Sokoto State Governor, Ahmed Aliyu, has warned that the contract for the rehabilitation of the Romo (Margai) Bridge and the construction of two six-cell box culverts with retaining walls will be revoked if the contractor fails to return to site immediately.
The Governor issued the warning while inspecting the level of work at the project site.
While commending the quality of work executed so far, Governor Aliyu directed the contractor to resume work without further delay or risk the revocation of the contract.
“We have already paid the contractor 30 per cent mobilisation, so there is no justification for abandoning the project,” the Governor stated.
“This administration will not take lightly any contractor who executes projects contrary to the terms of the contractual agreement,” he added.
Governor Aliyu assured the people of Kebbe Local Government Area that his administration would ensure that all projects awarded in the area are executed strictly in line with contractual specifications.
He further reiterated his administration’s resolve to encourage indigenous contractors by awarding them contracts, while emphasizing that labourers engaged on such projects must be drawn from the benefiting communities.
Earlier, the Deputy Governor of Sokoto State, Idris Muhammed Gobir, who supervises the Ministry of Works, informed the Governor that the contract was awarded in August 2024 at a cost of over N 2.9 billion with a completion period of six months.
He added that 50 per cent mobilisation had already been paid to the contractor.
“In spite of this, Your Excellency, the contractor has only completed about 50 per cent of the work and has since abandoned the project,” he lamented.
The Deputy Governor also disclosed that the State Government has awarded contracts for the reconstruction of Bridge Two and its approaches along the Tambuwal–Kebbe Road, as well as the rehabilitation and asphalt overlay of the Margai–Kebbe Town Road, including stone pitching and surface dressing, among other projects.
Gobir commended Governor Ahmed Aliyu for awarding similar infrastructure projects across the 23 Local Government Areas of the state.
The Governor was accompanied on the inspection by the Speaker of the Sokoto State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Tukur Bala Bodinga; the Deputy Speaker, Rt. Hon. Kabir Ibrahim Kware; members of the House of Assembly, commissioners, special advisers, senior special assistants, and other top government functionaries.
