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Engineer Umahi disclosed this when he appeared before the Ad-hoc Committee set up to monitor the construction of the multi-billion naira contract, chaired by Hon. Aminu Jaji.
The Federal Government recently terminated the road construction contract awarded to Julius Berger, claiming that the contractor had engaged in unethical behavior and had not adhered to the project’s terms.
The Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano road project, which was evaluated at N740 billion, was the subject of a termination letter from the Federal Government due to disagreements over project implementation and costs.
The termination letter, signed by the Director of Legal Services, Federal Ministry of Works, C.O Assam, said the decision was in accordance with Clause 63 Standard Condition of Contract (Road Works) Volume 1, 1999 Edition, with effect from the date of service of the letter.
The letter addressed to the Managing Director of Julius Berger and dated November 21, said the contract was canceled due to the contractor’s alleged uncooperative behavior and repeated delays.
The Minister, who explained that the contract was re-awarded for a concrete road, expressed displeasure that the project, which has lasted about seven years, was uncompleted and shoddy.
He said by their estimation the decision would save the Federal Government over N640 billion from the N1.5 trillion demanded by Julius Berger due to variation.
He also said the road would be of better quality and would be done in record time.
He said, “By the engagement of my approach, I saved the nation N640 billion from Julius Berger. If we had accepted to do the job for N1.5 trillion, then they would have.
“Now we are not; we are saving the country over N640 billion. And we are improving on the architecture of the road.”
He said the Federal Government has the power to terminate the contract, as the problem with Julius Berger was not just a problem of money.
He said that the Ministry adequately engaged the contractor over how the matter could be resolved but to no avail.
“The problem of Berger is not just a problem of cost. We said in our conditions for acceptance that this project must be completed in 14 months.
“This project is a non-vary project unless the dollar goes beyond N2,000 per dollar. They refused all those conditions and they set booby traps for us,” the Minister told the lawmakers.
He was queried by the committee if it would not be more expensive to re-award the contract when Berger had already done some work and if it would not be more cost-effective to retain the same contractor even for the concrete road project.
Umahi said there was no going back on the decision as the difference between the Ministry and Berger appeared irreconcilable.
While noting that it would be unethical to just give the contract to Berger because the contract has to be thrown open for all to bid, the Minister maintained that Julius Berger could still bid for the project if it wanted.
“We terminated the job within our rights as the executive. They were fairly treated. It is within my right to determine the choice of pavement. When you compare the cost, we are in a safe haven. Leave the concrete, it is my baby. It’s cheaper to use concrete, and we are putting additional jobs of solar lights and CCTV.
“We were in negotiation with Berger for 14 months. It is within my right to terminate the job, and we followed due process. I am happy the road was terminated from Berger.
“We had cases of kidnap on the road due to the condition of the road. We begged them to fix the potholes but they refused. Sections of the road were bad but they refused to do it,” he said.
Umahi said there was no going back on the decision as the difference between the Ministry and Berger appeared irreconcilable.
While noting that it would be unethical to just give the contract to Berger because the contract has to be thrown open for all to bid, the Minister maintained that Julius Berger could still bid for the project if it wanted.
“We terminated the job within our rights as the executive. They received fair treatment. It is within my right to determine the choice of pavement. When you compare the cost, we are in a safe haven. Leave the concrete, it is my baby. It’s cheaper to use concrete, and we are putting additional jobs of solar lights and CCTV.
“We were in negotiation with Berger for 14 months. I have the right to fire the employee, and we followed the proper procedures. I am happy the road was terminated from Berger.
Because of the state of the road, there have been kidnapping cases on it. We begged them to fix the potholes but they refused. Sections of the road were bad but they refused to do it,” he said.
During the interactive meeting with the committee, the company’s management team, under the leadership of Mr. Benjamin Bott, stated that the federal government owed them money.
He said that at a point, the work stopped because the government came up with the option of concrete instead of asphalt for the construction.
Mr Bott also recalled that, at one point, the problem of insecurity kept workers away for 11 months due to a bomb blast in Kaduna, during which the company’s workers were attacked.
To this end, the Committee also directed the company to supply all documents related to the contract from when it was awarded to date.
