The Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC has worked out strategies to
expose and punish contractors who default in the execution of its
projects.
The new measures were outlined by the Commission’s Managing Director, Mrs.
Ibim Semenitari, at a meeting with the Imo State governor, Owelle Rochas
Okorocha, at his residence in Owerri on Saturday.
Briefing the governor on her findings after a two-day inspection of
projects in Imo State, Mrs. Semenitari said that the NDDC would upload the
list of all its projects on its website to show clearly who is doing what
and where.
She said: “I have directed that we immediately upload to the NDDC website
the list of projects that we have. We will state the status as it is in
our books, so that communities can tell us if that status report is
correct. We will also state the name of the contractor. So, we will like
to advise our contractors in all the nine states covered by the NDDC to
know that the searchlight is going to beam on them from all quarters, not
just from the commission. The commission will be there, the state
governors will be there and the communities will be there and the people
of Nigeria will be there.”
The NDDC boss said that the commission’s Project Monitoring and
Supervision directorate would carry out an audit of the projects executed
in Imo State, assuring the governor that anyone found to be involved in
short-changing the people of the state, whether contractor or NDDC staff
would not go free.
She lamented that the contractor handling the N6 billion Isinweke Road,
connecting Imo and Abia States, abandoned the site without any
explanation. “We cannot claim to be an interventionist agency and not
insist that corruption is wiped out. Mr. President has directed that we
should do the right thing.”
Mrs. Semenitari also solicited the assistance of the governor to call the
defaulting contractors to order. “We will like you to work with us because
some of these contractors are your sons so we would like you to help us to
rein them in. we need to get them to understand that we are in a new era,
a new wind of change. They should be made to understand that they can no
longer be allowed to take the money of our people and not deliver on
projects,” she said.
“One of the things that I will ask you to discuss when you meet with your
brother governors, especially as the leader of the All Progressive
Congress Governors Forum, and as Owelle Ndigbo, is to tell them that
whenever we are able to show that a contractor is not performing, on any
job, then whether at the state level, federal or local government level,
such a contractor should be blacklisted from doing business or any other
work in any other part of this country. That is the only way we can
sanitize the system. Contractors that default on contracts should not be
allowed to continue to get jobs.”
Mrs. Semenitari said she was disturbed the practice of some contractors
who put up sign boards, claiming to be working for NDDC. She explained
that before people embark on NDDC projects, the site must be properly
handed over to them. “Contractors cannot just mobilize to site once they
have bided for jobs, there is a process and when they put up the sign
posts and don’t do any work, the commission continues to get a bad image”
she said.
In his remarks, Owelle Rochas Okorocha said that the NDDC was at a new
beginning and, therefore, needed time to clean up the system. He said,
however, that he expected the new chief executive officer to get the
contractors to live up to expectations, especially those working on
projects in Imo State.
According to the governor, “it is obvious that NDDC has paid so much money
to contractors who have not performed. That is the bottom line. That is an
urgent matter that must be addressed first. We are not talking about new
projects now. If all the old projects are executed in line with the
contract terms, I am sure Imo State will benefit from NDDC.
He said further: “While I commend you, I think that you have a lot of work
to do. We need to sanitize the NDDC and get old jobs done. We are not
saying you should arrest; we are only saying that they should get back to
site to do the jobs for which money has been paid.”