By SUNDAY ABBA, Abuja
The contractors handling the East-West Road project may be in for a big trouble as the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) has passed a vote of no confidence on the project for poor handling that has resulted in widespread failures along the stretch of the highway.
Minister of Works, Sen David Umahi, who has been inspecting roads in the North Central and South South geopolitical zones in the last few days in continuation of his assessment tour of the Nigerian roads, went through the East-West road to assess the progress made firsthand, but expressed regret that most parts of the road were already failing due to poor job, a statement signed by the head of Press and Public Relations, Blessing Lere-Adams, said.
Berating the construction company working on the East-West road, the Minister said, “The gimmicks the contractors are using is excuse of overloading. I am passing a vote of no confidence on the construction of this road. I won’t certify anything on this road ; the road has failed and it is not acceptable to us.
“The road is full of pot holes. We have paid over N71 billion and the road has completely gone down, and the road has been further reviewed from N44 billion to N144 billion. Apart from the beautiful bridge you have built , the road has completely gone down.
“Project manager, tell your team to meet me in Abuja on Monday to tell me what has caused the failure on the road; I do not accept it is overloading truck. Our roads are not being properly constructed and I demand that these roads be properly constructed. It is a fight that Nigerians must win and Mr. President must win this fight for the sake of the Nigerian people, for them to truly enjoy the dividends of a democratic governance.”
Speaking further, he said, “I have invited all the Directors of Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA) with their engineers from Edo , Delta , Bayelsa and Akwa Ibom; they should be able to attend to the small failures and redeem all the places that failed on the road and I will hold a meeting with Niger Delta Development Commission (NNDC) Managing Director this evening to find out how we can collaborate on this road.”
He said he had discussed with the Edo State Governor that the East-West road passed through his state and that that’s what is causing the traffic jams and hold-up, noting that they have to design a bye-pass, so that the heavy trucks can stop moving through the town.
“It is by so doing that the gridlock can be stopped and business activity in the state can improve,” Umahi noted.
Umahi promised to approach the National Assembly (NASS) for them to jointly take a look at constituency projects to see how those projects can be meaningful and impactful.
The East-West Road is 338 kilometres stretch of highway whose contract was awarded in 2006. It’s a major economic artery in the Niger-Delta region that traverses the Eleme-Ogoni corridor and also connects the South-South, South-East and Western parts of this country.