Delta State Commissioner for Works (Highways and Urban Roads), Comrade Reuben Izeze, has said that Governor Sheriff Oborevwori remained unequivocally committed to the cause of delivering people-oriented projects to citizens and residents of the state.
Izeze disclosed this to journalists after inspecting several projects in Warri and Ughelli on Monday.
The projects inspected included additional works and flood control measures around Warri Central Hospital Road, Edo Guest House Road in Ekpan, failed portions of the ECN Road, Okogbe Road and Edo Street in Ughelli.
At the Warri Central Hospital Road, the Commissioner directed the contractor who appeared to have tried to cut corners, to replace the 8mm rods with 10mm originally provided for in the Bill of Engineering Measurement and Evaluation, BEME.
He said the Oborevwori administration had sounded it several times that it had zero tolerance for shoddy jobs, adding that he would visit the project again unannounced to ensure full compliance.
On the Edo Guest House Road, Izeze commended the contractor for the quality of work done which had checked the annual flooding that afflicted residents of the area in the past.
Specifically on the Warri Central Hospital Road, the Commissioner said, “so far, from what we saw there today, it is clear that the contractor, in his desire to cut corners, reduced the size of the reinforcement roads from the 10mm that is in the Bill of Quantities; he decided to use 8mm.
“We were able to discover that because we went with our vernier caliper and incidentally the site engineer had already brought that to their attention and had written to them to take off those rods but some of these contractors are recalcitrant.
“Having come down personally and instructed them to take them off, they will do that and I intend to come back unannounced to ensure that they have carried out that instruction.
“The essence is to ensure that Deltans get value for their money because Governor Oborevwori had always insisted that no job should be certified if it does not meet the requirements of the Bills of Engineering Measurement and Evaluation and the Bills of Quantities.
“This is why we have continued to go round to supervise what is being done on the ground.”
On Edo Street in Ughelli, Comrade Izeze expressed appreciation to the Governor for approving the road meant to divert traffic from Otovwodo junction, describing it as one of the most important roads in the area.
“The stone base is completed; we are just waiting for them to stabilise. Thereafter, the concrete rigid pavement will start and ultimately we will return again to see that the contractors meet the required specification and standard.
“What we have seen today, especially the residents of Edo Guest House Road in Ekpan, the road was flooded at a time and the residents were agitated at that time.
“Today,the story has changed with the same residents expressing appreciation to Governor Oborevwori for addressing that challenge.
“They were excited and that is what governance is all about- satisfying the needs of the people.
“The welfare and security of the people is the whole essence of governance as provided in our Constitution and I can say it unequivocally that the Oborevwori administration is committed to ensuring that projects that are delivered are people-oriented.
“It is also our commitment to ensuring that they are delivered according to the specifications provided in the Bills and that they are delivered according to the timeline in the contractual agreement.
The Commissioner, who also inspected the failing ECN Road, commended Obakpor Engineering, the contracting firm, for quickly poroviding the palliative measures on ground.
He cautioned residents of Okogbe Road in Ughelli to observe environmental sanitation by ensure they desilt their drains and avoid throwing wastes into the newly constructed drains.
“The community had not paid attention to sanitation; government’s job is to provide infrastructure but the community has a civic and said I should tell Governor Oborevwori that his second term is guaranteed to ensure that they don’t take actions that would undermine government’s effort.
“They should not dump wastes in the drainages and when drains are silted they should do their part to desilt the drainages because it is not the responsibility of government to desilt drains that is in their neighbourhood.”
