The Minister of Works, Sen. Dave Umahi, on Sunday threatened to terminate the contract for the Ikorodu–Itoki Road project if the contractor failed to comply with his directives.
Umahi issued the warning during an inspection tour of the ongoing project.
GELD Construction Ltd. is the company responsible for the road works.
The minister expressed frustration over the slow pace of construction.
“I am very disappointed because they focus more on why this job cannot be done than on cooperating to achieve what is possible at this stage,” he said.
“How many years do they intend to remain on site? The game is over. The supervising engineer risks his position if the project does not move forward. His responsibility is to report any disobedience by the contractor, and if that happens, I will take action against them,” Umahi added.
He instructed that excavation work on the road be carried out at night to ensure uninterrupted traffic flow.
“The road is eight metres wide. We have directed that the first section be excavated at night, then filled with a mixture of lumps and stone base blended with cement. This will resemble concrete and allow smooth traffic movement. The project will now be completed section by section,” he explained.
“For the first section, we can mill five kilometres of the road and use the material to build the shoulders,” the minister said.
Umahi acknowledged that there are areas where constructing full shoulders is not feasible.
“We will skip some areas and focus on working eight metres wide at night, applying 60 millimetres of binder and 40 millimetres of bearing,” he added, outlining the technical plan for completing the road efficiently.
The minister emphasized that strict compliance with his directives would be necessary to avoid contract termination and ensure timely completion.