Ikpeazu Orders Contractor Back to Site over Poor Job Execution
Abia State Governor, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu, has ordered Tunnelend Construction Company (TCC) back to the site to undertake a full reconstruction of the Unuaro/ Ekwereazu Road in Obingwa Local Government Area of the state.
The poorly constructed road, which was completed in December 2018, failed before June 2019.
The construction firm is owned by Enyinnaya Nwafor, son of late Deputy Governor of the State, Dr. Chima Nwafor.
Speaking on a live radio program on Magic 102.9 FM, Aba, Governor Ikpeazu, who was visibly angry over the poor construction work carried out on the road, said the poor work done on the Ekwereazu Road did not meet the standard of roads done by his administration.
The road is currently the only route leading in and out of Aba from Akwa Ibom and Cross Rivers States due to the complete failure of all federal roads linking the state
“Yes, I have received calls and complaints about the poor construction of the road. I have ordered the contractor to return to the site and ensure a complete reconstruction of the road. Ministry of Works will monitor what they are doing to ensure that it meets up with the standard our administration is known for.
“I am not happy about the poor job that was done by the contractor. There is no way we will accept that a road done by this administration failed in less than one year after construction. Fortunately, we have not commissioned the road, so they must reconstruct it,” Ikpeazu said.
Governor Ikpeazu reiterated that his philosophy was to build few but durable roads than multiple roads that would fail before they were commissioned.
Justifying why the Ekwereazu Road must be reconstructed, Ikpeazu said: “I don’t believe in palliatives. It’s either I do it and do it well or I leave it undone. I want Abia to remember me as a man who did not do all the roads, but the few ones he did have refused to fail.”
The governor promised to use his second term to complete ongoing projects he awarded in the first term of his administration.
He said: “Since our assumption of office for a second term, we have taken steps to consolidate on the successes we recorded in our first term while ensuring that we finish strongly. Our cardinal objective in our second term is the completion of all the projects that we began in our first term while laying solid foundations for sustainable job creation for our youths.”