The construction giant, Julius Berger Nigeria, has been issued a seven-day ultimatum by Works Minister Dave Umahi to recommence work on the 39-kilometer Bonny-Bodo Road or face contract termination.
Umahi’s ultimatum comes after the company failed to comply with previous directives.
Umahi’s Special Adviser on Media, Uchenna Orji, stated that Julius Berger was initially instructed to return to the site in September and was reminded again during a meeting with the minister on April 24.
Orji further explained in a statement that Umahi informed the company that its request for variation in the 82 percent completed project was not acceptable to the government. The government, as per Orji, proposed N20 billion out of the N28 billion requested by Julius Berger to finalize the project by the end of this year.
He quoted Umahi as saying: “Mr President said the ministry must complete the road this year by all means.
“It is a marching order by the President that supersedes the position of Berger
“Berger in their writing told us that they cannot complete this project this year.
“Secondly, this ministry will not be dictated to by any contractor. I recall that we have been having a troubling marriage with Berger since September 2023 and we have been virtually negotiating a lot of projects being done by Berger.
“We are having problems with Berger on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway; we are having problems with Berger in accepting our position on the Second Niger Bridge; same with the completion of the Abuja-Kano Highway.
“A reputable company must put the interest of the country and the people first. It is very wrong for a reputable company to insist on having its way.”
The Bonny-Bodo Road is the first to link Bonny Island with the rest of Rivers State.