Senate decries delay in completing N155.48b Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano road

Osagie Otabor, Benin

The Senate Committee on Works has decried the slow pace of work by the contractor handling the reconstruction of the Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano dual carriageway.

The committee’s chairman, Adamu Aliero, spoke on Monday when he led members of the committee on an oversight function to the project’s sites.

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News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the contract was awarded on December 20, 2017 to Julius Berger Plc at a cost of N155.48 billion and has three sections: Zuba-Kaduna, Kaduna-Zaria and Zaria-Kano road.

Aliero expressed worry that the work was done at “snail” speed.

The senator said Nigerians were worried as the project traverse three geopolitical zones: Northcentral, Northwest and Northeast.

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“It is a very important road in terms of the economic gains of the zones. The delay is unacceptable. There is no enough mobilisation on the part of the contractor.

“Several people have complained to us as legislators and true representatives of the people. That is why we are compelled to come and see what is happening,” Aliero said.

Reminding Julius Berger Plc that it had 14 months to complete the job, the lawmaker said the Senate “cannot afford to lose more lives on the road”.

He added: “From what I gathered, the ministry (of Works) has not done its work properly. There is inconsistency in the whole arrangement.”

A member of the committee, Senator Kabir Barkiya (APC Katsina) said the level of work was not encouraging as the non-completion of work had resulted in the death of many.

He asked if it was the type of funding and the budgetary releases the contractor was getting that had led to the delay in completing the project.

Also, Deputy Minority Whip Sahabi Yau said the committee did not doubt the quality of work Berger would deliver but was unsure of the duration it was taking to do the job.

“It’s because you have refused to mention in your briefing how much you have collected so far. Is it that you have not been settled and certificates not raised by the Ministry of Works?

“The journey of two hours now lasts five hours because of the interchanged sections,” he decried.

Julius Berger’s Regional Manager Benjamin Bott said the company had a reputation.

The manager assured the senators that the company was working on all three sections of the road to ensure that the project was completed at the specified time.

“Works are progressing. You will be very comfortable with the quality and progress of the work.

“We are having all hands on deck with our controllers and the team from the Federal Ministry of Works,” he said.

Acting Director of Federal Highways for Northcentral, Mr Bola Aganaba, noted that over the years, there was a belief that roads built by the ministry and government did not last.

Aganaba attributed the major reason to “so much abuse of our roads; the haulage of vehicles that ply these roads”.

Also, Minister for Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, has urged contractors handling the Benin-Auchi-Abuja highway to make it motorable all-year round.

He directed them to fix all the bad spots on the highway before and during the rainy season.

Fashola spoke in Benin, the Edo State capital, during an inspection of four sections of the road.

The Benin-Auchi-Okenne highway was awarded in 2012 to four contractors.

Several bad portions of the road made it a nightmare to ply last year as travellers spent longer hours on the road.

Addressing the contractors, Fashola said: “This road gives Edo people some difficult experiences during the rainy season. While you are doing your construction, this road must be good throughout the rainy season.

“Even if it is one carriage way, it must be motorable during the rainy season. We must end the discomfort of the rainy season. What happened last year on this road must not happen this year.

“If we are building a road, all the good work we do means nothing if people are stuck during the rainy season. Make sure the bad spots are good. We want to take that point of agony away.”

Addressing reporters, Fashola said: “This road was a source of discomfort during the rainy season. We undertook some emergency repairs.

“This road links the North to the South. You will see that we have passed some sections that have been completed. You will see some sections where the soil is being replaced. You will see some sections where stone-base has been applied.

“It is important to highlight the problem here for those who complained about how long it took. We brought down seven metres high hill at Ewu. We solved the accident that used to happen here. We have saved lives and property.

“We are trying to see what we can do better. Construction will take some time because of funding and logistics challenges. The dual carriage way will not be built at the snap of a finger.

“We want to see what we can do differently to make experience of driving during the rainy season much better. We want to tell the contractors to ensure the roads are good all-year round.”

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