By Mashe Umaru Gwamna
Minister of Works, David Umahi has ordered termination of contract awarded to Levant Construction Ltd on the reconstruction of Benin-Sapele-Warri Road (Section 1: Benin – Imasabor) for non-performance .
Umahi made this known after a briefing meeting with the Chief Executives of GELD Construction Ltd and SKECC Nigeria Ltd over the delay in the execution of the Benin-Sapele-Warri Road project held in his office in Abuja.
The meeting which had in attendance, the Minister of State for Works, Bello Muhammad Goronyo, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Works, Engr Olufunso Adebiyi, and directors of key departments.
This was according to a statement signed and issued by Special Adviser (Media) to the Honourable Minister of Works, Hon. Barr. Orji Uchenna Orji.
Umahi expressed disapproval over the failure of Messrs Levant to live up to expectation in their contractual duties in respect of the section of the road awarded to them.
He said, “We have three sections there. We have the Levant section. Unfortunately, Levant has not lived up to expectation. We even had to intervene and beg the governor of Edo State to get the worst sections of that route done.
“We divided the worst sections into two and told Levant to concentrate on one part. While the governor of Edo State intervened, which I think is about 23 kilometres for N35 billion, and that section in which the governor of Edo state intervened is ongoing very well, Levant has since left site.
“We gave them a series of warning letters. We also gave them the last termination notice. When a termination notice is given to you, it is for you within 14 days to go back to the site and begin to do those things you were not doing.
This time is for them to remobilise to site and work, but they did not respond.”
He directed the Permanent Secretary to get the job properly terminated and write them a letter for a joint measurement, and also to write their bank to request for repayment of the APG, or risk the matter would be taken to EFCC in the event of failure.
The Minister however expressed satisfaction with the outcome of the discussion with SKECC Nigeria Ltd and Geld Construction Ltd over the need for them to step up work on the respective sections of the road project being handled by them.
He commended the governor of Delta State, Sheriff Oborevwori, and his Edo State counterpart, Sen. Monday Okpebholo, for their interventions on some kilometres of that road project.
On the jobs by Messrs SKECC and Messrs Geld, the Minister said they both have about one kilometre each left which they started with milled asphalt, and that Messrs Geld had accepted to go back to their own section, “and we’ve agreed to review their project to cater for the unforeseen circumstances that they encountered”.
Continuing he said, “And the second job they have, which is Lokoja-Abuja Road, we’ve also agreed that they should go back to the site and review the project, because as of today, the asphalt cost is 9,000 per square meter, whereas asphalt is about 30,000 per square metre.
While reacting to statements by some groups who purport to speak on behalf of Northern elders and who alleged that the Federal Ministry of Works is doing more projects in the South than in the North, the Minister dismissed such allegations as false and misleading.
He noted that the Renewed Hope administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had been consistently inclusive in the implementation of road and bridge projects across the six (6) Geo-Political zones, including the execution of the inherited ongoing road projects and in the distribution of the Renewed Hope road Legacy Projects.
While mentioning the numerous ongoing projects in the north, he said, “In this ministry, we don’t count where anybody came from. We don’t count where projects are cited. We are using the example of Mr President who came on board. He took all the inherited projects of the ministry and continued to go with them. He didn’t want to know the lopesidedness of the projects.
“For example, this Tax Credit of NNPC is only 5% in South West and 4% in South East, Niger State alone has 26% alone. So, he didn’t want to care about where these inherited projects are.”
The minister also responded to other criticisms on the distribution and funding of projects across the zones, Umahi said, “They talked about Second Niger Bridge; they talked about Lagos-Ibadan; they said Lagos-Ibadan is ₦195 billion. What they didn’t know is that ₦195 billion is the total contract sum from the past administration, and that what this administration is putting to complete the project is only ₦33 billion. So it’s not ₦195 billion. They talked about Second Niger Bridge.
“Now, if you look at the projects in the North, just to properly inform the people, you look at Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria- Kano road, Sections I and III. It’s ₦252 billion. 30% is already paid for that job. And it’s being done with the same quality of Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway.”
He also explained situation surrounding the Eleme-Onne project in response to criticisms of the pace of work in some quarters.
Responding to recent allegations that the Ministry favoured Southern Nigeria in the allocation of road projects, Umahi dismissed the claims as misleading and unfounded.
He emphasized that the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, is focused on national unity and equitable infrastructure development across all six geopolitical zones.
“Let’s stop this South versus North narrative. Roads don’t have ethnic identities. Northerners use Southern roads and vice versa,” Umahi stated.
He listed dozens of ongoing northern projects including:
Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano Road: ₦777bn, 30% paid, concrete design; Sokoto-Zamfara-Katsina-Kaduna Superhighway: 750km, ₦825bn; and Zaria-Nkru Road: 152km.
Others are; BUA Tax Credit Projects: 256km in Jigawa, Kano, Katsina; Kano-Maiduguri Highway: Multiple sections ongoing, concrete standard; Akwanga-Jos-Bauchi-Gombe Superhighway: 439km, concrete upgrade under Presidential directive;
Makurdi-9th Mile-Enugu Road: 260km, $1bn.
He clarified that while the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway has received significant funding, Northern projects such as the ₦2trn Kebbi dual carriageway and ₦454bn Sokoto road are equally prioritized and of the same high-quality concrete standard.
Addressing concerns about the slow pace of work on the Eleme-Onne section of the East-West Road, Umahi disclosed that the ₦156bn Tax Credit project, featuring flyovers and the Aleto Bridge, has seen significant progress after initial challenges with the contractor, RCC.
“We’ve completed one carriageway, and flyovers are ongoing. Yes, we are asphalting over sections with flyovers for traffic ease, but that doesn’t mean the project isn’t moving. It is,” he clarified.
