Kwara State governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq yesterday said that the federal government has approved the construction of Kishi-Kaiama road at the contract sum of N27 billion.
AbdulRazaq while breaking the news added that the breakthrough with Abuja explains why the state government stopped its ongoing work on the road.
LEADERSHIP recalls that the state had taken over the construction of the road in phases to ease transportation challenges along the busy corridor.
“The Federal Ministry of Works has informed us that we should stop work on that road because they have got new approval from the gederal government and the contract for the road has been reissued at N27bn,” AbdulRazaq said
He made the disclosure in Ilorin, the state capital during the first Kwara North economic and development summit organised by Kwara North Development Council.
“There is a huge infrastructural deficit in the whole of Nigeria, in Kwara State, and especially in Kwara North. Now, what are we doing about it as a government? Like it was mentioned by the Emir of Lafiagi, the Kishi-Kaiama road is very important for the whole of the country because of the volume of trade in farm produce,” he said.
“The contract was first awarded over 10 years ago and it is a federal road. However, nothing was happening. But when we came, we tried to continue the project and the Federal Ministry of Works has now asked us to terminate the contract and vacate the road. The ministry said the former administration in the state gave the contract to a company that did not meet BPE requirements. So, we removed them and gave it to the company that came second in the bid and we mobilised the company with as much as N600m.
“Our latest communication with them was that they want to re-award the contract and that our own contractor should vacate the site. That is why you will see that work has stopped on Kishi-Kaiama Road,” AbdulRazaq stated.
The governor promised that work will soon begin on Bode-Saadu-Kaiama-Kosubosu Road next year, saying the project will be financed through a portion of BUA Group tax.
