Special Adviser to the Governor on Media and Communication Strategy, Mr. Crusoe Osagie, said in Benin during week that the road audit was carried out to provide government with a reliable assessment of road infrastructure with a view to categorizing the level of intervention and mobilizing resources to fix the roads.
“Governor Obaseki means business in Edo State. He is out to ensure that contracts awarded for road construction and reconstruction are carried out to specifications and are of the best quality,” Osagie siad.
“The data from the audit carried out on the roads give details of roads that need intervention, outlining those that need serious or minimal work to put them in good shape. On a number of the roads, contractors are returning to site to commence work. This will give tax payers value for their money,” he added.
According to him, in areas where construction or reconstruction work is still ongoing, the audit measures progress that has been made and the challenges, if any.
“Governor Obaseki is clear about the quality of work and expected dates for the completion. The road projects must meet the agreed terms.”
Roads, he stated, are critical components of the Governor Obaseki led-administration’s vision for economic transformation and wealth creation for Edo people “as the road projects will not only connect the different parts of the state but open up more areas to economic activities.”
He said, “After completing the road audit, contractors will mobilise equipment from their locations towards the various project sites. The governor will be on selected sites to personally flag-off the construction work.”
It would be recalled that concerned citizens of Edo State have, in recent times, continued to draw the attention of the government to the shabby road construction, project abandonment by some contractors and and other roads that need attention.
In the forefront of this complaint has been the Edo Civil Society Organizations (EDOCSO), which at some point confronted contractors on the shabby nature of their works.
Members of the organization, working in the public interest had taken it upon themselves on several occasions to visit road construction sites to check the work of the contractors.
