Rep intervenes in feud between contractor, communities over road project

Fri, May 29, 2020
By publisher
3 MIN READ

Politics

A member of the House of Representatives, Hon Tolu Akande-Sadipe, has urged the contractor handling the 35-kilometer federal road project in her constituency to complete the project on time.
Akande-Sadipe, an APC lawmaker, representing Oluyole Federal Constituency, stated this on Thursday in Ibadan.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the lawmaker had organised a meeting between the contractor and the project’s beneficiary communities in her constituency, over the slow pace of work being done.
NAN also reports that the 35-kilometer Olodo-Olomi-Ijebu Igbo Road was awarded to D.C. Engineering Limited in 2018 by the Federal Government.
A statement issued in Ibadan on Friday by Lekan Olusada, the Media Aide to Akande-Fadipe, said the 14 beneficiary communities, under the aegis of Olojuoro Road Joint Community Forum, had petitioned the Federal Ministry of Works and Transport, over the project.
The statement said that the forum also petitioned the House of Representatives over alleged refusal of the contractor to speed up work on the road and the alleged construction of narrow drainages that could cause erosion in the community, among other allegations.
The lawmaker, who is the Chairperson, House Committee on Diaspora Affairs, said she got to know about the petition because her office was copied, adding that this prompted her to bring the parties to a round table to resolve the matter.
NAN also reports that the meeting, held on Thursday at Olomi area of Ibadan, had in attendance representatives of the aggrieved communities and those of the firm handling the project.
Akande-Sadipe said that the essence of the meeting was to find solutions to the brewing misunderstanding between the community and the firm.
She promised her unwavering commitment to ensuring the speedy completion of the road, which had been under construction in the community since 2018, describing it as one of the foremost projects on her checklist.
Akande-Sadipe said that she would scrutinise the construction firm handling the site’s bill of quantity, Scope of Work and Contractual Agreement signed with the Federal Ministry of Works, Abuja.
She maintained that this would bring her up to speed with happenings about the road and ensure that the firm executed the job according to the agreed terms with Federal Government.
“We will ensure we look into the scope of work being executed by D.C Engineering Limited and address every form of dissatisfaction listed by the communities in their petition, which was made available to our office”, she said.
The lawmaker, who commended both parties for agreeing to resolve the crisis, assured the communities that the firm would not shy away from its responsibility in delivering a motorable road to them.
She opined that participating in dialogue with the concerned parties would fast track the speedy completion of the road.
Mr Obafemi Olusola, who represented the construction company at the meeting, expressed the company’s readiness to adjust and intensify efforts to complete the project on time.
Mr Tajudeen Ahmed, who spoke on behalf of the affected communities, appreciated the intervention of the lawmaker and expressed the hope that her intervention would enhance the speedy completion of the road.

NAN

– May 29, 2020 @ 17:25 GMT /

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