Olomi-Olojuoro Road Rehabilitation, Contractor Accuses Akande Sadipe, Ministry of Works Of Double Standard
…….. Says they Hijacked and inflated Road Project from N9 Billion to 54 Billion
The contractor handling Olomi Olojuoro, Ijebu-Igbo, Ita Egba-Owonowen road construction, DC Engineering Limited, has accused lawmaker representing Oluyole federal constituency, Hon. Tolulope Akande Sadipe, and some officials of the Federal Ministry of Works of hijacking and jerking up the price of the road contract sum from N9.8 billion to N54.3 billion.
It will be recalled that, around July this year, Tolulope Akande-Sadipe, during a plenary session, raised alarm over the deplorable state of the Olomi Olojuoro, Ijebu-Igbo Ita Egba-Owonowen road, urging the House to mandate the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing to terminate the contract awarded to DC Engineering Limited.
According to the lawmaker, the road, which serves as a crucial link between Oyo State and Ogun State, has tragically turned into a death trap, posing significant risks to the lives and safety of road users.
The Executive Director of DC Engineering Ltd, Engr. Ade Adedeji while appearing during the sitting of the House of Representatives Ad Hoc Committee investigating the alleged failure of construction and rehabilitation of Ijebu-Igbo Ita Ibadan Road said, Sadipe and others at the Ministry of Works in their selfish interest hijacked the ongoing project and jerking up the price of the contract sum from N9.8 billion to N54.3 billion.
Engr. Adedeji who accused Akande Sadipe and some officials of the Federal Ministry of Works of double standard, said his company had earlier approached the Ministry of Works to review the contract sum from N9.8 Billion to at least N14 billion due to the high cost of materials, but the Ministry refused and with support of Hon. Sadipe later re-awarded the same contract to another contractor at the cost of N54.3 billion to AREATECH Construction Ltd.
Narrating his company’s account of the story, Adedeji said they were surprised to notice that the same ministry, which refused to review the contract upward to at least N14billion, re-awarded the same contract to AREATECH Construction Ltd at the sum of N54.3 billion without the termination of their contract.
Speaking further, Adedeji said the 41 KM road project was awarded to the company in 2018 at the sum of N9.8 Billion and the contract was supposed to be completed within two years but it took the Federal Ministry of Works 5 (five) years (2018 to 2023) before it was able to pay 15 percent mobilization fund of N1.3 billion.
He said the slow pace of the work was due to a lack of release of funds.
According to him, the 15 percent mobilization fee was paid in several installments until about few weeks a ago when the last installment of the 15 percent was paid even when the ministry had claimed to have terminated the contract with them and awarded it to another company.
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