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The Federal Government says it has ordered the contractors handling the East West Road construction back to the only link road that connects all the South-South states to South West Nigeria, especially Lagos, or go to jail.
The dual carriageway measures 338km on way, making 676km as a whole from Warri to Kaiama, to Ahoada and Port Harcourt, to Onne, Eket, Uyo, Calabar and back in a loop to Oron right beside the ocean. Former President Olusegun Obasanjo had awarded the road in 2006 for N211 billion but his successor said there was neither a design nor budgetary provision.
The next President, Goodluck Jonathan, re-awarded it in 2011 with a huge revision at N726 billion targeted to commissioning in 2014 and later shifted to April 2015. None was done, despite death of the President’s mother-in-law on a section of the road said to be funded by China Exim Bank. Some of the contractors include Reynods Construction Company (RCC), Setraco, and CCECC.
Work on the all important link road had for sometime now, being suspended by the constructions firms due to the inability of the Federal Government to meet its financial obligation with the builders.
Now, the Federal Government has ordered the contractors back to site because of the economic importance of the critical route.
Speaking with journalists last week at the Port Harcourt International Airport, Omogwa, the Minister of State for the Niger Delta Ministry, Cladius Omoleye, confirmed the Federal Government’s move and disclosed further that some money had been paid to them to continue the construction work.
He said: “Yes we have ordered the contractors handling the East/West Road construction back to site and we have also paid them to continue work and we expect that there will be progress soon”.
Omoleye also disclosed that his ministry had set up a committee to revisit all the projects in Niger Delta when it assumed duty. The committee had submitted what he called shocking report.
According to him, the committee’s report was shocking because it discovered that only 12 per cent of the contracts awarded in the region were completed by the contractors. “Most of the contractors have been given mobilization fees or paid but have absconded their jobs. The records are there.”
The Minister pointed out that the Federal Government, through the ministry, has given three options to them; to return the money; return to work, or go straight to jail (Kuje prison for that matter).
He further pointed out that the Ministry was determined to do this as to make them know that the era of free money was over.
The professor lamented that these people had used the ministry of Niger Delta as a conduit pipe to pick money and run away because the money was there for them.
“The era of free money is over and I urge everybody to adjust and do the right thing.”
