Controversy over 15-year-old road project keeps affected communities in anguish

 

ISAAC SHOBAYO writes on how the Plateau State Government and a federal lawmaker have locked horns over an abandoned road project in the state, while the affected communities continue to suffer.

The people of the Kanke Local Government Area of Plateau State, specifically Amper District, were recently entangled in political intrigues over the 33-kilometre Shiwar Gunji Tiplik and Dokpai road, abandoned 15 years ago. A House of Representatives member representing Pankshin, Kanke and Kanam federal constituency of the state, Hon Yusuf Babayo Gardi, and the Plateau State Government are embroiled in a deep controversy over the abandoned project.

However, the intervention of the lawmaker to complete the road and the state government’s sudden halt to the work are causing tension in the impacted communities. Hon Gardi asserted that he has the right to intervene since it falls within his constituency, arguing that the intervention was meant to lessen the suffering of his people, despite the state government’s assertion that it is an established project.

Checks by the Nigerian Tribune revealed that the then PDP-led administration of Governor Jonah Jang awarded the road construction to Hajj Nigeria Construction Limited, but abandoned it due to lack of adequate funding. As a result of the long abandonment spanning more than 15 years, the roads have further deteriorated, causing untold hardship to the people living along the route.

It is unfortunate that the locals are caught in the web of politics as the federal lawmaker is a stalwart of the All Progressive Congress (APC) and also an ardent critic of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)-led administration in the state. It will be recalled that the lawmaker allegedly said in an interview with one of the electronic media recently that the Federal Government’s presence in the state was felt at about 80 percent, while less than two years of the administration of Governor Caleb Mutfwang was scored 20 percent.

The state government was reportedly incensed by the assertion and strongly disagreed with the lawmaker. Former Commissioner for Information and Communication, Mr Musa Ashoms, who was recently reassigned to the Ministry of Youth and Sport, carpeted the lawmaker, saying the statement was a calculated attempt to discredit the accomplishments of the state government.

Explaining why he chose to complete the road without due consultation with the state government, Hon Gardi stated that he obtained permission from the immediate past government of Senator Simon Lalong to work on the road. But in a swift reaction, the state government denied this and claimed that he could not build on the existing contract, adding his action was a clear mischief to embarrass the government.

“But I’m worried because the government did not halt the road’s construction seven months ago when I mobilised the contractor to the site and believe this is related to PKK politics. The governor is being drawn into this, and his political aides are also exploiting it to further their own agenda,” the federal lawmaker posited.

Gardi, who expressed disappointment in the action of the state government, said it was rather unfortunate that the government allowed the contractor to go ahead instead of stopping him from the onset, especially before the first phase was completed.

“As a law abiding citizen, I approached the communities to tell them why I cannot continue with the contract. If you pull out those machines anyhow, it might lead to breakdown of law and order. The people might not allow the contractor to move them away from the community because a bird at hand is worth more than thousands out of hand.

“I told the community leader the situation of things, and what is happening between me and the state government is not a war or a fight. Also, that let me look for another community to start the work. So the most important thing is for us to add value to society.

“They were not in government when I started the work. Are they saying I did not approach the then government when I started the work? I wrote to the former governor, Lalong, to do that job; it didn’t commence during Lalong’s time because you get money before you start the work. 

‘When I started it, they were supposed to have reached out to me, but I had an engagement with the previous administration, and they gave me the go-ahead to do it. The contractor wants litigation, and I don’t want litigation; it is not compulsory for me to do the work there; I can relocate it to another place within the local government. But using my appearance in Channels TV to explain the road I think is highly political, and it should be condemned by any right thinking member of the society.”

Apparently reacting to the outburst of the lawmaker over the development, the State Commissioner for Works, Mr Ubandoma Laven, said, “In as much as the state appreciates the gesture of the lawmaker, it would be a misnomer to enter into an existing contract without the knowledge of the stakeholders.

“We are still owing the contractor as far as that project is concerned. The contractor who started the road from zero to where it is today saw it and approached us. But the most unfortunate thing is that the APC government left the road untouched for eight years, only for Gardi to move to the site in 2023. 

“The contractor Hajj Nigeria Construction Limited was awarded this contract in 2008 and later revalidated in 2014. The contractor saw on television that another contractor had commenced the work, and he wrote to the Ministry of Works demanding an explanation. He said he is still the contractor; also the government is owing him, and that we should explain what happened. That he saw another contractor on an existing contract, it is heading for litigation already, and we don’t want that.

“It is an ongoing project, no one is witch-hunting anyone, he should look for another place to do his work. This is 33 kilometres roads that has been officially awarded to Hajj Nigeria Construction Limited.

“My advice to him is that he should consult with stakeholders at various local levels whenever he wants to embark on something like this so that we don’t have this kind of clash in the future. The contractor has written to us to explain why the job was given to another contractor, but we are saying that he is in charge of the contract. He had done all the culverts and bridges; the contractor contracted by Gardi just went to begin to lay asphalt on the road.

“A legislator is to make law, but if you are dabbling into an executive function, fine and congratulations. Hajj Nigeria Construction Limited has done all the necessary groundwork. So, in his desperation to prove to his people that he is working, I think he mistakenly strolled into an existing project. He should tactically avoid this; there is quite a lot of virgin land he can construct for the benefit of the people.”

The Commissioner for Works further added that the image of the administration would be smeared if the state government did not protect the contractor with the legitimate paper to do the work.

Many of those living in the villages and communities along the routes may not have been aware of the power struggle and intrigues involved, their happiness, however, was short-lived when they learnt that the contractor was leaving the site for the second time.

A traditional titleholder who spoke with the Nigerian Tribune declared this: “We may not be aware of the issues involved, but we were happy when another contractor was mobilised to complete the abandoned project since it was abandoned 15 years ago. The people were pleased to see the contractor back on the road, but now we’re starting over. We are therefore appealing to the state government to step in.”

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The government’s decision to force the work to be stopped has caused division among the constituency’s residents.

In an attempt to allay the fears, Commissioner for Works, Mr Laven, told newsmen that the road would not be abandoned in accordance with the state government’s plan to complete all unfinished projects. In addition, he said that the governor had instructed the original contractor, Hajj Nigeria Construction Limited, to return to the site as quickly as possible.

Contrary to the notion that the state government’s desire to finish the road was sparked by the Gardi action, Laven said since the Caleb Mutfwang administration assumed office in 2023, it has completed no fewer than 49 abandoned projects. He equally mentioned that the government plans to complete similar projects in the rural areas.

Meanwhile, the residents of the impacted areas are anxiously awaiting the return of the contractor that initiated the work as promised by the state government.