By Afusat Agunbiade-Oladipo
The kwara State Government said that substandard materials were used for the construction of the damaged Geri-Alimi underpass bridge constructed three years ago by the administration of the immediate past governor, Abdulfatah Ahmed.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that Geri-Alimi Diamond Underpass which was commissioned in May 2019 by ex-Gov. Ahmed became an eyesore as a portion of the underpass has failed.The Kwara Commissioner for Works, Mr Rotimi Iliasu, disclosed this while inspecting the failed portion of under pass bridge on Tuesday in Ilorin.According to him, “if the work was done properly it would take like 10 to 12 years before any attempt of maintenance.He said that the stone base of 2cm was used in the construction of bridge instead of 10cm.He explained that the water table of the bridge is high and was not filled with rock very well which can also course the damage.He added that most of the ongoing road contracts inherited from the last administration were awarded at bogus amount of money, saying that it is not easy to terminate the contract except through the court.
He said further that the project was initially awarded at N2.4 billion and later revised upward to N3.7 billion two month when the last administration was leaving office.“We are renegotiating most of the road contracts we inherited from the last administration.“It is not easy to terminate the contract because we have to go through court processes and it will be delayed,” Commissioner said.
He said that section 1 of the Geri-Alimi bridge was not certified by the Kwara State Ministry of Works because of the poor job done by the last administration.The Commissioner said that the materials used are substandard, adding that asphaltic equipment is not adequate which made some parts of the road to spoil easily.He assured motorists that the road would be fixed very soon, saying that the spoiled portion would be cut out and rebuilt from the base. (NAN)
