According to a directive from Works Minister David Umahi, MTN must pay N15 billion per month to the contractors working on the Enugu-Onitsha Motorway or risk having their contracts revoked.
A delegation from the Anambra and Enugu caucus of the 10th National Assembly paid the minister a courtesy call to request the Nigerian government’s intervention in the completion of the Enugu-Onitsha Motorway project, which was managed by RCC Ltd. and financed by MTN under the Road Infrastructure Development and Refurbishment Investment Tax Credit Scheme.
The Special Adviser (Media) to the Minister of Works, Uchenna Orji, revealed this in a statement on Thursday evening.
“Among other things, it was decided that the Federal Ministry of Works would write to MTN to demand that it make an irreversible commitment to pay project contractors at least ₦15 billion per month for the next ten months so that they can expedite the road’s completion. If this commitment is not made, the ministry will start the project’s termination process. It was also decided that MTN will require three contractors to complete the 79 km within the ₦202 billion initial contract amount.
“Additionally, other contractors will be chosen through the proper procedures to complete the remaining 72 kilometres of the road. RCC and MTN will also be encouraged to submit bids. According to the statement, the ministry expressed regret that MTN’s actions do not comply with the Tax Credit Executive Order.
“It was noted in the meeting that the project cost had increased by more than 100 per cent as a result of the delay in the job, which was caused by inadequate funding and poor contract execution. Allowing MTN to continue working on the job for more than 11 months could further push the contract to increase by more than 200 per cent, which is unacceptable to the Nigerian government,” the statement read.
The minister said that people in the South-East had every reason to have implicit faith in President Bola Tinubu’s administration’s ability and willingness to address the road infrastructure deficiencies in the region and other geopolitical zones of Nigeria.
He expressed deep sympathy for the lives lost in the unfinished sections of the highway, particularly the recent tanker explosion on the Ugwu Onyema axis of the road that killed numerous people.
He claimed that under Mr President, the South-East now holds a prominent position in Nigerian politics. Newscentral