By Bisi Olaniyi, Benin
Accuses contractor of misbehaving
The Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, has accused officials of Levant Construction Company of misbehaving on the reconstruction of the East-West Road, while threatening to terminate the contract.
Umahi, a former Governor of Ebonyi State, spoke yesterday during his inspection of the reconstruction of Sapele-Ologbo-Benin Road.
He ordered the ministry’s supervising engineers to issue a warning letter to the contractor on Monday, and after 14 days should it fail to do the needful, he would personally terminate the contract.
The works minister, who was received by officials of the Federal Ministry Works in Benin and Edo State Ministry of Roads and Bridges, declared that most contractors in Nigeria were playing politics, which he would not tolerate.
He said: “We paid multi-billion naira for this job. We will never pay Variation On Price (VOP) for the amount of money that we have paid. That is the problem with Levant Construction Company.
“You cannot do this kind of job in your country, it can only happen in Africa. You cannot collect our money and be misbehaving. It is a big shame. Look at how people are suffering everywhere, and we should be happy clapping for you.
“I have had more than ten meetings with them on this job. If anything goes wrong, they will be calling the President.”
Umahi, who also inspected the Benin-Ekpoma-Auchi road, stated that President Bola Tinubu wanted the best for Nigerians and his administration should be adequately supported.