East-West Road: FG releases N3b to contractors – Usani

The Federal Government said on Friday that it has released N3 billion to the contractors handling the East-West road dualization projects to enable them return to the project sites and continue with their job.
This was revealed by the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Pastor Usani Uguru Usani, at a media briefing to clear the air on recent media reports on the project.
Usani said the highway project would not be abandoned as the present administration was committed to completing the project.
He also denied that the Federal Government has written to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission demanding the probe of between 30 and 40 contractors handling the road project.
He said: “Last Wednesday, after the Federal Executive Council meeting, we had reasons to brief the press.
“Arising from that briefing, we observed that some media reports have not conveyed our exact expression.
“And it becomes necessary to use this opportunity to put the record in a proper perspective.
“The first is I found it on some publication that 30 to 40 contractors of East West Road to be sent to EFCC.
“It is not correct.
“The East-West Road in the first place doesn’t have more than three or four contractors.
“And the sections of the road are not more than five.
“So, in that itself, it is a careless story with least application of information.
“Number two, the area I mentioned the East-West Road was to say that the conceptual design and attribution of its execution to conditions of agreement suggest that the project ab-nitio was design to fail.
“And this is the reason we continue spending without being able to appreciate at what point this will end.
“We did not say that the contractors are going to sent to EFCC.
“We said the anomalies in the agreement and design are being reviewed now and when the report is ready, we will see it.
“We have had cordial relationship with the contractors of the East-West Road and we have asked them to go back to work.
“At present, I know that we have committed a minimum of N3 billion to the contractors on the East-West Road to continue their work.
“And as we get releases, we will continue to fund them within the limit of appropriation.
“So we couldn’t have been funding them to go to site and at the same time we are sending them to the EFCC to go and face litigation.
“There is no basis for that.
“So, I want this corrected.
“They have not offended us and at no time we found them culpable to the extent we wanted them penalised.
“So, this story can only set us back by causing apprehension among the contractors.
“And I wish it can be corrected forthwith.”