Again Concerned Residents of Ganaja Junction to Ganaja road have expressed worries over the delay in the ongoing Construction of the 7km Ganaja Junction to Ganaja Village road, described the Contractors as incompetent, and showing lacadesical attitude because of the non challant supervision of the Supervising Ministry.
Recalled that the road works began last year, but residents have expressed dismay with the slow pace of works insisting that the contractors are deceptive and showing the highest level of incompetence to have ever secured the contract in the first place.
According to some respondents, the delay and poor quality of work done so far, with the contractors employing manual process in highly Technical work has led to frequent losses of lives along the road while the quality of work from all indication cannot stand the test of time.
For instance, Mathew Jakolo living in 500 Unit said the seeming incompetence of the contractors handling the rehabilitation of the Lokoja — Ganaja road, calls for serious question.
He lamented that it is in the first place on heard of for a 7km road to be shared amongst four contractors, yet no work done in quantity and quality, fingered the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing in ensuring quality and standard.
Few weeks ago resident of the communities on the route had threatened to embark on a mass protest to demand revocation of the 7 kilometers road contract awarded to about four different contractors.
They had to sheath there sword owing to appeal by the Controller of Works and Housing, who promised an improvement but to no avail.
The Nigerianpost gathered that on receipt of the threat letter from the Ganaja community, a suburb of Lokoja metropolis, the Federal Controller of Works in Kogi, Engr Jimoh Kajogbola, hurriedly convened a meeting of stakeholders where he urged communities across the Community to resist the temptation of embarking on protest over poor execution of road projects.
Kajogbola who advised them to better cooperate and support contractors handling various road construction and rehabilitation projects in their areas, also cautioned the communities to embrace dialogue in addressing issues of anomalies and infringements in the execution of the projects.
But worried by the fact that no gains has been recorded following the appeal, the residents again have called for the revocation, insisting that even if allowed for several years to come, the Contractors are grossly incompetent, particularly that no pressure is coming from the Superving Ministry.
The last stakeholders meeting it would be recalled was attended by the Federal Roads Safety Corps (FRSC), the Nigeria Police, media professionals and representatives of the contractors, representatives of the Ganaja community in Ajaokuta Local Government Area in attendance.
At the meeting, the Controller had tasked the communities to cooperate with the contractors to enable them deliver quality jobs, in line with the contract terms within the specified time, but with the slow pace of work and the health hazard facing the resident along the corridor, they seem to have lost hope and patience and Plan to protest in the coming days.
A representative of the Ganaja community, at the last meeting Mr Abdulrahim Okekenu had appealed to the contractors to be wetting the road while work was in progress, to avoid too much dust, stressing that the dust constituted health hazard, to members of the Community this appeal so far has not been implemented by the Contracting firms.
The spokesman of the contractors Mr Ben Ikyo who was at the meeting, had pledged to abide by the resolutions of the meeting, saying that efforts would be made to ensure timely completion of the rehabilitation works but the promise seems to be a failed promise.
The grouse of the residents communities along the Ganaja Junction to Ganaja Village road corridor borders on alleged loss of lives, following road accidents caused by unrestrained diversions, excessive dust, blockage of routes without signs, slow pace of work and untold hardship being caused by the contractors.