Katsina State governor, Aminu Bello Masari, has disclosed that he inherited liabilities of over N7billion owed contractors handling road projects in the state.
Speaking at the weekend, when he inspected the on-going work on the 32km Sheme-Kadisau-Dandume road, Masari said his administration met “over N7billion of certificates waiting to be paid”.
Continuing, Masari said “these certificates have been signed by respective ministries and agencies and are now in the Ministry of Finance awaiting payments”.
He regretted that roads constructed in the state hardly last two years with instances of complete washouts recorded in some places, assuring that his administration would not jeopardise quality as it is determined to ensure judicious use of the meagre resources accruing to the state.
The governor said the inspection was to enable him ascertain the real state of work on the road, stressing that “we are here to see the work this contractor is doing so as to ensure the work is being carried out in line with specifications”.
He noted that contracts for some of the on-going road projects were hurriedly awarded by ex-Governor Shema after the PDP lost the general election “in a funny way so as to leave behind huge bills for the incoming government”.
He assured that the state government would be guided by the contractual agreements between it and the firms handling the road projects and “will give them the basic minimum requirements in terms of what we can give them to make sure that they complete the work”.
Masari said he was impressed by the work on the Sheme-Kadisau-Dandume road being handled by one of the expatriate road construction giants even as he pledged to direct government officials for proper inspection and assessment.