Reps express displeasure on slow pace of work on Lagos/Ibadan expressway, others

The House of Representatives on Thursday expressed displeasure over the slow pace of work on the Lagos/Ibadan dual carriageway, the Abuja/Kaduna/Zaria/Kano dual carriageway and the 2nd Niger bridge, declaring that the capacity of the contractor to handle the projects simultaneously was in doubt.

The House also resolved to investigate why the three major contracts were awarded to one company, saying there was the possibility of a conflict of interest in the award of contract for the second Niger Bridge.

The three critical projects being funded under the Presidential Infrastructure Development Fund are being handled by construction giant Julius Berger, but the House said there might be a conflict of interest in the award of the contract.

This followed the adoption of a motion of urgent public importance by Rep. Ifeanyi Momah on the need to investigate the slow pace of work on the Lagos/Ibadan dual carriageway, the Abuja/Kaduna/Zaria/Kano dual carriageway and the 2nd Niger bridge at the plenary.

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Consequently, the House the Committee on Works to investigate the slow pace of work on the three critical projects.

The House was of the opinion that the work done on the three projects so far does not correspond with the huge amount of money that has so far been released by the government for the projects.

Why moving the motion, Rep. Ifeanyi Momah stated that there was evidence of slow pace of work on the three critical projects resulting in traffic congestion; fatal accidents being recorded daily on the roads and a downturn in the economy of the States bordering these projects.

According to him, the projects which form a critical part of the infrastructural development of the present government were designated to be funded under the Presidential Infrastructure Development Fund (PIDF) domiciled at Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) so as to ensure proper and prompt funding.

He lamented that despite the prompt release of funds by Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), the projects were lagging behind schedule.

According to him “as of December 2019, Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) has released the following amounts N19, 520,949,317.16 to Section 1 of Lagos Ibadan Expressway, N80, 242,079,039.46 to the 2nd Niger Bridge and N50,856,044,301.27 to Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano Road, amounting to about N150,619,072,657.89.”

Rep. Momah said there was a potential conflict of interest in Julius Berger’s involvement in the 2nd Niger Bridge which he said is made up of 3 sections.

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He said: “Phase 1 is the Bridge, Phase 2a is Benin to Asaba Expressway and Phase 2b is Onitsha to Enugu Expressway.”

He explained further that phase 1 of the project was to be awarded as Design, Build, Finance, Operate and Transfer basis under PPP scheme, while phase 2a and 2b were to be awarded as traditional contracts.

According to him, “the same job has now been awarded to Julius Berger for N206 Billion, as against the cost of N118 billion valued by BPP.”

He stressed that “a Swiss challenge bid process ought to be adopted to avoid a situation of potential conflict of interest”
He said Julius Berger, who is the contractor handling the three critical projects are also involved in other major road projects under SUKUK, adding that “all these projects are lagging behind schedule, which brings to fore Julius Berger’s capacity to handle the projects simultaneously.

“The use of Direct Procurement (Section 42 of the Public Procurement Act) in awarding these projects as against the Opening Competitive Bidding (Section 24 of the Public Procurement Act) has deprived Nigerians of transparency, due process and potential to save money.

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The House directs its committee on Works to investigate and determine if the contractors had the capacity to deliver the contracts awarded as scheduled.”

The House is also to investigate the level of work done on Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano Expressway, and 2nd Niger Bridge in order to determine if the amount disbursed so far has a commensurate value with the job done till date.

The Committee is also to determine if there is a potential conflict of interest in awarding the contracts to a single contractor and whether the contract sums have been inflated and report back to the House.

There has been growing concern over the delay in the completion of the Lagos/Ibadan expressway and the Abuja/Kaduna/Zaria/Kano expressway.