Report by Mudasir Opeyemi
Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, has threatened to terminate the appointment of his Commissioner for Works, George-Kelly Alabo if the contractor handling the road construction of Abua/Odual Local Government Area (LGA) in the state fails to begin the construction within 24hrs.
Wike gave the warning while conducting the flag-off of construction of Ekagho-Ogboloma-Adad Road in the state on Friday.
Governor Wike wondered why the contractor, Lubrik Construction Company will delay moving to site two months after he had released mobilisation fee to them.
“Why have they not mobilised to Abua? They collected the money for the roads here, so why have they not mobilised?” Wike asked his Commissioner for works
“What is preliminary works? Did they collect our money preliminarily? Call the company, now! Let them come here.”
When the representative of the company stepped out,the governor asked again: Why the company had not moved to site on the other road in Abua after collecting the state government’s money?
“Soon we will start to move to that place,” the representative responded
Speaking, Governor Wike said: “Commissioner for Works, I give you 24 hours. If they don’t move to site, return our money immediately.
Governor Wike frowned at lackadaisical attitude by some contractors including those responsible for supervision which often resulted to abandonment of project at various levels.
“You see, part of the problem,that’s why our problem is not only the company. Even those that are supervising the job are part of the problems we have. You people will go and collude with them.
“This company has collected the money more than two months ago, and you’re telling us now that they are preparing after taking money from us. Let them not move to site till tomorrow, I will sack you as the Commissioner for Works,” Wike threatened
According to him, there shouldn’t be any basis for delay after the mobilisation fee had been paid to the contractor.
He wondered why the company was not utilising the period of dry season and mobilise to site.
He observed that often,most construction companies wait for the rain to start and use it as excuse to abandon the project.
“You don’t take our money and keep it in the bank, and do your other businesses, and then the people are suffering. Before you know it, in March, the rains will start and then you tell us, ‘Because of rain’ It can’t happen,”he stressed
Governor Wike therefore, announced the appointment of Special Assistants purposely because of the project.
Their work was to report directly to him on the pace of work on the two road projects.
He also urged the people of Abua/Odual to shout and cry on social media if they perceive a slow pace of work on the project adding that their outcry will get to him
“Chairman of Council, you must be giving me monthly reports of what is going on on these two roads in Abua/Odual. I don’t only want to depend on the reports from the Ministry of Works,”he said.
“In fact, what I will do now is to appoint people who will be my special assistants on these two roads, so that we will monitor what the Ministry of Works is doing.
“As they give me their own report, I monitor what they are doing because I’m no longer comfortable that a company will collect money for two months and the commissioner is telling me they are preparing. I can’t believe this,” he said