Mr. Fashola had been invited by the committee to, among other concerns, clarify statements credited to him alleging that the lawmakers had worrisome knowledge of the budget process.
“We were asked to complete those abandoned projects; the budget of Lagos-Ibadan Expressway was reduced by the National Assembly from N31 billion to N10 billion. We are owing the contractors about N15 billion and they have written to us that they are going to shut down,” Mr. Fashola had said.
But details contained in some of the documents presented by the minister, Friday, showed that the two construction companies handling the rehabilitation of the road had indeed threatened to suspend works on the road.
According to a letter signed by the division manager of Julius Berger, W Loesser, which was received by the ministry of power, works and housing on June 5, the company expressed concerns over the state of funding of the road project.
“Honourable Minister, it has become evident that the required adequate funding for the continuation of the project is not available,” the letter read in part.
“We trust you will understand that therefore and as a consequence of the unacceptable financial risk to Julius Berger Nig. PLC we are left with no choice than to immediately commence suspension of the works on the project, as earlier notified.”
Similarly, Reynolds construction said it was worried about the worsening financial situation of the road project.
“At the moment, the outstanding debts for approved certificates for certified works stands at N7, 829, 277, 294,” the company said in a letter dated June 2.
0 comments:
Post a Comment