We Have N431bn To Pay Road Contractors – Umahi

Minister of works, Dav Umahi has said  the ministry has N431 billion to pay contractors to focus on most of the dualised roads across the country.

In a statement issued by the director of press and public relations unit, Blessing Lere-Adams, he said the minister made the disclosure at a meeting with all contractors handling road dualisation projects and all zonal directors of the ministry at the ministry’s headquarters, Abuja.

Umahi said, “I want to remind you that Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), is funding 50 per cent of the contract sum and that funding goes up till 2025.

“We have N431 billion of the money that is ready for contractors, but there is no certificate for it.  If you are doing a job under Phase 1, make efforts to make claims, if your job involves augmentation, go back to your regional director for understanding before I will sign the certificate. Any certificate I sign now, I have to take account for it even when I have left the office.”

The minister tasked the contractors to stick to one lane if their job has not gone up to 50 per cent completion.

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He also said he had also come up with a Performance Bond meaning that all new projects would be guaranteed for 10 years.

He urged all contractors that have built roads that cannot last up to ten years to write to the ministry to either stop work or rebuild the road to last ten years.

Umahi warned contractors that he would not listen to stories of failures on the roads due to overloading, he enjoined all the contractors to cooperate with him on building roads with concrete technology as it was done both in India and Singapore.

Elsewhere, the minister told the contractors and stakeholders to key into the Renewed Hope Agenda of Mr President, adding that this administration has 1800 kilometre of roads and inherited a contract sum of about N14.1 trillion and out of which N4 trillion is being paid in all those projects , some of the projects have lasted between 10 to 20 years.

The minister said, “Some contractors have jerked up the contractor sum by a hundred per cent and that is the reason they are not getting paid.

“Mr President understands road infrastructure. If I come before him with a contract of N44 billion reviewed to N144 billion contract sum, I must be able to provide details of how the cost came about.”