Lawmakers in the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly have expressed dismay over the poor quality of roads being executed by the state government.
They also worry about the competency of contractors engaged by the state government.
The lawmakers, who spoke when Ephraim Inyang Eyen, commissioner for works, appeared before the finance and appropriation committee to defend the 2020 budget of the ministry, frowned at the waste of government resources as a result of incompetent contractors.
Mark Esset, PDP, who represents Nsit Atai state constituency, took a swipe at the Akwa Ibom State government over its award of the Nsit Atai-Okobo road project to four companies without success, asking that the current company handling the project be sent packing immediately if it is incompetent.
Esset expressed worries that government resources were being wasted on daily basis as a result of the failure of the current contractor handling the project.
“The current handler of the project is the fourth ‘learning’ contractor that the road has been awarded to. If I’m not mistaken, I know that not less than a billion naira was paid, and nothing was done.
“All the houses on that road have been condemned. Owners of houses on both sides of the road cannot have access to their houses because of the drainage that has been constructed six feet above the ground,” he said.
Lawmakers who charged Ephraim Inyang-Eyen, on the issue of ensuring good roads in their respective constituencies and other areas of the state were Uduak Ududoh (Ikot Abasi/Eastern Obolo), Aniefiok Dennis (Etinan), Godwin Ekpo (Ibiono Ibom), Victor Ekwere (Mkpat Enin) and Emmanuel Ekpenyong (Ini).
All spoke separately when Inyang-Eyen, appeared before the Uduak Odudoh-led committee on Finance and Appropriation to defend the 2020 budget estimate of his ministry.
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In his remarks, Inyang Eyen said it was the close marking of his ministry that sent the erring contractors out of the Nsit Atai-Okobo road, noting that out of N1billion pay out for the contact, government recovered N700 million back to its purse.
He assured that if the current company handling the road fails to meet the set requirements, they would be shown the way out, while government monies would be recovered.
“Government will not lose money on the Nsit Atai-Okobo road, be rest assured. Every Kobo will be accounted for.
“I can say that the governor is committed to dualising that road because we need it as a releasing point for the deep seaport’, he said.
Giving a review of all ongoing projects being supervised by his ministry, Inyang-Eyen said the ministry of works is currently working on 57 major road contracts, 30 bridges and flyovers as well as 178 Intervention projects spread across the state.
“Out of the 57 major road contracts, 11 have been completed and commissioned.
“We are very hopeful that by the year 2020, in May when this administration would have been into the first year of the second term, we should be able to deliver at least another 18”.
Inyang-Eyen said his ministry has so far accessed between 40 and 41 per cent cash releases in the current 2019 financial year.
He said that N131 billion has been earmarked for his ministry for 2020 and that the focus would be the completion of all ongoing projects.
He said resources are to be channeled to projects that are at about 50, 60, 70, and 80 percent completion so that they would have been put to us before May 2020.
