Akwa Ibom threatens to revoke road contract over slow pace of work

Piqued by the slow pace of work and insufficient manpower on the 15.1-kilometre Odio road in Eket Council, the Akwa Ibom State government has threatened to revoke the contract if the firm handling it fails to comply with the terms.

Commissioner for Works, Ephraim Inyang-Eyen, gave the warning during the inspection tour of ongoing road projects in the state.

Inyang-Eyen, who advised contractors to live above board, noted that no contractor would be allowed to derail the projects of the Udom Emmanuel administration, which was determined to speed up the completion of all road projects to ease the hardship being faced by residents.

The commissioner urged VKS, the contractor handling the job, to boost its input to deliver the job on schedule.

His words, “We want the contractors to show competence, move more equipment and personnel to site. Failure to comply, government will revoke the contract.”

He, however, appealed to residents and motorists plying the road to exercise patience, assuring that government was doing all within its capacity to ensure that all projects were completed before the end of Emmanuel’s administration.

Youths of the area, who came out to welcome the inspection team, pledged to continue protecting the company’s equipment.

Meanwhile, Governor Emmanuel is planning to introduce entrepreneurship education in schools in the state.

He described education as investment and not an expense; hence products of the school system must be beneficial to themselves and the society at large.

He made this assertion during the first Akwa Ibom State Education Summit and Exhibition at Mboho Mkparawa Ibibio Hall in Uyo, the state capital.

Themed ‘Human Capacity Development for Sustainable Transformation of Persons and Society’, the governor emphasised the need to incorporate entrepreneurial courses in the state’s school curriculum.

He said the summit was organised to address a particular infrastructure, which he identified as “soft”, noting that such had to do with human capacity.

Emmanuel stressed that the summit was not one of those political gatherings, adding that his administration was determined and committed to change the narrative by ensuring that, from the basic to tertiary educational institutions, the curriculum must be changed to reflect entrepreneurial courses.

The governor expressed surprise that Akwa Ibom, a state running free and compulsory education, could be classified among the states with the highest number of school drop-outs.

Credit: Guardian