The Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, has disclosed that the ministry under his watch will not pay Variation of Price (VoP) on any new road projects, describing it as fraudulent.
He believed that many contractors use Variation of Price (VoP) to delay project completion in the country. He further stated that any contractor unable to meet the Federal Government’s project requirements should not continue working on the project.
Umahi said this in Calabar on Sunday, 30th June, during a stakeholders meeting on the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road.
He disclosed that Directors in the ministry have been directed to relocate to sites and send daily reports of project execution as part of a number of policies to ensure the proper supervision of government projects across the country.
“We will no longer pay variation of price on projects because it’s a fraud. Contractors rely on this to put a serious hand brake on the progress of our projects, we have discovered the fraud and will not allow it.
“Before the end of July, we would have an indigenous contractors conference, where we will encourage the likes of Sematech and Hitech who are doing good jobs in different portions of the country.
“Some of the expatriates flow with political events and do nothing on site and if you talk, they are ready to bribe everyone available so they won’t do the work.
“If you cannot do a project based on our terms, leave the project and if you collect money from government and don’t do the work, you will go to prison, he said.
The minister of works advised residents and communities along the project routes not to build on the designated paths to avoid hindering the project, noting that there are no plans to offer compensation, as the funds are solely allocated for the project’s construction.
He urged the Cross River government to support the Ministry of Works and criticized those who build on road shoulders in hopes of receiving compensation.
Tribune Online reports that the three Renewed Hope Legacy Road Infrastructure projects when completed shall have historic national interconnectivity that will crisscross the major transportation routes of the Northern and Southern States of Nigeria.
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