Gov. Udom , lawmakers in squabble over failed contract as govt recovers N700m

Members of Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly  on Tuesday  have  criticised Governor Udom Emmanuel  for  awarding  the Nsit Atai-Okobo road construction contracts to four companies but later recovered N700m from the vendor  who could not deliver the project in the last five years.

 A Member representing Nsit Atai State constituency Mark Esset described the contractors as incompetent saying they should leave the construction site immediately.

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 He lambasted Governor Udom at the Assembly chambers  when the State Ministry of Works  led by the Commissioner Akparawa  Ephraim Inyangeyen appeared before the House committee on Finance and Appropriation to defend  the 2020 budget  for the Ministry. 
Esset expressed worry that government resources were being wasted on daily basis as a result of the failure of incompetent  contractors handling the project.
“The present company handling the project is the fourth apprentice ‘ contractor that the road has been awarded to. If I’m not mistaken, I know that not less than a billion naira was paid, and nothing was done. “
Esset also complained that all the houses on the road have been destroyed leaving the owners without access to their homes.

“All the houses on that road have been demolished . Owners of houses on both sides of the road cannot have access to their houses because of the drainage that has been constructed six feet above the ground”, he said.
Other lawmakers who frowned at shoddy road construction work in their various constituencies include Uduak Ududoh representing Ikot Abasi/ Eastern Obolo state constituency, Aniefiok Dennis , Etinan State constituency, Godwin Ekpo and Victor Ekwere representing Ini and Mkpat Enin state constituencies respectively.

Reacting , the Commissioner for works who defended Governor Udom Emmanuel before the lawmakers said it would have worst but for the close supervision of the Ministry of works on the contractors .
Inyangeyen revealed that out of 1billlion naira paid to  the contractor, government has recovered N700, 000,000 back to government covers.
He assured the lawmakers that no contractor would abandoned any project before the end of the present administration in the state.
He explained that if the current company handling the road fails to meet the set requirements, they would be shown the way out, while government monies would be recovered.
“Government will not loose money on the Nsit Atai-Okobo road, be rest assured. Every Kobo will be accounted for.  he assured.
“I can say that the governor is committed to dualizing that road because we need it as a releasing point for the deep seaport’, he said.
 Reviewing   all ongoing projects supervised by his ministry, Mr Inyang-Eyen said the ministry of works is currently working on 57 major road contracts, 30 bridges and flyovers as well as 178 Intervention projects spread across the state.
“Out of the 57 major road contracts, 11 have been completed and commissioned. “
“We are very hopeful that by the year 2020, in May when this administration would have been into the first year of the second term, we should be able to deliver at least another 18”.
Mr Inyang-Eyen said his ministry has so far accessed between 40 and 41 per cent cash releases in the current 2019 financial year.
He said that N131 billion has been earmarked for his ministry for 2020 and that the focus would be the completion of all ongoing projects.
He said resources are to be channeled to projects that are at about 50, 60, 70, and 80 per cent completion so that they would have been put to use  before May 2020.