The Bumbling Incompetence demonstrated by Sermatech Nigeria Limited on contracts awarded to it to Rehabilitate the Federal Highway in Cross River State:
I am highly elated concerning the letter written to the Minister of Works and Housing His Excellency, Senator David Umahi by the Cross River South Consultative Forum appealing for the revocation/termination of the contract for the award by the Federal Government of Nigeria to Sermatech Nigeria Limited for the construction of Odukpani-Itu-Ikot Ekpene Highway.
The move by the leadership of the Cross River South Consultative Forum is great, highly commendable, exemplary and should be emulated.
I believe this is the type of activism, all of us need to embark on to get the system working and reduce the barest minimum the tendency of some elites to always short-change and cheat the people.
I recall in 2016 I wrote to EFCC after I got information from the Federal Minister of Works that it was Sermatech that was awarded the contract to rehabilitate the Ikom-Ugep-Calabar highway and was mobilized it as far back as 2014 to commence work but did nothing.
The EFCC waded into the matter, arrested the directors of the company and compelled it to commence work on the project.
Undoubtedly Sermatech Nigeria has proven to lack the technical knowledge and competence to execute any road contract.
This conclusion is easily discernible from what all of us have experienced first-hand from all the road contracts this incompetent and run-of-the-mill company has executed in Cross River State in the past few years.
A classical example is President Goodluck Jonathan Boulevard in Calabar the company was awarded a contract by the Government of Cross River State which was commissioned with pomp and fanfare in 2015 but has now failed deplorably.
Also, the Ikom-Alesi-Ugep-Calabar Highway which Sermatech has been struggling for the past seven years to finish even though Sermatech has collected billions of Naira from the Federal government of Nigeria.
Even some of the portions of Sematech have finished have failed less than four years.
I suggest that the leadership of the Cross River South Consultative Forum should endeavour to pay a visit to the Minister of Works and Housing in Abuja and personally hand over their petition.
They should also urge him to revoke the contract for the construction of the Ikom-Alesi-Ugep-Calabar highway which also straddles the three local government areas of the Cross River Southern senatorial district starting from Adim in Biase Local government area.
@ Okoi Obono-Obla
