Contractor Abandon Lagos-Badagry Expressway As House of Reps Members Visit Site
The House of Representatives’ Committee on Works has expressed disappointment that no member of staff of CGC Nigeria Limited,
The
contractor handling Lagos-Badagry expressway, CGC Nigeria Limited were not on
site, as no member of staff was seen when members of The House of
Representatives’ Committee on Works visited the project yesterday.
The situation
left members of the committee angry with the Chinese contractors
The News
Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported that the committee, led by its Chairman,
Alhaji Abubakar Kabir, was on oversight inspection tour of Agbara and Seme
section of Badagry expressway yesterday.
The
lawmakers expressed displeasure over lack of commitment of the contractor and
resolved to invite the Minister of Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola,
and the contractor over the slow pace of work on the project.
The chairman
said it was disheartening that no single expatriate from CGC was on ground to
receive the lawmakers to give explanations on construction works.
“I am highly
disappointed with CGC; there is no way, that members of the House of
Representatives coming here to Lagos and none of their expatriates are here.
“We have the project worth N63 billion; this is to show CGC are not taking this
project serious at all, this is number one.
“Secondly,
the issue of the work we have seen here and the work on the paper, to me, this
project is not commensurate with what have been paid,” he said.
Kabir said
no mathematical or scientific analysis could generate magical formulas to
equate funding to actual construction visible and percentages of level of
completion of the projects.
“And you
said we have reached about 14.6 per cent completion, even on the average, you
have only reached about four per cent and the money we have paid to them (CGC)
now is about N6.7 billion.
“N2.2
billion 15 per cent mobilisation, N4.5 billion SUKUK money and that SUKUK
money, I don’t understand, there is a problem,” he said.
The chairman
said that SUKUK funds was investors’ money and it was dangerous to allow
inefficiency or mismanagement, adding that, there are no commensurate
construction on ground.
He said it
was dangerous for the progress of the nation to entrust projects into the hands
of contractors who used COVID-19 as excuse to stay away from site.
“With this I
have to call the minister to come to the National Assembly, the Director,
Construction and Rehabilitation, Mr. Funsho Adebiyi, and CGC management to come
and discuss. We need to discuss this thing critically.
“Honestly,
we are not here for joke, we are here to protect our citizens, we are here to
protect taxpayers money, even the SUKUK you are claiming is people’s money, it
is investors’ money and Nigerian government is going to pay for it in future at
a higher rate,” he said.
Kabir said
about 10 per cent of the contract sum had been paid and if CGC was not serious
about the project, “let the government do something about this so that we can
get some serious people”.
“Nobody can
do this thing in China, nobody; at the end there is no place we can go apart
from Nigeria, this is our country,” he said.
Earlier, the
Director, Federal Highways, South-west, Mr. Adedamola Kuti, said that the
project was underfunded until SUKUK funding which were being disbursed based on
progress of work.
“As a
Nigerian, I am not satisfied but the issue is that, it is also funding. If
somebody is not paid, there is little I can do, I am not going to give in my
blood.
“Like I
mentioned to you (lawmakers), an advanced payment of about N9.6 billion was due
to the contractor, even to pay N2 billion it took us almost two years, two
budgetary provisions or three before the SUKUK funding came in,” he said.
Buttressing
his point using graphical drawings on the project board, Kuti explained the
extent of construction and drainage works covered by the various stages of the
SUKUK funding.
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