Why work on Pandagi-Rimba-Ebagi road is slow – Dutum GM

The General Manager of Dutum Company Limited, Alhaji Abdulhakeem Awolaja Olalekan, has attributed the slow pace of work on the ongoing rehabilitation of the Pandagi-Rimba-Ebagi road in Abaji Area Council to delay in mobilizing the company to site by the government. He said the contract for the road project was awarded in 2014 but  the […]

The General Manager of Dutum Company Limited, Alhaji Abdulhakeem Awolaja Olalekan, has attributed the slow pace of work on the ongoing rehabilitation of the Pandagi-Rimba-Ebagi road in Abaji Area Council to delay in mobilizing the company to site by the government.

He said the contract for the road project was awarded in 2014 but  the company stayed for two years before it was mobilised to commence the rehabilitation work on the 10.2 kilometre road.

The general manager was reacting to the report on the road published in yesterday’s Daily Trust.

“I can confidently tell you that when the Pandagi-Rimba-Ebagi road project was awarded, we waited for over two years before we were mobilised and it is on record and if you want documents we can show you,” he said.

He said it was only on paper that the road project was awarded in 2014, saying actual work on the road commenced in 2016.

He said though the present administration has been trying its best to ensure that it mobilised the company back to site so that the work would be completed on time, the terrain from Pandagi to Rimba was bad and it was difficult to move materials to the site.

Olalekan also said the ongoing work on the bridge between Rimba and Ebagi community was being carried out according to specifications as approved by the Satellite Towns Development Agency (STDA).

“You can also understand that the cost of materials as at that time and now, if the truth will be told, has gone up, which is a major headache for us. So honestly, the time the project was awarded and the time we were mobilised to site contributed to the slowness,” he added.

He said the company shares the pain the people of the affected communities were facing, saying despite the rainy season, the company was making efforts to carry out work especially on one of the bridges that link Rimba and Ebagi.