Gov. Mohammmed vows to sanction erring contractors

Gov. Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State, on Saturday, threatened to sanction erring contractors handling various development projects in the state.

Mohammmed gave the warning during an inspection tour of the ongoing projects in Zaki Local Government Area of the state.

He said it was unacceptable for contractors who had received full payments to use an excuse not to deliver their projects on time or compromise set standard.

“Any contractor who failed to comply with the contractual agreement will henceforth be sanctioned,” he warned.

The governor thence revoked a N75 million contract awarded for the renovation of Zaki District Head’s Palace, which was burnt to ashes.

He expressed disappointment with the inability of the contractor to finish the job as stipulated despite 100 per cent payment.

According to him, “we started this monitoring in Bauchi Local Government Area and I am happy in almost all the places we have visited so far.

“I am satisfied with the work of the contractors, but I’m not happy when I visit this palace.

“The contractor has failed us, although we have paid him 100 per cent, he came back and complained, we added additional money to him, but unfortunately he couldn’t finish his assignment.

“For this reason, I want to tell you that we have revoked this contract and we shall get a more serious contractor to finish this project in no distant future,“ Mohammed said.

According to him, the review has become necessary because the contractor refused to fulfill the contractual agreement.

He noted that the essence of the inspection was to put an eye on work progress and ensure that contractors did not short-change the state government.

“I’m not here to joke. I’m elected to work for the people of Bauchi State, therefore we will not tolerate instances where contractors will collect money and abandon the projects halfway,“ he said.

It was reported that the projects inspected include 250 housing units in Misau; Jalam, Dambam and Misau roads, Udubo to Gamawa road as well as the Zaki palace.