Desmond Mgboh, Kano
The House of Representatives Committee on Works has tackled Julius Berger Construction Company and Dantata and Sawoe Construction Company over delay in the execution of Federal Government Road contracts.
A statement signed by the Chief Press Secretary to Kano State Governor, Abba Anwar, said the House of Representatives expressed disappointment at the pace of work executed at Kano-Zaria-Kaduna-Abuja Expressway, Kano-Maiduguri Expressway and Kano Western Bypass Road, among others.
The statement said the Chairman of the House Committee on Works, Engineer Abubakar Kabir Abubakar Bichi, spoke during a courtesy visit on Kano State governor , Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, saying that, “out of N155 Billion earmarked for Kano-Abuja road, Julius Berger had collected more than N70Billion, but the work done so far is not appreciable at all.”
He lamented that from Zuba to Kaduna Phase I, Julius Berger did only five percent of the total 100km highway road while adding that out of the 70 kilometer stretch from Kaduna to Zaria, only 11km was completed just as he explained that from Zaria to Kano end of the project, only 11km was completed.
The House Committee Chairman explained that out of the 35 months scheduled for the completion of the highway project, 26 months had been spent, leaving only nine months to deliver the project by Julius Berger Construction Company.
‘We asked them if they had any challenge, but they said there was no challenge. But just look at what they are doing now’ he stressed.
‘Kano-Abuja Highway is very important to our economy. Apart from the economic aspect of the road, it is sad to also note that two to five people die on this highway on daily basis. We have to support President Muhammadu Buhari to save the lives of Nigerians,” he explained.
‘For Dantata & Sawoe Construction Company, the company handling the Kano Western Bypass, only 30 – 40 percent of the contract has been completed after collecting more than N20 billion,’ he said.
Members of the Committee, who were on an inspection tour as part of their oversight functions, commended Governor Ganduje for the infrastructural development in the state.
In his remarks, Ganduje remarked that: ‘Your oversight function is very important for the development of the nation as a whole. And without you visiting such sites, you will not be able to understand what contractors are doing.
‘The Kano-Maiduguri Road Expressway is over 10 years old. So also Western Bypass. Katsina-Tsanyawa-Bichi-Kano Expressway is also going at a very slow rate,’ he regretted.