by Christiana Gokyo, Jos
The 13 kilometers road that was awarded during the Governor Jonah Jang administration, which was abandoned 13 years ago, is now under construction. The Dahul Rohokak to Jura Riyom, Raku Sot gel to DB Zang Junction and Sabo Barki Crudan Road are under construction.
Speaking with newsmen shortly after an inspection tour by the Commissioner for Housing and Urban Development Plateau State, Hon. Sylvanus Dangtoe, the commissioner expressed satisfaction with the ongoing work, saying, “Just like other roads, Chidungoda, Kabong, Abattoir, Namua, Gwarangdok, this is one of the roads that I think the government considered very, very critical because it’s going to transform some of these slums into a more urban town.
“I think it is a long way to also tell the general public the intention of the government to complete some of the abandoned projects by previous administration.
The Commissioner explained that, “What we asked the contractor to do, was to move back to site, while we sought out funding, and I think that has been done to assure the contractor that everything being possible, having listened to us to resume work.
“We have gone around. We’ve seen the heavy equipment working in some of the places. And just like I said earlier, this road is very, very, very important to the government of the day; because it cuts across the various communities. And very viable as it is, and nothing less is expected from us to see that, yes, our own part is fulfilled through funding and other means,” he said.
The Commissioner further disclosed that, “Now that we’ve gone back to site, now that the government is ready, it’s poised to see that communities like this benefit from the dividends of democracy, because they are part of the government, they came out to support the government during the election.
“That is why government, too, has come back to say that ‘yes,’ like I have always said, to much which is given, much is expected, particularly looking at the critical nature of the vote.”
While urging the good citizens of the State to support and pray for the government of the day, Hon. Dangtoe noted that, “The Governor marked his 60th birthday, and he asked for support, he asked for prayers. He also emphasized that he will do everything within his capability to ensure that abandoned projects are completed within his administration, by the grace of God.”
The commissioner revealed that, “The contract sum is being reviewed; this contract was awarded since 2013. So, we asked for the reassessment of the contract. As soon as we are done with the reassessment, we will go back to the government, after the reassessment, we will be able to come out with a definite priority order,” he assured.
Hon. Dangtoe explained that, “The timeline will also be determined by the funder, because, we just asked the contractor to resume work, and we will look at it, we will study the scope of the work, then we will be able to come up with the timeline.
“I think, because we have asked the ministry to come up with a work plan, I think that will guide us when,” he said.
The Commissioner further stated that, their intention, by the grace of God, these projects will be finishing within a short period of time so that, people will benefit, particularly now that the business is in the city.
“The good thing is that, most of the drainages are done; so, what is left is the aspect of not writing back, but it will not take a long way to solve the problems that are in the business, because the contractor just resumed to site after about 13 years’ out-of-site.”
Also speaking with the contractor, Podar Johnson, the Managing Director of Eropon Nigeria Limited, said “The Company got the job sometime back in 2013 during the administration of Baba Jang, and we commenced work and the work is a transformation of rural areas or slums to an urban area.
“So, as we have gone around, you will have seen exactly what we have done in those areas which were initially neglected, abandoned and forgotten, but with the present government which promised that the time is now has made it. I mean, his Excellency Barr. Caleb Mutfwang, which he promised that he was going to work for the people,” he explained.
He stressed that, “The Governor, Mutfwang, has kept his promise, and you can see the Commissioner has come around. He has gone round all the roads and you have seen what we have done. All of you have seen.”
The contractor lamented that, “This road that was given to us at the very minimum rate because, you know, the construction rate as of then was just a bag of cement daily, at N900, and now that we are buying it at about N9,500 per bag of cement.
“It was when the government asked that we should go back to the road sites, we just immediately assisted the state and went back to see that we do what is expected of us.
“Right now, we have already finished almost all the things that is needed: we are laying literite and, very soon, we will put the surface dressing, and once we did the surface dressing, as the rain approaches, it will not even affect the road again because when we did the filling initially and when it has been abandoned the road has to go back to what you can see now that the road has been washed by rain 13 years ago.
“We appreciate the government for keeping this promise and coming to the aid of the people and then trying to keep to all that is happening,” he stated.
He also seized the opportunity to congratulate the governor for celebrating his 60th birthday, saying, “The diamond age amount of his weights; and we are trying to see that he fulfills all the campaigns promises for the people around the environment.”
While assuring that, as contractors, they will try not to fail, and they will keep to the specification and the design, saying, they will try to finish before the rain comes back “because leaving it for rain to wash it again, is taking back and it’s extra cost.”