FG Okays N30bn Contract Variation for Loko-Nasarawa Road

By Deji Elumoye

The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has okayed N30 billion contract variation for the completion of the 74-kilometre long Nasarawa – Loko Road in Nasarawa State.

FEC at its weekly virtual meeting at the State House, Abuja, which was presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari, also approved N8.436 billion variation for two other road projects in Bayelsa and Anambra/Imo states.

Works and Housing Minister, Babatunde Fashola, who made this known to newsmen after the Council meeting, explained that FEC granted three approvals for contracts’ augmentation, all amounting to N38.436 billion for the Ministry of Works and Housing, including the Nasarawa to Loko Road project.

According to him, the 74-kilometre road project, which was first awarded in 2006, when eventually completed, would reduce the travel time between Oturkpo, in Benue State, to Abuja by three and a half hours, adding that it is part of the administration’s projects aimed at lifting Nigerians out of poverty.

“The 74-kilometre Nasarawa to Loko Road. That is the road that was awarded, I believe, in 2006, so it’s 15 years today, 74 kilometres and it has not been completed. This road links the Loko-Oweto Bridge, which we inherited and which we have completed and that Loko-Oweto Bridge links Nasarawa to Benue, across the River Benue and also connects to the Oweto to Oshogbedo Road, which we also inherited, which we have completed.

“The complete lane from Oturkpo to Nasarawa ought to be facilitated by this 74-kilometre road. The contractor has struggled with just about five kilometres of it since 2006, and a small bridge. So, what we have proposed was that instead of going through the long process of termination and all of that, we proposed and Council agreed that the contractor who finished the bridge and the contractor who finished the road, because they were all awarded to different contractors before we came, should join this contractor and take up the remainder.

“So, we have limited the contractor who was originally awarded this road to just 10.8 kilometres, that’s all he will do. So, we have awarded 42 kilometres to the contractor who did the Oshogbedo-Oweto Road and we have then awarded 21 kilometres, which is the part joining the bridge directly, to the contractor who completed the bridge. So, all of these totaling a revised project sum of about N30 billion, shared amongst the three contractors.

“What is instructive is that once we finish this last part of the road, although it is being used now, but is not tarred, commuters are using it because it cuts off three hours from the journey from Oturkpo to Abuja.

“Motorists don’t have to go through Lafia, if you climb the Oweto Bridge across the River Benue, land in Nassarawa, you will be landing around Keffi. So, it is cutting off 103 kilometres from that journey from Oturkpo to Abuja, which is about three hours. It used to be six hours plus.

“This is strategic also for providing prosperity, lifting people out of poverty because if the saying that time is money is true, everybody who saves three hours has three hours extra productivity and also consumes three hours less fuel and travel time and so on.

“So, Council approved this memo and we hope that sometime next year we can complete that linkage, but as you know, those of you who went with me, commuters are already using the road in spite of that path not being complete,” he said.

Fashola further stated that FEC okayed two other contract augmentation approvals for 13.5 kilometres Onitsha-Owerri Road, through Okija-Ihembosi-Afor-Nkpor Ezinifitte and the 20 kilometre dualization of Yenagoa Road Junction to Kulu to Otuoke and to Bayelsa Palm.

According to him, both contracts would be receiving additional N488,980,891 and N7.947 billion respectively to enable the contractors complete works on both projects.

“The first one was the contract for 13.5 kilometres of road from Onitsha-Owerri Road, through Okija-Ihembosi-Afor-Nkpor Ezinifite in Nnewi South Local Government Area of Anambra State. That contract was awarded in 2011, it is 10 years today, just 13.5 kilometres. It was not funded until this administration started.

“So, contractor is asking us to revise the contract by review of N488,980,891, to change the contract sum from N1.786 billion to N2.275 billion and an additional completion period of six months to enable them complete. So, Council approved that review of price and the extended completion period, which is an additional six months running into sometime next year.

“The second one is the 20-kilometre dualisation of Yenagoa Road Junction to Kulu to Otuoke and to Bayelsa Palm in Bayelsa State. That contract was awarded in December 2014, on the eve of the tenure of the last administration and it couldn’t even take off because of those militancy issues at the time and also very limited budgetary provisions.

“It is one of the contracts that we have since reactivated with the Sukuk. So, the dualisation of that 20-kilometre road is progressing, but there are some additional works that need to be done. There are also results of further investigations that support a revision of the contract by N7.947 billion, revising it from a total of N26.498 billion now to N34.446 billion and this was approved by Council”, he explained.

On his part, Minister of Water Resources, Suleiman Adamu, told newsmen that FEC approved the sum of N10.7 million as augmentation for the completion of Middle Rima Valley Irrigation Project in Sokoto State.

He said: “The Federal Ministry of Water Resources presented a memo to council for the revised total cost of phase II of the construction of middle river valley irrigation project. That is the completion of the middle Rima valley irrigation project in Goronyo, Sokoto State.

“This contract was started in 1999 by the military administration then, first phase was completed, comprising 873 hectares. The phase II was started in 2007 and that is what we have been struggling to complete. It is also an inherited project.

“The total scope of the phase two is 404,333 hectares out of which about 80 per cent of the work has been done. So, this memo is seeking a revised cost of the project, with an augmentation of about N10.7 million so that we will be able to finish the project, hopefully before the expiration of this administration in 2023,” he said.

According to him, the project has a potential of generating employment for almost 50,000 people as well as enhancing food production.

His words: “It is expected to provide, by the time it’s completely finished, a production of 39,000 tons of rice, 195,000 tons of vegetables per annum and it will generate employment for not less than 47,000 people and their families.

“So, Council graciously approved this memo with an additional completion period of about 24 months. Like I said, our target is to try to complete this project by 2023. This is in line with what we’ve been doing since the inception of this administration in my ministry; to complete ongoing, inherited and abandoned projects”.