Akeredolu sacks Mimiko’s contractor for abandoned road project

The Ondo State Executive Council has given approval to re-award the 28.5 km Aboto-Atijere road in Ilaje Local Government Area of the state to another contractor for a sum of N8bn.

The project was said to have been earlier awarded by the immediate past administration of Dr. Olusegun Mimiko for the sum N12bn on a contractor-client financing arrangement but the contract was said to have been re-awarded because the contractor handling it allegedly failed to move into the site.

Speaking with journalists on Tuesday on the outcome of the executive council meeting held on Monday, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Lands, Works and Infrastructure, Aminu Raimi, said, “Part of the issues considered at the exco meeting is a project inherited from the immediate previous administration. Before the present administration came on board, the Aboto-Atijere road was awarded for N12bn as a contractor-client financed project.

“The immediate past administration awarded the contract to Zhi Jiang Construction Limited in October 2016 but this administration reappraised and revalued the project and converted it to client-financing, which saved the state N4bn after the contract sum was brought down to N8bn.

”This government was also magnanimous enough by hitherto re-awarding the contract to Zhi Jiang Construction Limited, the same contractor that was engaged by the previous administration to continue with the job but when the government realised that the contractor refused to mobilise to site, the second bidder, LEE Fakino Nigeria Limited, was invited and went through the tender board where it got the contract.”

 Credit: Punch