FG, MTN meets on quality, speedy delivery of Enugu-Onitsha Expressway

The Federal Government through the Ministry of Works has met with the giant telecom company (MTN) and the RCC Company Nig Ltd over the slow funding and execution of the Enugu-Onitsha Expressway.

The meeting which took place at the ministry on Wednesday had in its attendance, the Minister of Works, Engr David Umahi, Minister of State for Works, Bello Goronyo, the Permanent Secretary, Engr. O.O Adebiyi, the representatives of MTN, the Managing Director of RCC Company Nig Ltd and his team.

While the meeting ended with the following resolutions: The construction of Enugu-Onisha dual-carriageway must be completed by 10th May 2026. MTN shall be held responsible should the road fail after construction on account of the shawdy job by the contractor.
Also, there will be no variation or VOP on the project and the RCC must note that going forward, the operation of VOP in their projects must be in accordance with procedure contained in the Conditions of Contract and not at the whims and caprices of the contractor.

Furthermore, MTN not to sacrifice their responsibility of funding the project at the altar of MTN’s business profit as this will wittingly or unwittingly inhibit speedy delivery of the project and inpune on the public perception of the will of govt to ensure logical completion of the project.

Lastly, There must be a commitment in writing between MTN and the Federal Ministry of Works that this offer is predicated on these conditions herein set out. Also, there must be a commitment because the more the job delays, the more there is variation.
Speaking at the meeting, the Minister reiterated that the Federal Ministry of Works is unwavering in its commitment towards ensuring that the contractor handling the project, while MTN handling the project under the Tax Credit Scheme is made to ensure quality and speedy delivery of the project.

He wondered why an official of MTN could go on his way to insinuate that the directive made by the Federal Ministry of Works that RCC Ltd should stop using materials that could derail the outcome of the job amounted to a sabotage of the projects of Mr. President in South East.

According to him, “We have to put the records straight that this ministry has the responsibility to ensure quality delivery of work by contractors. And the contractor in this case is MTN”.

Umahi recounted the various inspection visits he made to contractors’ project sites and how this had caused them to brace up for ensuring quality and speed in project delivery.
He said of MTN’s Enugu-Onitsha Expressway project, “We went through what MTN was doing. We discovered that they were using peeled sand to do the job. I’m an engineer. I’m not a history graduate.

“I’m a fellow of the Nigerian Society of Engineers, and I’ve spent all my life in the field. And we gave a directive, which is in line with general conditions of contract, that should stop using such sand but go back, and use river sand, which we paid for”, he added.

As contained in a statement released by his aide, the Minister emphasized the need for the contractor to play by the rule in project variation, decried unacceptable a situation where RCC could do a job of N38 billion and demand for a VOP N14 billion and said that going forward such indulgence by contractors in the name of inflation would not be tolerated.

He used the medium to call on the manufacturers of cement, which is a key element in the construction industry, especially on the use of Continuously Reinforced Concrete Pavement, to please reduce the cost of cement to N7,000 as price of dollar has drastically reduced, the cost of petrol is coming down and efforts are being made by Mr. President to fix the road.

He said, “I’m happy that the policies of Mr. President, are working. Today, dollar is about N1,400. And let me use the opportunity to express dissatisfaction with the cost of cement. Our contractors have called and complained that they wanted to move back to asphalt.
“We are using this medium to tell the cement manufacturers that at the time, the dollar was almost N2,000, increased cement from N7,500. Why should today that the President has brought dollar to stability to about N1400.

“And is still going down, why should cement be selling for N9,500? We are requesting cement manufacturers to bring down the cost of cement to N7,000. If after one week they don’t do that, I have to complain officially to Mr. President.”

In their separate remarks, the Minister of State and the Perm Sec estolled the stance of the Ministry of Works on the policies that would not only fastrack job execution but also guarantee value for money and quality project outcome.

They urged the contractor to cooperate with the new paradigm under Renewed Hope and work towards delivering the Enugu-Onisha dual – carriageway on a record time so that Mr. President could commission it for public use.

The representative of MTN in his vote of thanks expressed the readiness of MTN in working towards realizing the delivery of the project within the agreed timeline.