The governor of Kogi State, Alh. Yahaya Bello has lambasted a Chinese contractor handling the renovation of the state owned Specialist Hospital, Lokoja, over a shoddy project and delay in delivery.
“Is this the quality of the hospital in China? If you are sick, will you be treated here? Will you want to be admitted in this hospital? Are we owing you? We do not owe you any dime, and you think this is the kind of job you can do for us.
“You can do it somewhere else in Nigeria but not in Kogi state. If it was done like this before in Kogi State, not under GYB, not under my watch, I am not going to take that,” said Governor Bello.
The governor slammed the contractor while on an assessment visit to some ongoing projects across the state, adding that the state government’s poor quality of work was unacceptable.
While criticising the Chinese company Changjiang Construction Nigerian Ltd, the governor also censured some of his commissioners involved in the shoddy project.
“Work done is Zero! Honorable Commissioner for Works, Health, CMD, I am not convinced with what I am seeing here as far as the renovation is concerned. This has shown that you have no capacity.
“This is not GYB’s standard, I am a man of quality, and everything I do as far as Kogi State is concerned in terms of project depicts quality and standard, world standard,” he added.
The angry governor speaking further noted, “I cannot imagine that, this is where I am spending money. This job is supposed to have been delivered before now. In the first instance, you have delayed; you have breached that particular part of the contract.”
Governor Bello, however, gave the contractor a December deadline to do a proper job, while he promised to hold responsible those who recommended and certified the company for the contract.
“So, I am holding you squarely responsible for this, and we are going to take appropriate actions. I give you, between now and December this year, to go back and do this job properly.
“This is what we call ‘rub and shine’, and I cannot allow this to be used to describe me. I will never allow that. Whoever introduced you to the state to be given a contract, I will hold the person equally responsible,” he warned.