The Special Adviser to the Governor on Project Monitoring/Auditing, Engr. (Dr.) Goodnews Agbi has said that contractors handling projects in the state will be paid based on measurement of works executed at sites and not what as it is in the BEME in order for government to avoid paying for uncompleted/abandoned projects.
Dr. Agbi, who stated this after inspecting several projects being executed by the Warri/Uvwie and Environs Special Area Development Agency, (WUEDA) equally urged contrators to up the ante and deliver jobs that are up to standard.
Project sites visited were, construction of Ogbe Avenue road extension in Effurun, Reconstruction of Aya street by praise centre off Jakpa road in Effurun, rehabilitation and asphalt overlay of failed sectionals of NNPC Housing Complex road from refinery road to Edjeba Junction, expan, all in Uvwie LGA, Construction of Ope street with spur to Omene street in Warri South LGA, flood control measures in Effurun/Warri and Environs (phase III), and flood control measures in Warri Township stadium and Environs.
Complaining bitterly about some of the sites inspected, the Special Adviser said, “We went through seven projects of WUEDA. Some of them were very good, like the one we’ve seen with CCECC. They came with precast walls for the drainage which is very good.” “We want all the contractors to know that it is not exactly what is in the BEME that will be paid to them, but the works executed. It is what we measure at the site that will be paid. We can see in that reconstruction of Aya street by Praise Centre in Effurun, the drainage was supposed to be 750 by 750, but what is constructed is 700mm by 700mm.The average thickness of that drainage is 150 which is ok. Those are a lot of savings for the government if the contractors can not deliver according to specifications. The flood control in Warri Township stadium and Environs was poorly executed. The drain is very, very bad. The drain walls are already cracking. WUEDA need to call them back to do a remedy job because what they did is not a professional job at all.”
According to him, “Warri being a city and with a foreign company like that, they are supposed to either do a precast for the drainage walls or use steel shutters that could be used again and not wooden shutters. it will bulge. In the bill, the contractor is being paid per meter length of shutters, but he is repeating the wooden form work. So, we’ll have to look at that area.”
Commending the Director of Projects of WUEDA for his efforts in the area, Engr. Agbi said, “Apart from that, we want to commend you for all that WUEDA is doing. All projects inspected were ok, especially the Ope road constructed by Westwood. That’s a very, very good job. In all the inspections apart from CCECC, the drainage dimensions were ok, the thickness was ok, and the work was done to specification. It flows very well. We want contractors to do good jobs like that, and that’s what the governor wants. We want very good jobs, not substandard ones.”
“Those with substandard executions need to do the correction because we will come back to check again. They have to correct all those ones. We want other contractors to do their jobs according to specification.”
