A probe by the Senate ad hoc Committee on Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P), has revealed that the SURE-P Board has spent over N178 billion on four roads and two bridges across the country between 2012 and 2013.
According to a presentation made to the Senate ad hoc committee by the Minister of Works, Mike Onolememen, the four major roads include the Abuja-Abaji-Lokoja road and the Kano-Maiduguri road.
Others are the Enugu-Onitsha road, and Benin-Shagamu-Ore road, while the two bridges are Second Niger Bridge and the Oweto Bridge, linking Benue and Nasarawa states, all of which are being constructed majorly with SURE-P funds.
According to the minister, N85.5 billion was spent on the roads in 2012 from SURE-P, while the ministry paid N61billion. Also, in 2013, N93.4 billion was expended on the roads, out of which over N67 billion was paid from SURE-P.
It was also discovered that the Abuja-Abaji-Lokoja road, which was awarded at the contract sum of N42 billion in 2006, has been jerked up to over N116 billion by the ministry to accommodate “some technical deficiencies”.
During the probe, the chairman of the Senate ad hoc committee, Abdul Ningi, expressed dissatisfaction over the sudden increase of over 76 per cent on the Abuja- Abaji- Lokoja road, seeking explanation on why the ministry should approve such increase.
He further expressed concern over the increasing coast of road construction in the country, saying that what obtains in Nigeria is far beyond other countries in Africa.
In his response, the minister said the original contract was awarded without the requisite designs, adding that the consultant for the road project has been blacklisted by the ministry for not including appropriate technicalities before approving the road design.
Onolememen also said the construction works on the four major roads and two bridges have reached advanced stages, expressing hope that the Abuja-Abaji-Lokoja road would be commissioned by the end of next year.
Meanwhile, the Senate ad hoc committee has summoned four contractors handling the Abuja-Abaji-Lokoja road to appear before it to explanation how far they have gone in the road project, in addition to the payments already made and the outstanding amount they expect.
The affected construction companies are Dantata & Sawoe, Gitto, Bulet International Nigeria Limited and Reynolds Construction Company.
Source: People’s Daily
