NIGERIA MASTERWEB DAILY NEWS

*Nigeria: Niger Delta Deserves High Quality Projects

By Ifeatu Agbu

The point has been made repeatedly that developing the Niger Delta is not a tea party. In the area of providing infrastructure, the task is daunting. This is understandably so because of the difficult and challenging deltaic terrain, characterized by criss-crossing rivers, creeks and rivulets.

Developing such an environment, therefore, requires special attention and expertise. In building roads, for instance, care must be taken to provide a solid stone-base after the muddy top-soil had been taken off to ensure that the road stands the test of time. This accounts for why roads in the Niger Delta, sometimes cost as much as thrice that of similar roads in other parts of the country.

Given its peculiar circumstances, it is paramount that contractors handling projects in the region must be made to adhere to specified standards to ensure that the infrastructure being put in place are those that can endure over time. Governments and their agencies have a duty to use reputable experts to spell out the standards that should guide all contractors handling jobs in the region.

Since Niger Delta is in dire need of rapid development, there should be no room for unqualified and indolent contractors who often deliver shoddy jobs that would collapse in no time. Setting up the process that would hold contractors accountable also means that the governments at various levels should adhere to established guidelines. This is where the Bureau for Public Procurement (BPP) Act of 2007, which institutionalized due process and transparency in contract awards and executions, comes in handy.

However, for the due process to be meaningful there is need to clip the tentacles of the octopus called corruption. The set standards have to be strictly adhered to. This is particularly so for those supervising jobs in the Niger Delta States. In fact, the governments in this region should establish a unified standard that will guarantee quality jobs delivery across the oil-rich zone. Continues below..... )

Photo Above: Map of Nigeria showing its 36 states (including Imo State) and capital (Abuja or FCT)

Today, a lot of projects embarked upon by the three tiers of government and their agencies in the region have been abandoned or are poorly executed. From all indications, the process of screening contractors to ascertain their suitability and capability to execute projects is faulty. The practice world-wide is for the government to outline the parameters for determining whether contractors have the relevant experience, manpower, equipment and monetary resources to successfully execute projects. Contractors bidding for big ticket projects must have good and verifiable track-records to be able to meet the requirements of due process.

Again, it should be made clear to all contractors at the outset that project abandonment would lead to permanent exclusion from bidding for future contracts, in addition to their refund of mobilization fees with appropriate interest. Unfortunately, we seem to have a situation where a contractor could easily abandon a project and just walk away without serious consequences.

Some of the governors in the Niger Delta region are beginning to wield the big stick against incompetent and fraudulent contractors. In Rivers State, for instance, Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi is having a rethink over his government’s policy to encourage indigenous contractors. He said that the performances of some local contractors were very disappointing.

As a result, he said the state government has changed its initial policy of “Rivers money for Rivers people, to Rivers money for competent contractors. Just show me any failed project, by the time you investigate, you will find out that it is being handled by a Rivers indigenous contractor, so we have decided to only give our jobs to qualified and competent contractors, irrespective of where they come from”.

In the neighbouring Akwa Ibom State, Governor, Godswill Akpabio appears to be toeing the same line. He made his position quite clear when he said: ‘’ I am not against giving jobs to indigenous contractors in the name of empowerment but you have to give the jobs to them depending on their technical expertise”.

He advised his fellow governors and other development agencies in the region to insist on high standards so as to provide enduring infrastructure, especially roads. ‘’Let’s set quality and standards. Let’s change the attitude of our people. We require enduring infrastructure and must sustain them.’’, Akpabio said.

It must be noted, however, that the problem of poor quality jobs goes beyond the Niger Delta, as it is a national malaise. Many highways across the country have either collapsed or are in dreadful conditions. Perhaps, more disturbing is that parts of some roads still under construction are often riddled with potholes before their completion. ( Continues below..... )

Photo Above: Map of Nigeria's Niger Delta Region showing Port Harcourt

The situation has become so pathetic that federal legislators could no longer gloss over the problem. Recently, the leadership of the House of Representatives had some harsh words for officials of the Federal Ministry of Works regarding the poor state of roads across the country. The Deputy Speaker of the House, Hon. Usman Nafada accused the officials of colluding with contractors to short-change Nigerians. He lambasted them at a public hearing on a bill for an Act to construct, build and maintain roads and erosion projects for five years before handing them over to the government.

“We need to do something on the state of our roads. I don’t want to blame the construction companies, there are people supervising them for a Certificate of no Objection to be raised. There is someone in the ministry that would have said the project was satisfactory. Fraudulent practices by officials cause roads to fail,” Nafada said. The failure of supervisory bodies to play their roles effectively, which was aptly identified by the legislators, complicates the problem of dealing with errant contractors. This notwithstanding, defaulting contractors still have to be whipped into line for appreciable progress to be made towards providing durable infrastructure. Of course, this poses a challenge for the various levels of government and the development agencies.

The Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, a critical interventionist agency, appears to have taken up the challenge. According to Mr. Chibuzor Ugwoha, the Managing Director of the commission, consultants to all its projects must uphold professionalism by ensuring that contractors were monitored every inch of the way. He warned that the commission would no longer tolerate the nonchalant attitude of some of the consultants towards projects delivery. “All projects must be executed in line with specifications. Our people need development. Everyone must partner together to accomplish this for the good of all as you [consultants] are playing a critical role in this direction,” he said.

At a meeting between the management of the commission and members of the House of Representatives Committee on NDDC, who came on projects inspection as part of the committee’s oversight functions, Ugwoha noted that it was only through regular project monitoring that contractors would be kept on their toes, adding that all projects must be executed according to design and specifications. When the NDDC boss led an inspection team on tour of projects in Imo State, recently, he threatened to revoke the contract for Izombe/Obokofia road. By his assessment, what was on ground did not suggest that the firm handling the project was capable of meeting the standard set by the commission.

He said: “In NDDC, we want to do road projects that will last up to 15 years or at least five years before the project starts having any problem. What I am seeing here does not show that the contractor is capable of meeting NDDC standard of my desire.” Ugwuoha expressed disappointment at the level of work on some of the projects inspected and stated that henceforth, all road projects awarded by the commission must be stone-based. He said that in line with its repositioning posture, NDDC had set a standard which must not be compromised and warned that any attempt to do otherwise would be punished.

Since experience has shown that many road contractors have the predilection for short-changing this country, all such contracts should have binding maintenance clauses that would guarantee that every road remains at tip-top shape for at least five years. Strict enforcement of such clauses would force all contractors, particularly the local ones, to embrace best global practices in the execution of their projects.

Mr. Ifeatu Agbu ( ifeatuagbu@yahoo.com ) writes from Port Harcourt, Nigeria.

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