The Kwara State Governor, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed has secured the commitment of the contractor handling Kishi-Kaima federal road to accelerate work on the project.
The commitment comes as Governor Ahmed approved the grading of the Kishi-Teshe component of the 64-km road.
Speaking during a meeting on Tuesday night with Kaiama Community stakeholders, officials of the State Ministry of Works and Transport, and the contractor handling the project, Rocad Construction Nigeria Limited, Governor Ahmed said the contractor will complete the ongoing surface dressing of 8 kilometres of the road from Kaiama and the grading of the remaining 26 kilometres to Teshe, starting next Friday.
Ahmed said he has also approved the release of funds to the Kwara State Road Maintenance Agency(KWARMA) to grade the road from Kishi to Teshe to reduce the inconvenience experienced by residents and users of the road.
He added that owing to the scale and cost of the project, the state government secured the agreement of the Federal Government to take over the funding of the Federal Road while the state government executes the project.
He said although N1.1b has so far been expended on the project, including a N614m refund from the federal government, the level of work done by the contractor was not commensurate with the funds released.
Ahmed lamented the hardship faced by commuters on the road, warning that the state government will not hesitate to review the contract if the contractor fails to meet agreed timelines on the project.
Speaking earlier, the General Manager of Rocad Construction, Dele Akintayo explained that the bulk of the funds so far released for the project went into logistics and road preparation.
He, however, pledged that work on the road resume next Friday to ensure that the company meets the agreed project timelines. Akintayo commended the people of Kaiama for cooperating with the company since the project commenced.
The Kaiama stakeholders at the meeting included the Commissioner for Tourism and Social Development, Dr. Aminat Ahmed, Mallam Ahmed Ibn-Mohammed, member representing Kaiama/Kenmaji/Wajibe constituency in the Kwara State House of Assembly, Chairman of Kaiama Local Government, Alhaji Abdullahi Bata and PDP state Youth Leader, Prince Haliru Dansofo.
