By Jabiru Hassan
The Federal Government has reviewed the delivery strategy for the Lokoja–Shintaku–Dekina–Anyigba road and the Okene–Ajaokuta–Itobe dual carriageway projects in Kogi State, warning contractors over delays and considering mutual termination of uncompleted sections.
Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, disclosed this after a meeting with the contractors, CCECC Nigeria Ltd and TEC Engineering Company Nigeria Ltd, at the ministry’s headquarters in Abuja. He said the projects, awarded in 2022 and expected to be completed in 2024, had recorded poor performance despite substantial financial commitments.
Umahi expressed concern that CCECC, handling the 52.27km Okene–Ajaokuta–Itobe carriageway, had achieved only 1.97 percent completion despite receiving an advance payment of ₦2.5 billion. He directed the Director of Highways, North Central, to issue a warning letter to the firm, giving it 30 days to resume work and deliver results commensurate with the funds already received. He added that the unexecuted portion of the contract would be terminated to allow for re-procurement and enhanced execution.
Similarly, the minister noted that TEC Engineering Company Nigeria Ltd, handling the Lokoja–Shintaku–Dekina–Anyigba road with a spur to Ugbabo, had achieved just 1.04 percent progress after receiving ₦1 billion. He ordered the contractor to complete 3km of asphalt by December 2025, after which the project would be closed on a mutual basis, with payments reconciled according to milestones.
He stressed that while earlier funds would be assessed on the old rate, disbursements under the 2025 budget would be based on new rates. Umahi also directed the mutual termination of consultancy services on both projects, pending new procurement.
Present at the meeting were senior ministry officials, including Engr. I. D. Daikwo, Director of Highways, North Central; Engr. I. U. Usman, Deputy Director, Highways, North Central; Mr. Mohammed A. Ahmed, Director of Press and Public Relations; and Engr. Gana Musa Patiko, Federal Controller of Works, Kogi State.
Also in attendance were representatives of the contractors, Mr. Shaun, Marketing Manager of TEC Engineering, and Mr. Zhou, Senior Executive Director of CCECC Nigeria Ltd, as well as project consultants and the Kogi State Commissioner for Works, Hon. Muhammed A. Yusuf, who represented the state government.
