Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike, on Saturday warned that officials of the Satellite Towns Development Department (STDD) found responsible for unauthorised contract variations on the stalled 15-kilometre Pai–Gomani road project in Kwali Area Council will be sanctioned.
He declared that the level of infractions discovered was unacceptable and far beyond his ministerial approval limits.
Wike, who spoke after inspecting ongoing infrastructure projects in the city centre and area councils, said the administration was pushing ahead with reforms, including a new public–private partnership framework for operating FCT bus terminals, but stressed that accountability and due process must be upheld across all departments.
The minister said the FCTA would partner with private operators to supply buses and taxis, uniformly painted in Abuja colours, to support secure transportation and curb the “one chance” menace.
“Eventually, the government will have to partner with private individuals, but for now government has to put in their own contribution so we can start off the operation of the bus terminals with vehicles that will be painted in the Abuja colour. That again will help as we try to eliminate the one-chance syndrome. Private people are also going to be part of it, but this is our own contribution before that starts,” he said.
Wike expressed satisfaction with work on the Central Business District Bus Terminal, saying it stood out from the recently commissioned Kugbo and Mabushi terminals. “I am quite impressed with the quality of the job. If you check it, it is quite different… The contractor is bent on finishing it by the end of the year,” he said, noting that the government’s newly procured buses should arrive ahead of commissioning.
Wike’s tone, however, hardened sharply when he inspected the Pai–Gomani road project, saying he was “not too impressed” with both the pace of work and the unexplained cost variation processed without proper approvals.
The minister said the project, awarded before the A2–Pai road of equal length, which is now completed and commissioned, had suffered needless delays worsened by poor communication between the contractor and the STDD. “It appears there isn’t much communication between the STDD and the contractor,” he said.
Wike condemned what he called an “unauthorised variation”, describing the submitted amount as nearly equivalent to the project’s original cost.
“There appears to be issues of variation, and I am not too comfortable with that… those who did not do what they are supposed to do will have to be sanctioned because people believe that you can go ahead without certain approvals.
“I don’t have the power to give that kind of approval when it comes to that kind of amount of money,” he declared.
Wike said the STDD acted outside due process by failing to seek necessary approvals at higher levels.
“The Satellite Towns Development Department did not seek approval because the amount I was told is almost the same amount that the original cost was awarded and you know I don’t have such powers.
“That contract was awarded by the Federal Executive Council… you have to write to the President for variation, then go back to the Bureau of Public Procurement, and then to the Federal Executive Council for final approval. Those who carried it out without seeking approval will have to be sanctioned,” he said.
Despite the setback, Wike announced that a fresh 13-kilometre Gomani–Yangoji road contract had been awarded to Zeberced Construction Company, which handled the A2–Pai project. He expressed confidence that the firm would deliver the project in time for President Bola Tinubu’s third anniversary.
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