Benin-Asaba Road: FG Unhappy Over Poor Quality Of Work, Appeals To BAECC For Contract Termination

The Federal Government says it is not satisfied with the quality and volume of work done by BAECC - the concessionaire for the Benin- Asaba Federal Highway, after 16 months of the award of contract and appealed for the job to be terminated.
Minister of Works, David Umahi, who spoke said the concessionaire had failed to add value to the project, 16 months after work commenced and urged the
concessionaire to allow his ministry to bring in competent contractors to execute the project, citing BAECC's lack of capacity.
Umahi spoke  on Wednesday at a stakeholders’ meeting at Government House, Benin City, to address the persistent gridlock and complaints from motorists along the 125-kilometre road.
According to the Minister, the concessionaire had failed to add value to the project, since the work commenced about 16 months ago. 
“We are therefore pleading with you to give us written approval to proceed in this manner, we believe this is the way forward,” Umahi said, just as he also issued a series of directives aimed at easing the hardship faced by commuters along the road.
He directed BAECC to urgently clear all blockages on the highway to ensure free flow of traffic adding that affected sections must be reconstructed under the supervision of an Independent Engineer.
Umahi further ordered BAECC to restore all removed asphalt, redirect water being channelled onto the carriageway and provide a technical design for proper stormwater channelisation, noting that the his ministry would write to the Independent Engineer to take measurements of the work completed, excluding the “negative work.”
According to Umahi, “When you remove asphalt contrary to the contract and contrary to the specifications, that is negative work. It will not be recognised as part of the value of work done. In fact, the cost of rectifying the damage must also be established.
“We have not stopped you from working, but if you continue doing what you are currently doing, we are not convinced that you will be able to avert the potential for public disorder in that place.” 
Reacting to Umahi 's comments, the Head, Legal and Compliance of BAECC, Mr Peterson Fabian, appealed to all parties to allow more time for further engagement.
“I believe that everything that is being discussed here is not conclusive in itself. We will have a more robust collaborative way of handling things going forward. 
“Every stakeholder here, do allow us to have more time to engage. I believe that we will have more pathways forward to further collaborate,” Fabian said.
Also, the Edo State Governor, Monday Okpebholo, expressed disappointment over the condition of the road, describing the situation as a “total waste of resources.”
Okpebholo's words, “What we are seeing now is not what I should be seeing at this point after 16 months. Nothing has been done.
“You can’t give what you don’t have. If they are competent, by now we should have seen some part of this road completed. Minister, I advise that you do the needful. Edo people are watching.”
Also reacting, Senator Allwell Onyesoh of the Senate Committee on Works, condemned the concession arrangement, quoting commuters as describing the situation as “terrible.”
“The concessionaires and whoever pushed for this concessionaire did not mean well for Nigeria, and this is a big lesson about concessionaires in Nigeria,” Onyesoh submitted.