Fashola: Minister for Works and Housing to Appear Before Senate Over Failure to Complete N120bn Road in Rivers

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Minister for Power, Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola has been summoned by the Nigerian Senate to explain the circumstances surrounding the failure of the Federal Government to complete the Bodo/Bonny road linking the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) in Bonny, Rivers State.

Plans to construct the road have been on for 15 years according to the senate, which directed the minister to appear before its Committee on Works.

The senate resolution followed a motion by Senator George Sekibo representing the Rivers East senatorial district and co-sponsored by Senators Osinakachukwu Ideozu (PDP Rivers West) and Magnus Abe (APC Rivers South East).

The Senate has particularly directed its committee to ask Fashola to explain the Federal Government’s inability to partner the NLNG management for the urgent completion of the road project.

The Committee has also been mandated to carry out an independent comprehensive evaluation of the Bodo/Bonny Road project and report back within four weeks.

The 35km road project was said to have been initially awarded for N20 billion in 2002 during the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo and re-awarded by the Goodluck Jonathan administration in 2014 after years of abandonment.

At its second award in 2014, the project was revalued at N120 billion out of which N20 billion was appropriated for in the 2015 budget but for which no cash was released.

“To worsen matters, the all important road project was not captured in the 2016 budget, thus making the lack of understanding of the importance of the road for national economic development obvious,” Sekibo said.

The senator however admitted that the road project was captured in the 2017 budget even though only a meagre vote of N9 billion was earmarked for it which according to him, will lead to continued abandonment of the project.

Sekibo added that the Rivers state governor, Nyesom Wike had been forced to approach the management of NLNG for collaboration with the federal government company had agreed to contribute a sum of N60 billion (50 per cent) of the contract value but, as Vanguard reports, the federal government was yet to pay its part.