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How Lagos erased Fashola’s legacy by terminating N844bn Fourth Mainland Bridge contract

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How Lagos erased Fashola's legacy by terminating N844bn Fourth Mainland Bridge contract

With Lagos State terminating the N844bn Fourth Mainland Bridge contract, the last and main legacy of the immediate past governor of the state, Babatunde Fashola, seemed to have been erased.

Announcing the termination of the project on Monday, Commissioner for Waterfront and Infrastructure Development, Adebowale Akinsanya, disclosed that the bridge contract was being cancelled to enable government consider various proposals from foreign investors from the United States of America and Britain, and in order to accelerate commencement of the project.

He explained that following continued delay in the commencement of the multi- billion naira project, the state government had to dump former contractors, which included Africa Finance Corporation, AFC and other investors, to shop for new financiers for the project.

But some loyalists to Fashola have faulted the move, describing it as continuation of actions aimed at wiping out all the marks of developments, kick started by the now Minister of Power, Works and Housing as a governor of the state .

They recalled how the Governor Akinkunmi Ambode’s two-year adminstration had stopped two major innovations of the immediate past adminstration, including disengaging Vehicle Inspection Officers (VIO) from Lagos roads and stopping work on the uncompleted Isheri Housing project, among others.

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Mr. Rufus Adewole, former senior special assistant to Fashola on Works Development told Ripples Nigeria that terminating the Fourth Mainland Bridge, based on the excuse that foreign investors were being sought for is not absolutely correct.

“The contract, as presently awarded was to be funded through tripartite arrangement, involving foreign firms, which won the contract, the state government and the private sector initiatives , from a consortium of banks, which could allow toll run through bridge for recovering part of the investments.

“What has been holding take-off of the work is lack of funds, but if the state government is saying that it had got the money ready, all it needed do is to mobilise the contractors to the sight.

“Of course it is the right of the adminstration to terminate, re-award , or even , abandon any project, but to say that it is doing so because of delay on the part of the contractors is begging other questions.”

Others, who spoke on it disclosed that the contractors were terminated because they were approved by Fashola’s regime before handing same over to its successor in 2015, leading to Ambode signing the contract on March 2016 .

They also alleged that the government wanted to get its own contractors to handle the job.

But the Commissioner, while giving more insight into the state of the bridge work alleged that the investors had dumped the cobtract one year after signing the contract with government.

Hear him: “A year after signing Memorandum of Understanding, MOU for the 38 kilometre bridge and road project includes, the firms, including, Visible Assets Limited and Access Bank Plc, no meaningful work has been recorded.

“We must make sure that we move the state forward, hence the need to review the contract as to get more foreign investors buy into it as soon as possible.”

But he refused to disclose how soon this would be.

However, the contractors are said to have expressed shock at the position of the government.

Said an official of the Access Bank, on condition of anonymity, “We are shocked but still studying the development and will react when all facts are with us.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

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