By Chimezie Godfrey
The CLEEN Foundation has commended responsible EPC contractors for upholding best practices in the execution of projects across eight states of the country.
The Acting Executive Director, CLEEN Foundation, Mrs Ruth Olofin made the assertion on Friday, in Abuja, while briefing newsmen on the Implementation of the Tripartite Agreement Between the Federal Government of Nigeria, United States Government & the Balwick of Jersey on the Utilization of Forfeited Assets Monitored by the CLEEN Foundation.
Recall that the CLEEN Foundation on the 10th of February, 2021 was appointed by the Federal Government of Nigeria, the USA and the Balwick of Jersey. This appointment is based on the trilateral agreement signed among Nigeria, USA and the Balwick of Jersey as the civil society organization to provide effective monitoring of the implementation of the tripartite agreement on the sharing, transfer, disposition, repatriation, and management of certain forfeited assets.
The forfeited assets funds worth $311.8million (Three hundred and eleven million dollars) will be for the benefit of the Nigerian people for infrastructural development namely; Abuja – Kano Road, Second River Niger Bridge and the Lagos – Ibadan Expressway.
Mrs Olofin noted that the CLEEN Foundation and her Consortium partners, FTI Consulting headquartered in Washington DC, USA are required to monitor the utilization of the forfeited assets.
According to her, the scope of work are inclusive and not limited to compliance with regards to anti- corruption, anti – human trafficking, procurement practices, forensic auditing, engineering and infrastructure.
She revealed that CLEEN Foundation and her Consortium upon agreed program of works with the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority and Responsible Contractors spanning from June 2021 – March 2022 have embarked on series of on-the-spot checks and unscheduled visits to the project locations.
According to her, twenty nine (29) Nigerian citizens domiciled in the localities close to the project locations where work is being performed have been trained on the methodology to undertake the monitoring functions including the CLEEN project team.
She said these monitors have been deployed to undertake unscheduled visits to the construction locations, adding that currently about 450 unscheduled visits have been undertaken.
She further revealed that the CLEEN Consortium has embarked on two quarterly site visits to the three project locations since the commencement of this project in June 2021. The first site visit was between the 16th – 20th of August and 22nd – 25th of September, 2021 respectively, adding that the project locations being monitored cut across eight (8) states namely, Oyo, Ogun, Lagos, Delta, Anambra, FCT (Abuja), Kaduna and Kano.
She therefore expressed delight that the contractors are living up to expectations, as the quality of work observed are consistent with acceptable standards.
She said,”The Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority has the responsibility to supervise the utilization of these funds by Julius Berger Nigeria PLC and Reynolds Construction Company who were contracted by the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing.
“The forfeited assets amounting to N126 billion (One hundred and twenty six billion naira) is being spent on the three projects that cut across three zones of the country equally as follows: N42 billion naira for the Lagos-Ibadan expressway, N42 billion for the second Niger Bridge, and N42 billion for the Abuja -Kano Road.
“The CLEEN Consortium during her monitoring visitations to the project site locations since June 2021 in relation to the forfeited assets observed that work is progressing at each project location. Workers were on site, construction activities are ongoing, and each of the project offices are staffed and operational.
“The Monitoring Team was met timely and without incident by the EPC contractors who were suitably prepared and offered appropriate comprehensive updates on the nature and progress of works at each of the site locations. The quality of work observed appears to be consistent with acceptable standards.”
The CLEEN Acting Executive Director, also noted that there were simultaneous ongoing construction activities on both sides of the dual carriageway of the Abuja -Kano Road, sections of the Second River Niger Bridge, and the Lagos-Ibadan expressway.
“Examples of infrastructures built when we conducted our monitoring activities include but are not limited to the following: Median Barrier, Road Drainage, Main Carriageway, and Remedial Work (road markings, grass planting).
“This means and methods used by the EPC contractors, especially at the the Second Niger Bridge, appear to be innovative. For the Second River Niger Bridge, Julius Berger demonstrated good innovation using geotextile, given that the secondary road subgrades were weak. This construction method/value engineering has several benefits that include accelerating the construction time, increasing the road lifespan and durability, and reducing the need for frequent maintenance,” she said.
Mrs Olofin added that the cold recycling method which promotes effective cost management is another valued engineering method by Julius Berger Nigeria at the Abuja-Kano Road.
She therefore assured that while leveraging on the increased level of cooperation between the CLEEN Consortium, the EPC Contractors, Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority, and the Federal Ministry of Justice, they will be embarking on the third quarterly visitations to the project site locations between the 15th -27th November,2021.
