Era of poor, abandoned projects over – Bauchi gov

Bauchi State Governor Mohammed Abdullahi Abubakar has said that the era of contractors executing substandard projects and conniving with civil servants to defraud government or abandon projects was over.

The governor said this while receiving a report from the fact-finding committee he set up to investigate all contracts awarded under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially in rural areas from 2015.

A statement by the governor’s press secretary Abubakar Al-Sadique said the committee was set up after series of reports exposing alleged irregularities in the execution of contracts awarded by the past administration in the state.

According to the statement, the governor reiterated his resolve to ensure that all contracts awarded by his administration are executed according to specifications before being taken over from the contractors.

While commending the committee for carrying out a thorough job, the governor lamented that government contracts in the past that were awarded and poorly executed.

He therefore warned contractors with dubious intent to stay away from Bauchi State and assured members of the Committee of full implementation of the recommendations made in their report.

Responding, chairman of the committee and the state chairman of APC, Alhaji Uba Ahmed Nana, said the committee discovered that more than 90% of contracts for the construction of solar-powered boreholes and clinics, awarded by the past administration under the MGDs/SDGs particularly those in rural areas were not functioning.