EXCLUSIVE (ABIA): Works commissioner reveals status of govt projects

AFNews: Hon. Commissioner Sir, sometime last year, the State government launched a zero pothole on two major cities of Aba and Umuahia. In your capacity as the Commissioner for Works, how successful is this?

Commissioner for Works: Well, that of Umuahia, I will score it 90% and that of Aba 60%, why this is so is because Umuahia is not that big and if new pothole is found, people are advised to report to the Ministry and once such is done, we will send our Engineers to go and assess it, and equally to ensure that it is fixed. But in Aba, nobody has ever called to complain of any pothole so on a level scale, it has been not just successful but very successful.

AFNews: Sir, precisely on the 7th of October 2019, there was a press release from the Hon. Commissioner for Information, in which the government directed all contractors handling some major road constructions to expedite action on the road, such as Osisioma junction, MCC junction, the Obikabia, Afor Ibeji road project, Abiriba/Nkporo road project and many more. Are these roads ready for commissioning?

Commissioner for Works: Let's start with that of Umuahia of course you know that of Aba road in Umuahia from the rail to Uchenna junction have been delivered. Then that of Afor Ibeji to the rail is still on, we strongly believe that before the end of dry season it will be ready.

Then the roads you mentioned in Aba, for the Aba-Owerri road to the Express has been delivered and SETRACO is working round the clock to make sure that within the dry season we will ensure that Faulks road is delivered, the Eziukwu road pavement is 80% done and we are ensuring that before the rainy season sets out, it must have been completed.

That of Osusu road is also 80% completed and will be delivered before the end of the dry season.

If you go to Umuerie-Obikabia junction and to Mgboko, it has been delivered and we are working on the stretch and I am also certain that before the end of the dry season, everything will be completed.

That of Abiriba ring road, good a thing contractors are doing a good job. Our target is to ensure that this roads as streamlined are done on or before the commencement of the rainy season.

AFNews: For Osisioma road, do we have any certain date when the overhead bridge will be completed and ready to be used by motorists?

Commissioner for Works: Last year, we took a decision that projects should if not fully completed; the risers should have been fixed before the beginning of the rainy season. We had meetings with the contractors we agreed but there are certain things that might arise that you would not know how to handle it.

That contract is handled by Chinese company and the Chinese, every Christmas; they go home for the celebration. Unfortunately, some of them went home and with these Corona virus issue, they are been stuck in China so they had to move some Engineers from Owerri to come and assist them in that particular place and because of that, it has delayed, but one thing that I know is that before the commencement of the rain, we are going to see something different because that project is a priority project and we want to make sure that they are delivered on time.
Anybody who passes the Express would have notice something difference.

AFNews: Hon. Commissioner the issue of Faulks road has been a very controversial one in Abia State. Recently, the 2015/2019 APGA Guber Candidate Dr. Alex Otti through his Media Aide wrote an open letter to SETRACO alleging that the State government awarded the contract to the tune of 6.8 billion and that the project is undergoing poor execution. What explanation do you have to that allegation sir?

Commissioner for Works: Those allegations as far as I am concern should not even attract my reaction, if they needed Information, they should have written the Ministry of Works.

They are aware that Alex Otti was a onetime Managing Director of a Bank and he ought to know that he has no relationship with SETRACO. So, to write them simply tells that they will not reply the letter in the first place.

They are only trying to criticize the government through that particular means. If he needed those facts, he should have written the Ministry and I don't see why we will not.
Let's even explain to people of what is happening on Faults road. A whole lot of people are misinformed about Faulks road.

If you look at Faulks road, it could be 4.2 kilometer but it is a dual carriage way. We have Ifeobara point 1 and 2, part of the contract was the excavation of Ifeobara point 1 and 2 to contain the deluge of runoff from those areas when development got to a point, it was discovered that even with the excavation, they was an overflow, so a design has to be prepared to move water through underground pipes from that place to Aba River, so for somebody to tell you that it was a contract for so and so, it is not informed.

There is no controversy, yes people say Faulks road failed, my normal reaction is not what stage was that road? I lived at Faulks road when I was in the University, if you look at Faulks road by Osusu, there was a three storey building at that particular spot and was pulled down by the Military to make sure that the right Channel was created.

Before Okezie Ikpeazu came, Ukwumango was impassable for more than 30 years it was his intervention that made Ukwumango possible till today, so what happened was that SETRACO came and did a good job.

AFNews: Hon. Commissioner, sometime last year the Acting MD of NDDC visited the Governor and he made some startling revelations regarding NDDC projects in the State, what is your stake on this?

Hon. Commissioner for Works: These are Federal projects and we have little or no input of those projects. We have tried to get in touch with the agencies of the Federal government and said, look if you give any contract let us know, but you see that whenever we write, they don't even reply some of our letters.

For example, Ohanku road, when the government wanted to go and construct the road, we found out that NDDC had approved the contract to an indigenous Company, they had been paid 100% but they never did anything. The same thing with Azikiwe road which was also given to an indigenous contractor and nothing was done on it.
If 50% of the roads were constructed by NDDC, our circumstance in Abia would have been different.

Committees were set up by Governor Okezie Ikpeazu to look into it; we were able to discover that nothing was done on the road.

I thank God that the Acting MD of NDDC came to Abia and she made a startling and deadly revelation regarding road contracts by NDDC in Abia State.

THE END