FG to Audit N560bn East-west Road Project

FG to Audit N560bn East-west Road Project

05 Dec 2015

 Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Pastor Usani Uguru Usani

By Ernest Chinwo in Port Harcourt
The Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Pastor Usani Uguru Usani, has said the Federal Government would audit the dualisation of the  362-kilometre East-west road project on which government is spending N560 billion.
This he said was to ensure that the contractors executing the project implemented it according to the specifications in its design.
He said the auditors, who would be engaged by the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs, would also ascertain whether the work done on the project so far was commensurate with the N270 billion the Federal Government spent on it.
The  project, which   was  started by the Federal Ministry of Works in 2006 and transferred to the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs in 2008 to speed up its implementation,  links cities and many communities in  five out of the nine Niger Delta Region states of  Delta, Bayelsa,  Rivers,  Akwa Ibom and Cross River.
The Minister, who is currently on an inspection tour of the project along with the Minister of State for Niger Delta Affairs, Professor Cladius Daramola, told newsmen in Port Harcourt that "the auditors would examine and determine whether the work was going on as specified and job done so far is commensurate with the amount of money paid to the contractors.”
Usani assured the people of the region that the dualisation of the East-west road from Warri to Calabar was of premium priority to the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari and would be completed.
The minister noted that on their part, the people of the Niger Delta Region appreciated the importance of the road in promoting their wellbeing.
When asked by reporters whether the Federal Government would take-over and inaugurate the completed sections of the road, he explained that instead of inaugurating completed sections, "the commissioning would rather be on the completion of whole jobs awarded to each of the contractors."
Earlier, the minister and the minister of state and engineers from the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs had driven on the road from Warri in Delta State to Port Harcourt, stopping at appropriate points along the route to inspect bridges, assess culverts, view drainages, make observations and seek for  clarifications to ensure value for money for the government.