An emergency road reconstruction project on Umundara-Ahuwa-Oboro Road in the Ikuwano Local Government Area (LGA) of Abia State has turned to mud and dirt within four months.
@Alagbawaorachie, an X user, shared pictures showing the road was already dilapidated by erosion on Friday. It was a tarred road in April.
The road project, which was carried out by the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), was executed by Macom Engineering and Construction Company, based in Rivers State.
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FIJ gathered from the NDDC’s project management information system (PMIS) portal that the reconstruction project for Umundara-Ahuwa-Oboro Road Lot 1 and 2 was awarded on September 11 and 15, 2021. The project’s status is ‘CC’, which means ‘Construction Completed’.
The projects are marked as completed on the NDDS PMIS portal.
The pictures @Alagbawaorachie shared showed roads split into two and washed by erosion. These pictures were taken on the same road in April and July.
The first two pictures show the same location with the tarred road.
Photo credit: @Alagbawaorachie.
Photo credit: @Alagbawaorachie.
The next images were taken at the same location on July 25 and 30. Most of the tar was gone and all that was left was mud, water and dirt.
Photo credit: @Alagbawaorachie.
Photo credit: @Alagbawaorachie.
Photo credit: @Alagbawaorachie.
FIJ found another entry for Umundara-Ahuwa-Oboro Road in Ikwuano on the NDDC portal where it was marked as ”Not Started’. This entry had the project number (NDDC/PU/UIDW/21/09/075/1), which was marked completed in a separate place on the portal.
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FIJ could not find the cost implication for the project either in budget documents or government expenditure documents.
FIJ understands that this may be due to the emergency nature of the contract award and execution. But when FIJ called the number found on the NDDC’s website for information on the contract on Friday, the phone number was not connecting. FIJ left a text message with the agency.
FIJ reported on August 9, how a road constructed with N51.99 billion in 2021 broke into two after a heavy downpour. At the inauguration, Suleiman Adamu, the former minister of water resources, claimed it was built to last a lifespan.
The post Abia Road Funded by NDDC Moves From Tar to Mud Within 4 Months appeared first on Foundation For Investigative Journalism.