By Pwanagba Agabus, Jos
The Federal Project Management Unit (FPMU) of Nigeria Erosion Watershed Management Project (NEWMAP), a World Bank funded project, on Tuesday expressed dissatisfaction with progress and quality of work at N1 billion Mangu gully erosion control project in Plateau State.
NEWMAP said that from their assessment, work on the site was not progressing as expected.
The FPMU inspection team led by Mr Ayuba Anda conveyed the team’s feeling when they visited the site in Mangu Local Government of the State.
“The time for the contract is to elapse by the end of March 2022 and the percentage of work done here is up to 50 per cent.
“The contractor has been told to work around the clock, that’s 24 hours to ensure that he meet the deadline.
“For him to achieve this, even if it means to employ more hands, he has to do that.
“It is allowed provided the employees meet up with the standard and the criteria laid down by the project.
“Because this is not the project that has no money, for whatever that has been awarded for, there is money on ground.
“So it’s just for the contractor to meet up the speed and the targets and it gets his money paid,” he explained.
The team leader stated that it would be bad for the state if the contract was not completed on schedule because it is a fixed contract.
According to him, the project was not a normal government contract.
“The implication is that at the end of the day, if the contractor cannot finish this job, and the contract terminates, it means the state government has to take over from where it stopped.
“The state government would have to use it resources and this is what we are avoiding,” he said.
On the quality of work, the team said that they would sit with the contractor to point out the areas that they need to improve on.
Meanwhile the Project Manager, Apex Nigeria Limited, Mr Chuks Magadi, the contractor handling project, assured the team that they would meet the deadline.
Magadi said that certain factors such as excessive rainfall, insecurity and COVID-19 lockdown slowed them down.
The project manager, however, said that with improvement in the conditions, the would step and complete the work on schedule.
The team also inspected automated weather station situated in University of Jos.
The team had earlier inspected the Munchongopyeng gully erosion site in Jos South LGA of the State.
