From Fred Ezeh, Abuja
Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Usani Uguru Usani, has said that yet to be completed East-West Road was “excessively over valued” by previous government officials that negotiated the contract some 10 years ago.
He believed this and other factors could be responsible for inability of the government to source for funds to complete the road after 10 years of awarding the contract.
He disclosed that a kilometer of the road was negotiated at N2 billion, which, according to him, was excessively over valued
The minister ruled out renegotiation of the contract due to issues beyond the control of government, with a firm belief that the contractors would not only truncate the renegotiation process but would ensure that it never materialized.
Uguru said he refused to bow to pressure by some unnamed persons to lead government delegation to commission the section one of the road completed.
He said enormous resources were needed to complete the project, stressing that plans were underway to seek alternative source of funding to complete the project.
He registered his discontent with barrage of complaints by Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) sponsored students abroad despite receiving $30,000 from the commission.
He suspected that something must have either truncated the payment process or the resources appropriated for the payment were diverted to other uses, thus exposing the students to untold hardship in foreign land.
Usani also disclosed that government ordered investigation into allegations of contractual extortion in the NDDC, believed to be responsible for the delay in payment of contractors and completion of critical developmental projects.
Government also said it uncovered some shoddy deals in personnel and corporate management in the agency, which favored nepotism and mediocrity in place of merit and competence, resulting in obvious lapses in service delivery.
He said: “I took my time to carefully browse through the books and records of NDDC. What I saw was shocking and unpleasant to the ear. As a matter of fact, I have written to NDDC Managing Director, Mr. Nsima Ekere, requesting that he immediately initiate investigation into this crucial allegations.”
The minister was unhappy that despite N1trillion debt hanging on the neck of NDDC, there was no corresponding infrastructural and human development to justify such huge expenditure.
He added: “Without wanting to apply micro management system in the running of the agency, NDDC seriously needs urgent revival in order to service the interest of the people of the region, and not few persons that have the privilege to run the affairs of the agency.”