FG budgeted billions of naira for these FCT roads yet residents still experiencing hardship

On March 23, 2011, workers of the Kakatar Ce (Nigeria) Limited arrived the Karshi area of the federal capital territory (FCT) with bulldozers and trucks to the delight of residents who thanked God for a prayer answered.

The engineers had commenced the construction of the 14 kilometres Karshi-Apo road which, when completed, will grant the residents around 30-minute access to the main part of FCT, unlike the nearly two hours they spend coming in from Nyanya through Karu axis.

Six years down the line, not much has changed. The residents still ply the Jikwoyi-Karu-Nyanya ‘dark tunnel’ while coming into town. The Karshi-Apo and Karshi-Ara road projects were t to serve as alternative routes. They were meant for people residing in areas like Kurudu, Orozo, Gidan Mangoro, Gidan Daya, Wasa, Kyami, Takushara, and Karshi.

When TheCable visited the area, there were no engineers or workers in sight. The trucks and tractors belonging to the contractors were also not seen, giving the impression that the road might have been abandoned.

While some of the residents declined to comment on the road because “journalists keep coming here and we keep saying the same thing – as you can see with your eyes nothing is happening on the road”, those who spoke regretted that their hope concerning the road has since been deflated.

In February 2016, Mohammed Bello, minister of FCT, visited the area and listed inadequate funding, poor engineering design and compensation claims as reasons for the delay.

Victoria Imande, director of the Satellite Towns Development Agency (STDA) in the FCT, had told Daily Trust that the delay in the construction was because the contractor ran into problems with the Economic and Financial Crimes (EFCC), which led to his bank account getting blocked.

She said eight to nine kilometers of the Apo-Karshi road had been completed to asphalt level.

“So the contractor kept waiting for the account to be unblocked, and up till now, we haven’t heard from him. But efforts are on, as it is one of the reasons the FCT minister visited the site and traveled the entire stretch of the road to see for himself those obstacles. We are going to quickly resolve the issues,” she had said in April.

CONSTRUCTION OF SOUTHERN PARKWAY FROM CHRISTIAN CENTRE (S8/S9) TO RING 1 (RR1), PHASE 1 & 11, ABUJA

Contract approval for the construction of phase one of this road project – better known as NTA road — was awarded on December 1, 2010, at the sum of N5.33bn while the approval for its phase 2 was given on September 5, 2012, at the sum of N10.9bn.

Both phases were awarded to Setraco (Nigeria) Limited, an indigenous construction company.

Unlike the case of Karshi road, the contractors were on duty when TheCable visited the area.

While one of the lead engineers declined to comment on the project, a worker who spoke said funds for the project suddenly stopped coming.

“But as you can see, work has resumed, it doesn’t look like there is anything that will delay the work any further,” he said.

A trader selling fruits opposite the Christian centre said completion of the road will open up the place for business.

“I can’t remember when they started building it but I think it is long overdue,” she said, declining to give her name.

“Nobody knows what is delaying it, maybe the government has not given them money, but I think it is important they complete the road.”

Apart from opening up the area “for business” like the trader said, completion of the road will also open up the area for easy access, especially considering the fact that the road is just a stone throw from the headquarter of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

REHABILITATION OF KUJE-GWAGWALADA ROAD

Awarded in 2010, this particular road project has been handled by three construction companies – Trans Engineering Construction Company, Craine Builders Engineering Limited and Road Men Nigeria Limited.

During the time of Bala Mohammed, the immediate past FCT minister, 10 out of the 16km was awarded at a cost of N880 million but not much came out of the contract.

Just like the Karshi-Apo road, the project is also under the supervision of the Satellite Towns Development Agency (STDA).

Residents in the area told TheCable that Gwagwalada to Kuje would ordinarily not take more than fifteen minutes but with the state of the road, “sometimes you end up spending more than one hour – if you are lucky and your car did not break down”.

Enroute Dafara from Kuje junction, it was discovered that quite a chunk of the road is also being ‘constructed’ by erosion.

Dafara residents said they have had to mobilise to do some works on the road, usually in the form of sand-filling and grading, the latest of such work being towards the end of last year.

A check on the website of STDA showed that while the rehabilitation of the Kuje-Gwagwalada road is listed under “new projects”, the Karshi-Apo or Karshi-Ara road was not listed.

FCT OFFICIALS SPEAK

When TheCable visited the engineering department of the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA), efforts to get comments on the roads proved abortive. An official eventually said inquiries should be put in writing.

When TheCable returned with a letter the next day, another official at the director’s office said two separate letters ought to have been written – one to the engineering department and the other to the STDA after which “your letter will now be received and when it gets to the director, you will be contacted and told of a possible date of appointment”.

As of the time this report was filed, the newspaper had not been contacted.