By Peter Okutu

ABAKALIKI—EBONYI state government yesterday stated that road contracts poorly executed in the state are often terminated because the current administration was not prepared to give any  reason for poor performance.

Engr. Fidelis Nweze, the state Commissioner for Works and Transport who disclosed this in a chat with Journalists in Abakaliki  said the state government terminated two road contracts and re-awarded them in line with its determination to deliver quality projects to the citizenry.

He said Ebonyi State government under the governorship of David Umahi does not tolerate contractors who do not keep to the contract agreement, adding,”so, we terminate, we re-award to make sure we don’t tell stories to the electorate, the people that brought us to power.”

Explaining further, Engr. Nweze said:”If a contractor is not doing well, we have no other option than to terminate the contract in line with the contract agreement.

“The contractor did not perform when we awarded to them 28.5km road from Ezzama/Isu/Onicha road. That contract was awarded in February 2016 and they were supposed to finish the project within 18 months. One year later, they were unable to do up to 3km. We had no option than to terminate the contract in line with the contract agreement and that is why we re-awarded it to another contractor. That work is about 95 per cent completion within one year.

“The same thing happened to Ntezi/Agba/Isu road. They couldn’t do anything and we terminated the contract. We have advertised the job and ready for the award which will happen within the next one month.”