The Edo State Assets Verification Committee has announced plans to recommend the revocation of a road contract awarded to Nosba Nigeria Limited due to the alleged abandonment of the project.
The N8bn contract was for the construction of a 5.52-kilometre stretch along Upper Ekenwa Road, but despite the state government’s payment of N2bn as mobilisation fees, there has been no visible progress.
During an inspection of ongoing road projects in the area, Patrick Obahiagbon, Chairman of the Physical Assets and Infrastructure Subcommittee, raised concerns about the contractor’s lack of progress.
Accompanied by committee members Kassim Afegbua, Abass Braimah, Kenny Okojie, and Frederick Unopah, Obahiagbon stated that no work had been done, describing the progress as “zero percent.” He added, “The work done so far by the contractor is zero percent. We will recommend to the main committee that the contract be revoked.”
The committee also expressed dissatisfaction with the pace of work on a separate contract awarded to Stefanutti Stocks Wapel Limited.
This N19bn contract, covering the construction of about 9.9 kilometres of roads, including the Owina-Evbuotubu-Children Medical and Erunmwunse-Okpe roads, has seen slow progress.
Despite the payment of N5bn as mobilisation out of the N19bn, the contractor has only completed 12 percent of the work, far below the expected 25 percent.
Obahiagbon emphasized, “This is a major contract for about N19bn, spanning Oredo and Egor Local Government Areas. Five billion naira has been paid as mobilisation, which should cover 25 percent of the work. However, the contractor has only completed 12 percent.” He further stressed that the contractor should finish the work in line with the mobilisation payment before requesting additional funds from the state government.
The committee also announced plans to measure the project’s scope to confirm that the 9.9-kilometre stretch quoted in the contract is accurate.
“This is our first visit, and we will conduct further measurements to confirm that the 9.9 kilometres quoted in the contract is accurate. We want to ensure that the people of Edo State are not shortchanged,” Obahiagbon explained.
Additionally, the committee visited the reconstruction of the Benin-Abraka Road, Phases 1a and 1b, awarded to Raycon Nigeria Limited.
The committee expressed disappointment over the presence of potholes on the road, despite the project not being completed. They instructed the contractor to repair the potholes before the Christmas break.
