Paddy–Arikawe road: Ogun orders contractor to stop work, warns against substandard jobs

The Ogun State Government has reaffirmed its resolve not to compromise standards in road construction, warning contractors handling state projects to strictly adhere to approved specifications or risk losing their contracts.

The warning followed a stop-work order issued by the Ogun State Ministry of Works and Infrastructure to Slavabogu Nigeria Limited, the contractor handling the reconstruction of the 3.39-kilometre Paddy–Arikawe Road in the G.R.A. area of Sagamu.

The stop-work directive, issued on Monday, December 15, was conveyed to the Managing Director of the company after the ministry received a report from the project’s resident engineer indicating serious deviations from contractual specifications.

In a statement on Wednesday, signed by the Special Adviser to Governor Dapo Abiodun on Media and Strategy, Hon. Kayode Akinmade, the government disclosed that the contractor had commenced drainage works using singly reinforced steel instead of the doubly reinforced steel stipulated in the contract documents.

According to the statement, the contractor was immediately ordered to halt work, demolish all existing concrete bases, remove the reinforcement steel already installed, and reconstruct the drainage using doubly reinforced steel with Grade 30 concrete, as approved.

“The Dapo Abiodun administration is fully committed to the delivery of quality roads that will stand the test of time,” Akinmade said.

He explained that the letter addressed to the contractor by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Works and Infrastructure was issued on safety grounds.

“The ministry observed significant concerns regarding non-compliance with the reinforcement detailing for the drainage construction works, which do not conform to the specifications detailed in the contract documents,” he stated.

The government noted that the Paddy–Arikawe Road had previously attracted a stop-work order during Phase One of the project, a 260-metre constituency road executed under a project sponsored by the Senator representing Ogun East, Gbenga Daniel, due to failure to meet required standards.

Akinmade added that information available to the state government showed that the remaining phases of the road project—Phases Two, Three and Four—were only proposals under the original plan and could take between six and seven years for the Federal Government to execute.

He said the Abiodun administration decided to award the remaining sections of the road to alleviate the hardship faced by residents of the area.

“In view of this development, the government hereby warns all state contractors to follow specifications religiously, as there is no room for shoddy work that could compromise the safety of Ogun citizens,” Akinmade said.