₦airaland Forum

The Rivers State Government has debunked reports that Julius Berger Nigeria Plc has withdrawn from its project sites in the state, describing the claims as false and misleading.
The denial follows a viral publication that alleged that the construction firm had begun pulling out of Rivers State due to unpaid contract fees by the state government.

In a statement signed by the Senior Special Adviser – Media, Rivers State Government, Hector Igbikiowubo, and made available to newsmen on Friday, the state government dismissed the publication as “malicious” and “a deliberate misrepresentation of facts.”

The statement read, “The Rivers State Government, under the leadership of His Excellency, Vice Admiral (Rtd), Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas, strongly condemns the misleading and malicious publication titled ‘Julius Berger withdraws from Rivers’ project sites.

“The report, which falsely claims that Julius Berger Nigeria PLC has begun withdrawing its services from project sites in Rivers State due to alleged shortfalls in payments by the government, is a deliberate misrepresentation of facts and a calculated attempt to tarnish the reputation of the administration”.

Continuing it said, “Nothing could be farther from the truth. The Rivers State Government has consistently and dutifully met all its contractual obligations to contractors, including Julius Berger Nigeria PLC, which has received all payments due since the declaration of Emergency Rule in the state.”

Addressing the variation request, the statement revealed that Julius Berger had demanded an additional ₦171.76 bn an 87.77 per cent increase on top of the original ₦195.7 bn contract sum for the Ring Road project and if granted, would push the total cost to ₦367.45 bn.

“The real motive behind misinformation, this baseless report is nothing more than a campaign of calumny orchestrated after failed attempts to pressure the Rivers State Government into approving an exorbitant and unjustified variation request for the ongoing Ring Road project.

“The facts are as follows: the original contract sum for the Ring Road project was N195,695,980,239.61 bn,

“Julius Berger submitted a variation request demanding an additional N171,755,448,105.05 billion, representing an 87.77 per cent increase in project cost. If approved, this would raise the total project cost to a staggering N367,451,428,344.66 bn.

“It is important to note that in an attempt to forestall such unreasonable claims and protect the State from such arbitrary variation requests, the Rivers State Government at the commencement of the project took a facility from a bank and paid a 77 per cent advance payment in the sum of N150,000,000,000.00 to Julius Berger”, the statement added.

“The report, which falsely claims that Julius Berger Nigeria PLC has begun withdrawing its services from project sites in Rivers State due to alleged shortfalls in payments by the government, is a deliberate misrepresentation of facts and a calculated attempt to tarnish the reputation of the administration”.

chiiraq802:
As nothing for dem again in Rivers State, SIMPlified fagmily hv resorted to propaganda.

bamosagie:
Pardon my understanding, I thought the issue here is variation request from Julius Berger. Somehow you linked it to "SIMPlified fagmily".

U09ce:
That's too much a variation. But looking at the fact that it was Wike that awarded the contract while he was a governor and before Tinubu's devaluation, the variation is plausible. Between 2023 and today, most building materials have more than doubled their prices.

Jorussia:
Julius Berger should go and die.If somebody pays u 77% for a project, that's enough for any sincere and serious firm to purchase all materials needed for that project even before commencement of the job.

kaludestiny10:
As a Rivers state resident, I can boldly and unequivocally tell you that JB has stopped work at Rupkowu flyover. So there is nothing misleading or propaganda about the news. They have even moved most of their equipment out of the site. And they are yet to complete the job on that flyover. And we the commuters are at the receiving end of the uncompleted road project.

Putindbutt:
JB and their bogus costs, that's why Umahi is cancelling some of their projects and reawarding it to other contractors.