This was disclosed on Monday in Abuja at a meeting between the contractors and the Minister of Works, David Umahi.
A three-month deadline has been given by the Nigerian government to contractors managing the 260 emergency projects located throughout the nation.
This was disclosed on Monday in Abuja at a meeting between the contractors and the Minister of Works, David Umahi.
According to Umahi, the emergency road projects were intended to repair and rehabilitate the most degraded portions of vital federal highways around the nation. They were financed by the 2023 supplemental budget.
Umahi identified roughly 37 contractors who had not yet reached a project delivery milestone since the contracts were given in a statement released by his special adviser, Uchenna Orji. Umahi threatened to terminate their contracts if they did not mobilize to the sites by tomorrow.
The statement said, “Since the contract is for a three-month period, the task shall be canceled by the expiration of time if any contractor fails to comply after the deadline for mobilization to the locations.
“Any contractor who has not completed their job within three months of the award letter being issued must request and receive approval from the Federal Ministry of Works for an extension of time.”
According to him, emergency road projects in Yobe, Jigawa, Zamfara, Benue, Kogi, Abia, Anambra, Imo, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, and River states were mostly completed by the defaulting contractors.
But, he issued a warning: the projects that have been given to them must be completed within three months, and no defense of security concerns or a lack of funding for mobilization will be sufficient to absolve them of the misery they inflict on other drivers or prevent them from being placed on a blacklist that would impede the Renewed Hope administration’s efforts to modernize road infrastructure for Nigeria’s economic development.
“The president is having sleepless nights trying to rebuild our road infrastructure in an attempt to boost our economy, while the people suffer. People are sharing us stories and will be assigned duties. In the past, this ministry has issued contracts and paid contractors; however, the contractors would keep the money and claim there was a security breach. Did you not know before to starting the job about the security situation?
Umahi gave federal controllers of works instructions to make sure that projects are properly overseen at their locations and to stay informed about the contract awarded, its amount, date of award, timeline, review date, time extension, allowed arguments, and whether the contractor is present on site.
Yakubu Adam Kofarmata, the permanent secretary, said in his speech that the days of contractors taking the nation for granted were over. They could no longer afford to wait years to start a project after receiving mobilization money, and they would continue to profit from the VOP.
He instructed contractors to get ready for the new mindset of “Nigeria first,” which was implemented in the Federal Ministry of Works during Mr. President’s Renewed Hope administration.
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