of the minister of works, Babatunde Fashola to the snail speed and poor execution of rehabilitation works on the Zaria to Pambegua road awarded to Proportion Construction and Dredge Works Limited.
The rehabilitation of the road which was awarded by the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing since 2017 has become an eyesore. It was reported that the contractor handling the project has collected over N1 billion yet the rehabilitation has covered up to three kilometres.
Even from Zaria where the works commenced, one could notice depression and potholes dotting the newly rehabilitated portion of road. The drainage system has been poorly constructed due to workmanship problems.
The poor condition of road has led to the death of many commuters who ply the road on daily basis. It is sad to note that the road has become a death trap while men of underworld have taken over extorting or carrying out their nefarious activities with relative ease because of its bad shape.
The million-naira questions begging for answers from the affected communities which are subjected to all manner of hardship are: Is the Federal Ministry of Works aware of the level and quality of work being done? Does the company which was awarded the contract possess the relevant technical experience to execute the contract? I believe the federal controller in charge of the road or minister should mobilise his men and visit the site. The rehabilitation of the road whose contract period has since elapsed is nothing to write home about.
From how the rehabilitation is being done, it is either the company handling the project lacks expertise or is incompetent to do the job.
While others similar roads rehabilitation contracts awarded the same year with Zaria to Pambegua have since been completed and put to use, we are left with lamentations due to poor handling of the work by the contractor. A journey of less than an hour can take several hours due to potholes. The federal ministry of works and concerned authorities, including the governor of Kaduna state, Nasiru Ahmed El-rufai, Senator Suleiman Abdu Kwari and members of House of Representatives of the affected local governments in which the road passed should come to our aid.
- Ibrahim Mustapha, Pambegua, Kaduna State.
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