Goddy James, Abuja

The Federal Ministry of Works has given Messrs. Julius Berger (Nig.) Plc a 14-day Notice of Termination for the Rehabilitation of Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano Dual Carriageway in FCT, Kaduna and Kano States, Contract No.6350, Section I (Abuja-Kaduna), today, November 4, 2024, due to non-compliance with the reviewed cost, scope, and terms, stoppage of work, and refusal to remobilize to the site as instructed.

The decision was made at a Ministry management meeting after several months of back and forth without any significant advancement.

To no avail, the Ministry has been in continuous negotiations with the company for the past 13 months in an attempt to come to a mutually agreeable stance on the aforementioned alignment.

The Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano Dual Carriageway Rehabilitation Contract, which was awarded to the company on December 20, 2017, and flagged off by the then-Minister of Power, Works, and Housing, H:E., may be of interest to Nigerians.

N155.748,178,425.50 billion (one hundred and fifty-five billion, seven hundred forty-eight million, one hundred and seventy-eight thousand, four hundred and twenty-five naira Fifty Kobo) was the initial amount Babatunde Raji Fashola received on June 18, 2018.

During the final days of former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, Sections II (Kaduna–Zaria) and III (Zaria–Kano) were partially finished and turned over

Since then, there have been various additions and modifications, and at last, the current Minister of Works ordered that Section I of the contract be redesigned and resized. Two phases of the alignment were created, one of which was redesigned to use continuously reinforced concrete pavement (CRCP) and the other to use asphaltic pavement. Messrs. Dangote Industries (Nig.) Ltd. received approval for Section I, Phase 1 for 38 (thirty-eight) kilometers of concrete pavement, while the substantive contractor retained ownership of the remaining 127 (one hundred and twenty-seven) kilometers. Phase 1 had a 14-month completion period and was flagged off on October 17, 2024.

The Ministry re-scoped the project and received approval from the Federal Executive Council (FEC) due to the contract’s stalemate and, more importantly, His Excellency President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s (GCFR) desire, as expressed in the Renewed Hope Agenda infrastructure initiative, to see this admirable project through to completion and to lessen the suffering of Nigerians who travel on it.

On September 23, 2024, FEC granted the award for the Re-scoping and Downward Review of Contract for the Rehabilitation of Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano Dual Carriageway in FCT, Kaduna and Kano States, Contract No.6350, Section I (Abuja-Kaduna) to Messrs. Julius Berger (Nig.) Plc from N797,263,523,738.87 (seven hundred and ninety-seven billion, two hundred and sixty-three million, five hundred and twenty-three thousand, seven hundred and thirty-eight naira eighty-seven kobo) to N740,797,204,173.25 (seven and forty billion, seven hundred and ninety-seven million, two hundred and four thousand, one hundred and seventy-three naira twenty-five kobo).

Due to the road’s socioeconomic significance as a key route linking Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, to the north, the Ministry approved a Final Offer for the Abuja-Kaduna Dual Carriageway on October 23, 2024, and instructed the company to agree in writing to accept the reviewed contract sum of N740,797,204,173.25 (seven hundred and forty billion, seven hundred and ninety-seven million, two hundred and four thousand, one hundred and seventy-three naira twenty-five kobo) within seven (7) days or risk the contract’s termination.

The company’s decision to alter the Bills of Quantities and Engineering Measurements and Evaluation in a letter to the Ministry dated October 29, 2024, instead of accepting the offer is a sad reflection on them.

The contract was terminated on the grounds of time elapsed and non-attendance after the company was called to a meeting with the Ministry’s management today, November 4, 2024.