By Nneka Nwogwugwu
The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD) has responded to an online viral video in which a man was lamenting on the ongoing poor construction of the link road and drains at Igarra, Akoko-Edo Federal Constituency, Edo State.
The Ministry in a statement on Sunday signed by the Director of Information, Theodore Ogaziechi said that the video which appeared on Friday, 2nd July, 2021, as well as the letter dated 5th July, 2021, from the Rt. Hon. Peter O. Akpatason, mni, Deputy House Leader, House of Representatives, informed that the road construction is not a 200m but a 300m Zonal Intervention Project (ZIP).
According to the statement, “The Ministry wishes to put the records straight, and as such, states that the said road construction is not a 200m but a 300m Zonal Intervention Project (ZIP) approved in the 2020 Appropriation Act and domiciled under supervision of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
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“The contract was awarded to Messrs. Royal Jeff Nigeria Limited in separate contract award letters based on quarterly releases in the sum of N45, 337,500.48 (Forty five million, three hundred and thirty seven thousand, five hundred Naira, forty eight Kobo) between November, 2020 and March, 2021 with specified Bills of Engineering Measurement and Evaluation (BEME) commonly called Bill of Quantities (BOQ) through comprehensive procurement processes and not Three Hundred and Sixty Million Naira (N360,000,000) as being speculated in the social media.
“The said contractor subsequently mobilized to site after the ministry officially handed over the site to the company and commenced work.
“At the time of this development and currently, construction work is still on-going at the site and work done yet to be evaluated, valued, verified and certified for payment formalities. It should be noted that before the contractor will be assessed for payment upon completion of project, proper certifications by the relevant Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDA’s) will be carried out.
“However, the public expression of dissatisfaction on the on-going construction works by the said contractor is welcomed and appreciated as this is the feedback expected of beneficiaries of government projects to help hold contractors accountable and achieve value for money.
“The Government and good people of Edo State should be rest assured that this development is being closely monitored to ensure that the contractor complies with the BOQ standard and where found unsatisfactory, payment will not be processed.”
