By Jimitota Onoyume

PORT HARCOURT— INDIGENOUS contractors from Rivers State have failed to deliver on projects they are handling for the state government, Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, has said.

The governor, who spoke during a state breakfast meeting with media men practising in the state, said beside the pace of work being slow, most of them failed to deliver to specification. According to the him, some of the jobs they did were very poor.

The governor said he had resolved to throw open the gate of the government to competent contractors, so the state’s funds were not wasted on poor quality jobs.

“Just show me any failed project, by the time you investigate, you will find out that it is being handled by a Rivers indigenous contractor. So we have decided to only give our jobs to qualified and competent contractors, irrespective of where they come from,” he said.

Amaechi added that allocation to the state from the federation account had dropped below the N10 billion mark, noting that fund was now a major challenge to the government.

“With the fall in what comes from the centre, only God knows how we have been able to achieve what


http://www.vanguardngr.com/2010/05/24/indigenous-contractors-have-failed-me-amaechi/

Sharrap dia Amaechi!!! While you dey share contract amongst your boys, why dem no go fail you? Even some well known incompetent lowlifes for London here don reach Rivers State collect contract from your hand with no experience of delivery. Besides, what of the contractors wey una never pay? I hope this is not a smokescreen to dazzle the Rivers populace. . .

Ibime:

Sharrap dia Amaechi!!! While you dey share contract amongst your boys, why dem no go fail you? Even some well known incompetent lowlifes for London here don reach Rivers State collect contract from your hand with no experience of delivery. Besides, what of the contractors wey una never pay? I hope this is not a smokescreen to dazzle the Rivers populace. . .

i agree with you but dont you think that he is actually sending signal to those his friends that it is no longer 'business as usual'?you must be qualified to get a contract.

He said he wanted to make his people millionaires.
I know of some guys who nearly died a few years back from hunger who have
suddenly become millionaires.

I knew something like this would happen eventually.

Abagworo:

i agree with you but dont you think that he is actually sending signal to those his friends that it is no longer 'business as usual'?you must be qualified to get a contract.

There is no dearth of good contractors in Rivers State. . . . we remember that Odili specialised in giving the juiciest contract to non-indigenes such as Ikhide Arumemi, who also did not produce. . . recently, Amaechi's been giving contracts to young fellas without much experience. . . . there are many time-tested contractors in Rivers State if he will look outside his own circle. . . . also speaking from experience of associates, the state very often doesnt pay advance on contracts on time, so why is Amaechi complaining that contracts are off-schedule. . . I know someone who did contract in 2008 who is yet to be paid a penny. . .

All that glitters is not gold; i have not always been convinced at the pace of work and quality of job being done here in Rivers State. Apart from the project at Eleme junction which was done by BERGER and perhaps the health centres the rest are washy including the rumuola - rumokwuta road. After i saw the Benin by pass expressway that was done by STRABAG i wept for the Niger Delta. The work being done by SETRACO is another washy. Questions have been raised on milestone payment by the Rivers State government.

What will you expect when competent hands are not allowed to handle projects from state to private institutions it is the same story.

I was asked to do a project (alternative energy backup) for a back less than 2 years ago for N300M and after looking at the requirements and expectation I told them that even at N400M I will not go near the project as the amount would never deliver on quality project. They told me that as we were talking 6 companies have already agreed to do the project for N300M and that they were only asking me to do the project because one of their top ogas recommended me based on past projects.

I asked them to go ahead and give it to those guys as I have a name to protect and only provided facts and information to prove that the N300M will not work. After 1 month they added extra N200M to the N300M and with N500M on the table the politics and scheming became something else and I washed my hands from the dirty games via email that was copied to those that needed to know what was going on.

Suffice to state here that the project became a failure just a little after 1 year even with the N500M.

This is the type of nonsense that goes on in Nigeria and it is a huge shame.

A lot of companies and service providers lack relevant knowledge, experience and most importantly professional integrity.

otokx:

All that glitters is not gold; i have not always been convinced at the pace of work and quality of job being done here in Rivers State. Apart from the project at Eleme junction which was done by BERGER and perhaps the health centres the rest are washy including the rumuola - rumokwuta road. After i saw the Benin by pass expressway that was done by STRABAG i wept for the Niger Delta. The work being done by SETRACO is another washy. Questions have been raised on milestone payment by the Rivers State government.

thank you my bros.rumuola road done by mcc is very indecent.nta-choba road is disorganised.eliozu bridge is nothing to write home about.even azikiwe road which was the widest road has now been narrowed down to save cost.the only quality job is the rumuobiakani-oginigba-slaughter road done by rcc.

RCC is trying though they can be better; they are doing a section of the East - West road around the ORE area.

Abagworo:

thank you my bros.rumuola road done by mcc is very indecent.nta-choba road is disorganised.eliozu bridge is nothing to write home about.even azikiwe road which was the widest road has now been narrowed down to save cost.the only quality job is the rumuobiakani-oginigba-slaughter road done by rcc.

My brother, you have spoken well. The Oginigba road done by RCC is one of the only sterling jobs done by this govt. Anytime i head the the international airport i am baffled at the abundance of increasingly huge potholes in the road. The old aba rd done by Zerok is extremely shoddy; those guys have been struggling to widen just one bridge for a year and a half now.

Development is for the long term good of the people, in my opinion we'd better give such projects to competent hands - it doesn't matter where they come from.

slaughter-rumuobiakani

Have you been to the Agip junction recently? the contractors handling the project are in a state of demonic confusion.