Contractors who have many jobs risk losing them all if…- Umahi

Dave Umahi, the Minister of Works, has vowed to take strong punitive measures against contractors that have numerous road contracts but fail to meet requirements in one or more of them.

Umahi stated that the importance of infrastructure, particularly roads, to national development cannot be overstated at his first meeting with contractors handling road projects in the South West geopolitical zone, which took place yesterday at the Ministry’s Conference Hall in Mabushi, Abuja.

He highlighted that infrastructure is a critical component and driver of development, whether it is used to convey hospital equipment, children to school, or for commercial operations to prosper.

The Minister expressed dissatisfaction with the speed and quality of work on the Lokoja-Abuja road.

He called the road “a death trap” for commuters. Even though the road project is still ongoing, Umahi’ said that important areas had already gone bad due to shoddy work done by some of the contractors overseeing the 200km road project, describing the situation as man’s inhumanity to man.

“The Lokoja road I inspected is already a death trap,” Umahi remarked. The road shoulders have been removed while the project is still ongoing; this is man’s inhumanity to man, and every life lost as a result of an accident or kidnapped will be held accountable on the last day.

“People should be afraid of God because fear of God brings good.”

The Minister asked all contractors to complete projects on time and within budget.

He also urged them to come up if they experienced any difficulties, or risk having their certifications of contracts given elsewhere revoked.

“I will not stop people from benefiting,” Umahi remarked, “but let the people breathe first; if you have a problem in one project, I will revoke the certificates of others.”

The Minister instructed Ministry Directors to be aware of their obligations and encouraged them to visit project sites because understanding what is going on would be difficult, if not impossible, unless they went to the site.

He declared his intention to appoint coordinating officers for each of the country’s six geopolitical zones to ensure seamless operations. He observed that no hope can be revived until there is a change of heart.