Contractors handling federal road projects have kicked against the directive by Minister of Works, Dave Umahi to return to sites before a review of payment.
According to them, the change in prices of materials due to the current economic situation will make it difficult for a return to sites immediately.
A source close to a group of contractors said at the weekend: “We all know how much diesel and petrol was sold for in 2015, and the current prices. They know how much sand, chippings, asphalt, and even the cost of moving goods in 2015 vis-a-vis now. Telling a man who secured a contract in 2015 that he must return to site in 2023 and complete the job at 2015 price is not reasonable.”
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He added: “All contractors are not dubious. There’s no contractor that won’t love for Nigerians to praise his company for delivering on good roads. Unfortunately, road construction companies do not manufacture the equipment they use for work. Even if they do, they need to fuel their equipment, pay their workers, and buy things like asphalt and cement. All these things require a lot of money and their prices have kept changing.”
The sources said the blame for the delays in executing federal government road contracts should not be heaped at the feet of contractors, but on poor funding by successive governments at the federal level. According to them, the immediate past Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister Mohammed Bello was particularly known for delaying payments to contractors for work done.
They also described Umahi’s call for concrete road as “self-serving”, adding that “many countries that move heavy loads on roads, including the United States and Brazil, still rely heavily on roads built with asphalt.”
They lauded the House of Representatives for calling to question Umahi’s plan for concrete roads.
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“The reason they call FCT Minister Nyesome Wike ‘Mr. Projects’, when he was governor of Rivers State, is because he changed the procurement process to allow contractors be paid as much as 75 per cent upfront. With such level of funding, it was impossible to have abandoned road projects in the state.
“As Ebonyi State governor, Umahi’s approach was direct labour. Under his watch, the state bought several construction equipment with which his administration was able to deliver good roads.
“Comparing the performance of both former governors on roads to what obtains at the federal government level is like comparing apples and oranges. There was a time Umahi’s predecessor, Mr. Raji Fashola made it known, that federal government was owing road contractors over N10 trillion. How are they supposed to perform under such a heavy debt burden?
“What the minister of works should have done is to dialogue with the contractors, instead of issuing an order for them to return to sites and deliver good roads to Nigerians at reasonable prices.”
