Ike Nnachi, Abakaliki
Ebonyi State Governor, Francis Nwifuru, has ordered the immediate arrest of all contractors handling the Housing Scheme at Amanze Autonomous Community for failure to complete the various projects.
The governor also expressed displeasure over slow pace of works at various project sites in the state.
He spoke at Ezillo during the inspection of the ongoing construction of he housing scheme and the Ezillo-Ezzagu road in Ishielu Local Government area of the state.
On the housing scheme, the governor expressed displeasure at the inability of the contractors to complete the 70 bungalows which are meant to resettle those displaced by the Ezza-Ezzillo crises.
He said: “The contractors involved in this delay must be arrested within three days starting from this night.
“The right things must be done because our people are waiting for us to deliver,” he said.
He observed that the site’s environment did not radiate life despite the huge funds sunk into it.
“When these contractors were looking for the jobs, they were running after us and promising to deliver.
“They are presently nowhere to be found and the same people will go to the social media to talk about the government.
“This is one of the projects we intend that President Bola Tinubu will inaugurate when he visits Ebonyi later in the year,” he said.
Governor Nwifuru lamented that Ontime Venia Nigeria Company Limited handling the road project was slow and not committed to delivering the project.
Represented by his deputy, Princess Patricia Obila, the governor noted that the road was vital as it is linked to so many communities in the state.
Nwifuru who disclosed that all his projects were fully paid, threatened to arrest and prosecute any erring contractors.
According to him: “As part of our activities lined up for the 2024 Independence Day celebration, we are on the second day of our projects inspection. We are at Ezillo- Ezzagu road.
“This road was actually terribly bad. This road is important to us. It is linked to so many communities and with that, we have a lot of commercial activities that will boost these communities if we are able to finish this road.”
“For the contractor, the job is not going the way we want it. It is very slow. We work with time and the community will arrest you if you don’t deliver.”
The Contractor and Managing Director of Ontime Venia Nigeria Company Limited, Chris Anene, noted that two kilometers have been completed out of the 23 kilometers of the road.
He explained that bad weather was responsible for the slow pace of work.
“It is actually the rain. Weather has not been friendly at all. Whenever we see clear weather, we must make sure that we work. We have been on site for three or four months now,” Anene said.
