Lokoja-Benin road: Umahi threatens to cancel N870 billion contract with 5 companies
The Minister of Works, Justice David Umahi, has threatened to cancel over N870 billion worth of contracts with five companies handling the Lokoja-Benin road.
Mr Umahi directed the contractors in charge of sections I to IV of the Lokoja-Benin road in Kogi and Edo states to immediately sign the reviewed contracts or face termination.
The directive was conveyed to contractors at a ministerial meeting with representatives of Mother Cat, CCECC, Dantata & Sawo, CGC and RCC held at the ministry’s headquarters in Abuja.
Umahi further directed the ministry to conduct a comprehensive audit of the ongoing projects within seven days to understand the status of the work being done and the capacity of the personnel and equipment used by the contractors. .
This was contained in a statement signed by his Special Adviser (Media) Uchenna Orji on Sunday.
He asked why the contractor, who had participated in the process of reviewing and reviewing the contract specifications, did not sign the reviewed contract documents even though he had agreed to perform the work based on the new specifications. He then accused the construction company of playing a prank.
“The project was originally priced at N121 billion, but before the administration of President Bola Tinubu, the project was already revised to about N870 billion or more.
“When I took office as Minister, I found the project bloated and refused to submit a ‘no objection’ opinion to the Federal Executive Council (FEC).
“I had to go through that road myself and realized that in some sections of the road the asphalt just wouldn’t hold up. So I started meeting with all the contractors and for 5 months The meeting agreed to reconsider the scope of the project.
“We said the new lanes should be done with concrete and the other lanes should be done with asphalt. So we stayed with the contract, we all signed the papers, and based on signing the papers, the public Submitted to Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP).
“We went from BPP to FEC, but before we went to FEC, we asked them for approval that we could do the job. They all gave us letters of approval,” he said. Ta.
The minister said contractors were given jobs without having the necessary manpower and equipment to carry out the work, and warned that from now on, contractors signing contracts would have to do so according to base rates and schedules.
He said: “So the government's position is that if we don't sign a contract between today and tomorrow, we're out of work. We can go to court. We're not going to enter into any conditions for further negotiations. .
“This contract is for more than 2 billion nebras per kilometer. You do not have the equipment to do the job. If you sign the contract, I promise you to do so along with the base price. Please sign next to the timetable and spread it out in three sections. If not, I'm done. Enough of playing with people's psychology.”
The ministry said it will not allow contractors to hold the state to ransom or impose conditions on the ministry.
“If you don't want to work, quit your job. There's no obligation for you to do the job. You can't go to the field, and people are dying.
“The cars are down, and you are playing politics with the lives of your people. And we will join hands and leave you. Please bring it all together,” he added.
Also, C.AnA Southern Expressway Commissioner, Mr. Ogbuagu, said the contractor had earlier accepted the new conditions and was awarded a certificate of award.
“After the FEC approved the arguments, the legal department convened to execute this new contract and continue work on site,” he said. As a result, an additional draft has been submitted to the contractors for about two weeks, but with the exception of RCC, none of the contractors has responded positively. ”
One of the contractors, CGC, said the draft had already been sent to its headquarters and said it would follow the minister's instructions.
Source: dailypost.ng