The Auditor General of the Federation (AuGF) Adolphus Aghughu has asked the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing to recover N1.173 billion from contractors handling some non-performing road contracts in three Southsouth states.

The roads are: 15-kilometre interstate road from Aiyegunle, Akoko Edo Local Government Area of Edo State; rehabilitation of access road to Federal Government College, Ibillo-Ikpessa-Odo-Emory Isuwa road; and rehabilitation of Ifon-Uzebba-Iruekpen road.

They also include the rehabilitation of Agbor-Sakpoba-Ogharafe road with spur to Ewuru (four kilometres); Agbor-Sakpoba-Ogharafe road as well as the dualisation of the Ahmadu-Obokun Phase I; and rehabilitation of Ahmadabad-Obokun-Okwuzi road in River State.

This is contained in the six audit queries from the ministry, as reflected in the 2019 report of the AuGF, signed by Aghughu and submitted to the National Assembly.

The report said the contract for the construction of a 15-kilometre interstate road from Aiyegunle, Akoko Edo Local Government Area in Edo State, to Imeri Ose Local Government Area of Ondo State, was awarded to a contractor on August 17, 2011, at the cost of N1.428 billion with an advance payment of N204 million while N74.460 million was recovered from Interim Payment Certificates.

CEOAFRICA gathered that the audit report said N663.594 million was certified and paid to the contractor for work done, while physical inspection of the project site in February 2020 revealed that the contractor demobilized from the project site in May 2014, even though the contract was supposed to have been completed on September 25, 2012, because the ministry refused to review the contract sum upward.

It said the ministry refused an upward review of the contract because it could not obtain a Certificate of No Objection leading to the contractor demobilizing and abandoning the project.