ALMOST two years after The ICIR report, the road to Giri, a village located along the Abuja-Lokoja expressway, has received a minor facelift.
Giri is a rural community about eight kilometres from Gwagwalada, one of Abuja’s major towns.
According to residents, the road, which was deplorable for many years, is now motorable.
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The state of Giri Road before the facelift made life unbearable for the low-income residents, many of whom work in the city centre. Most were forced to relocate to other neighbouring villages.
The contract for rehabilitating the road was awarded in 2015, but it was abandoned a few months later after the contractor received an advance payment of N50 million.
An investigation by The ICIR in 2022 also revealed that the details of the road construction contract were shrouded in secrecy.
A visit to the site in 2022 showed that the road had been abandoned and contractors were not working on it. No drainage was built, and erosion had eaten part of the road.
A bridge linking the road had also collapsed during that period, making the road a nightmare for motorists.
The 1.6km road was unpassable despite the government paying an initial N50 million to the contractor in 2015.
“We are tired every time we hear they have started work on the road, but in the end, the contractors will disappear, while the road remains in a pathetic condition,” Umaru Gidado, a resident of Giri town, told The ICIR in 2022.
Many residents who spoke to The ICIR reporter during the investigation narrated the ordeals they face daily on the road.
However, confirming the present condition of the road in a chat with The ICIR on Friday, April 26, 2024, Abdulkareem Mumuni, a resident of the area, said the road had been improved, but more work needed to be done.
According to Mumuni, the collapsed bridge on the road reported by The ICIR in 2022 was reconstructed in 2023, while work on the road started in 2024.
“Yes, the road is better now. They have not completed the road yet, but it is better than before. Cars can now move on it. The damaged bridge has been repaired, and they have done the drainage,” Mumuni said.
He also appealed to the government to complete the road before the rainy season.
It was also observed that drainage is currently being constructed on the road. Before now, there was no single drainage.
According to the FCT audit report of 2019, the construction of the road was awarded to a contractor, Tinamat Biz Construction Ltd, for the sum of N157 million in 2015.
However, a visit to the contractor’s office in Wuse to find out why the road construction had not taken off despite payment of an initial N50 million showed that no company of such exists at the address listed on the CAC site.
A reporter with the ICIR
A Journalist with a niche for quality and a promoter of good governance