Edo Assembly: Revoke Benin-Lokoja road contract

The Edo state House of Assembly has called on the federal government to revoke the reconstruction of the Benin-Auchi-Lokoja road contract awarded to Dantata and Sawoe, Reynold Construction Company, Mother Cat and GIG company.

The Speaker of the House, Adjoto Kabir made the call yesterday at Ekpoma when he led other members of the house in a protest road inspection of the road.

Adjoto who decried the slow pace of work and the deplorable state of the road noted that the contractors had been mobilised but the work done so far is not commensurate to the money collected.

He described as unacceptable the current situation of the road whereby the residents of the state had to go through Ondo and Delta states to reach their destinations.

“It is our view as an assembly that the contract award be revoked. The Minister of Work, Power and Housing Raji Fashola is a man that we respect very much. He is doing well as a minister, but on the Benin-Ekpoma-AuchiOkpella road there is need to revisit the performance of the contractors. They are not competent. We are not satisfied with the pace of work and quality of jobs done. We are moving through the road and we know Edo people are suffering.

The House summoned the contracting firms and the federal controller of works, Edo state to appear before it next week Monday at a committee of a whole to explain the delay in the rehabilitation of the roads.

Responding, the Dantata site supervisor Suleiman Nasiru said the initial contract awarded to the firm was from Agbede in Etsako West LG to Ewu hill in Esan Central LG, adding that the Ekpoma axis was recently awarded to the company to address the perennial traffic challenges in the area.