Meet Up The Terms Of Contractual Agreements Or Face Sanctions,Niger Delta Affairs Minister Tells Contractors

The Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Usani Uguru Usani has charged the contractors handling the East-West Road Project and other projects in the Niger Delta Region to meet up with their terms of contractual agreements or face sanctions.

He gave the charge on Monday November 30, 2015 during a meeting with the  contractors handling projects in the Niger Delta Region, affirming that every contractor ought to know the importance and sensitivity of handling projects in the Niger Delta.  “The essence is therefore to guarantee that as contractors in the Niger Delta Region, you would have to know your capability in terms of sincerity, ability to deliver and timeline,” he stressed.

The Minister also said that the meeting was necessitated by the need to have a perfect interface on the state of work on the East-West Road and other construction projects in the neighboring environment before engaging on-the spot assessment of the projects.  He further noted that from the reports so far received on the projects, all the contractors have not been able to meet up with the specifications in the contractual agreements.

“We do not know what the reasons are, but we all must know that as contractors, we are bound by the rules of agreements.  But, I want to remind you of the policy thrust of this administration which is transparency and accountability. By the time we go into the field and come back, we will be able to know how best to execute judgment on our observations on each of the contractors, ” he emphasized.

Usani Uguru Usani assured the contractors that there would be no witch-hunting, but any contractor found wanting of any shoddy job will be sent back to the site.  He also assured the contractors of timely payment of completed projects, warning them against giving money to anybody in the Ministry to influence payment for completed jobs.

In his remarks at the occasion, the Minister of State for Niger Delta Affairs, Claudius Daramola urged the contractors who may have collected money for contracts but have not done any work to either return to the sites or return such money to the Federal Government. Adding, the era of taking money and not doing the work for which it was paid has ended.

Responding on behalf of the contractors, the Managing Director of SETRACO Construction Company, Fayez A. Khalaf said that contractors have done their best to finish their work, but have been held back due to lack of funds. He added that some portions of the East-West Road had been completed and waiting to be commissioned.

Fayez A. Khalaf added that the Ministers would be impressed by the level of work at the sites of the projects being handled by SETRACO in particular in the Niger Delta Region during their proposed inspection visit.

ABUJA (Niger Delta Affairs Ministry Report)