Senate Frowns At Slow Pace Of Work On Karshi-Ara-Apo In Abuja

The Senate Committee on the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) has decried the slow pace of work on the Karshi-Ara-Apo Road in Abuja.

The chairman of the committee, Smart Adeyemi, expressed dissatisfaction when the panel paid an oversight visit to some road projects across the territory on Tuesday.

The oversight was aimed at assessing the level of ongoing projects in the FCT.

Mr Adeyemi described the delay in completing the project, which was awarded to an indigenous company, Katar Civil Engineering Limited in 2011, as a betrayal of the confidence reposed in local companies.

He said it would cost the country more than it should have expended on the road – a reason that justifies why “indigenous companies should not be patronised.”

The Karshi-Ara axis is located towards the South-eastern part of the FCT. It is the access road between Karshi Satellite Town and Ara Settlement in Nasarawa State while the Karshi-Apo axis of the road is located within the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC).

Although he did not state how much was allocated for the project, he said all the funds were released.

“If I were the minister, I would revoke this job,” he said. “I will ask them to refund the money to the government. If you can’t do the job why did you take the job? Why did you bid for it?

“We don’t have to pretend to ourselves and speak the truth. A job that was awarded in 2011 and up till now you are still where you are,” Mr Adeyemi said.

He said the contractors have no excuse for the delay and invited the contractor to appear before the committee on Thursday.

Also present were the FCT Minister, Muhammad Bello and the FCT Minister of State, Ramatu Tijjani.

Ms Tijjani, who also decried the slow pace of work, noted that the ministry has paid more than enough to have much more than what is on the ground.

“Time is of the essence. I hope you know democracy and power are transient. We have a few months to go. You will give your words to the National Assembly. What else do you require to complete this job within a short time frame even if it means adding more to your capacity by bringing in some other people?”

But one of the engineers on the project, Ezekiel Panan, said while no administration had funded the project the way the Muhammadu Buhari-led administration has done, one reason for the delay is funding.

He also said the high prices of materials had been a challenge which has hindered the progress of the project.

The team also visited the Wasa affordable Housing Site in AMAC, Wasa Resettlement Site and Karshi Treatment Plant where Ms Tijjani called for adequate funding for the 5,000 Wasa Affordable Housing Site.

The project, she said, had been reviewed and approved by the president.

“If there is no issue of aggressive and critical funding to this project, we will come back to a review situation,” she said. “With the economic situation of this country, with the accelerated prices of goods in the market which causes the incessant increase in what we buy and the prices of labour, we will need to sit.”

She commended the contracting company, Gilmor Engineering (Nigeria) Limite, for being able to tackle the issue of insecurity at the site with the construction of a police station.

The site engineer, Ibrahim Kangiwa, noted that since its commencement, a lot of progress has been achieved on the project.