Taraba residents knock Chinese firm over poor road rehabilitation

Residents of Mararaba, Ananum and Donga communities in the Donga Local Government Area of Taraba State on Friday decried what they called the poor quality of asphalted Mararaba -Donga road. The residents, who spoke in separate interviews with our correspondent when he visited the area on Friday, said the asphalted sections of the road completed not more than six months have been washed away. A resident, Philip Amove, told our correspondent that the joy of the people of the area that the road would ease their travel time from Donga to Mararaba when completed has been cut short by the alleged poor quality of the project by the contractor. "We were all happy about the project because of the travel time. We were hoping that the completion of the project will reduce our travel time, but with this poor job, we are not happy because this road will not last." Mr Nuhu Abe on his part wondered if the project was not being supervised by the Federal Ministry of Works. Other residents who spoke to our correspondent called on the Federal Ministry of Works to ensure proper supervision of the project to ensure quality delivery. The Project Manager, Wiz China Worldwide Engineering Limited, handling the project was not on-site, but a staff of the company who pleaded anonymity assured the residents that the failed portions of the road would be fixed before the handing over of the project. Our correspondent reports that the Federal Government through the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing, in 2021, awarded the contract for the construction of the Donga-Mararaba road at the cost of N2.15bn. Checks by our correspondent further revealed that in July 2021, the sum of N485,442,848.