SHOCKING: Contractor Collect N500 Million Road Contract, Disappear?

The lawmakers have summoned the contractor.

The Adamawa State House of Assembly has summoned a contractor over an abandoned multi-million Naira road project in the state.

The contractor, Dekit Construction Nigeria Limited, is to appear before the Assembly on Monday to explain why he allegedly abandoned the construction of ten roads within Mubi Township as well as the Muchalla Bridge.

The lawmakers’ summon follows an interim report by the Assembly’s committee on works, transport, land, and survey saddled with
the task of monitoring and evaluating all road projects being executed under Governor Murtala Nyako’s administration.

The lawmakers, who alleged that the contractor absconded soon after collecting over N500 million, about 73 per cent of the contract sum, without any commensurate work on the site, took the decision to summon the contractor at their plenary session on Tuesday while considering the interim report of the committee.

The Assembly vowed to deal with the contractor to serve as deterrent to others.

The Speaker of the Assembly, Ahmadu Fintiri, said there was no way the contractor could collect such an amount of public money and just disappear without being called to account.

Also, the chairperson of the Assembly’s committee on works, Wilbina Jackson, representing Guyuk State Constituency, who headed the visitation team to the construction sites, expressed her team’s “shock to have found no one on site” while in Mubi
after giving prior notice of the committee’s visit.

Delivering her report, Mrs. Jackson alleged that the contractor had completely abandoned work on the Muchalla Bridge, which she said is on the verge of collapse, after collecting 79 per cent of the payment for the project.

A lawmaker, Abubakar Jarengol, representing Mubi North state constituency, said the contractor’s action smacked of sabotage and urged the Assembly to forward the case to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Another lawmaker, Adamu Kamale, whose motion to summon the erring contractor before the Assembly was sustained, urged his colleagues to “act decisively to serve as a deterrent to others.”

“Having considered the colossal sum of money expended by the government on roads construction, it is the duty of the House to ensure that the project is delivered as part of dividends of democracy to the people,” he said.

Source: Premium Times