Reps summon N/Delta ministry over discrepancies in road contract
A House of Representatives committee has summoned officials of the ministry of Niger-Delta affairs to explain the discrepancies on payments made to some contractors working on the East-West road.
Speaking to journalists in Abuja during the weekend, chairman of the House committee on Niger-Delta affairs, Rep Warman Ogoriba (PDP, Bayelsa) said the committee uncovered some differences between the payment schedule submitted to it by the contractors and that of the ministry.
“The payment schedule given to us by the three major contractors were at variance with the one given to us by the ministry. So when we met the contractors, we made them realise that the figures they were quoting were different from that of the ministry,” he said.
He said based on that, the committee rescheduled its meeting with the contractors “to accommodate the ministry” at a later date.
“In this regard the ministry must come and explain and reconcile figures with the three contractors,” he added.
The lawmaker explained that the East-West road is a major road that cuts across the whole of the Niger-Delta “and this is why our committee has decided never to rest on its oars until it is fully completed.”
The three contractors involved are Setraco Nigeria Limited, Gitto and RCC.
The contract for the reconstruction of the East-West road was awarded 12 years ago, 2002, during the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo.