Nig Society of Engineers okays rehabilitation works at Km 4, Calabar-Ikom-Katsina Ala road

Engr Dr Nsep Ayip Akonjom the Chairman of Nigerian Society of Engineers, Calabar Branch expressed the position of NSE when he granted pressmen an interview. Akomjom said that emergency rehabilitation works on failed sections of the said road were world-class. He admired Sematech Nigeria Limited, an indigenous construction company for mobilising to site even at zero Naira engagement and operating according to standard specifications while commending President Muhammadu Buhari over the current local content policy of his administration. 

According to him, ‘The projects are world-class as far as I am concerned. It gives me so much pride that it’s been handled by our members. The company company itself doing the job… —it’s wonderful when you hear that there’s so much selflessness, for them to accept to carry out intervention jobs like these ones by just being told ”go and do it”. That is what we should do! For an indigenous company for that matter… it simply shows that is the way to go. If our government continually patronises Nigerian engineers, we would do better. This is a learning curve for everybody. I am very proud’. 

‘I am very happy we didn’t see any white man on site. Implying it’s 100% Nigeria. I am happy that the government of President Buhari is seriously interested in making us proud as Nigerian engineers : it’s 100% from builders to materials, and one interesting thing is that even materials were sourced locally. We welcome that development on local content’, he continued. 

When queried whether NSE was involved in the inspection of the project and whether Sematech had complied with standard practices, Akonjor observed that though their supervisory operations are covert, they were comfortable with the activities of the contractors. 

He said, ‘We have been there from the beginning. As a society we have what we call the ERM, they move across the state, we are very quiet, we can say they are innuendo in nature, naturally you won’t see us. 

‘ERM reports as it borders Sematech’s activity has been superb. The shoulders are perfect, you can see the asphalt, they meet specifications.’

On his part, the Federal Controller of Works, Cross River state, Engr Johnson Fadire informed that there were three rehabilitation works ongoing across the stretch of the Calabar-Ikom-Ogoja-Katsina Ala. He revealed that three indigenous construction companies were engaged including Sematech Nig. Ltd, CCECC and Queenstar Stone Limited. 

His words, ‘In Cross River state, the federal government awarded three rehabilitation projects : the first one starts from Ikot Okura Junction to Nyamoyong awarded to Sematech Nigeria Limited where we are now; the second one awarded to CCECC from Nyamoyong to Ikom —from Ikom to Mbok junction is good— then from Mbok Junction to Katsina Ala was awarded to Queenstar Stone Nigeria Limited, that’s the third. So this first one that began from Ikot Okura junction to Nyamoyong is 67.1km, all the activities of the projects are ongoing and at the present they have achieved 23.5% of the works’. 

Engr Johnson Fadire (2nd from left)

Earlier, Engr Fadire threw light on the almost completed emergency repair of eroded embarkment and reconstruction of collapsed culvert at Kilometer 4 located at PAMOL Village between Tinapa and Odukpani. The state controller said that, ‘Prior to the commencement of this project, there was a very massive embarkment washout, the culvert there was an iron culvert, but it collapsed and half of the road was already washed away; at the time, there was always heavy traffic, sometimes people slept on the road. 

‘At June 2017 the road was about been cut into two, as you know the road is the only link road to Cross River state capital but, the Federal Government heard our SOS and intervened immediately.

‘Sematech was called upon to move to site, which they did without financial mobilisation, as at present the work is 90% complete : we have replaced the iron pipe, double cell bust culvert, the eroded portion replaced, and pavement done.’

Rehabilitated embarkment at Km 4 located at Pamol between Odukpani and Tinapa

Sematech Site Engineer, Desmond Ewa, corroborated Engr Fadire when he confirmed that Sematech mobilised to site without financial mobilisation. Ewa further observed that the project will be completed in a forthnight. According to him, ‘We mobilised in good faith since we are partners with the Federal Government… Within this month in the next two weeks the project will be completed, we are just left with doing some grassing, and then some ancillary work; the main carriage way has been restored as you can see and commuters are enjoying the road now’.

Engr Desmond Ewa addressing the press

‘Everything here is indigenous, including materials. There’s no expatriate’, Ewa said concerning resources used by his company.  

Babagana Akinghibe Jnr the supplier of building materials to Sematech confirmed to pressmen that Sematech wasn’t owing him for supplies made for the construction. 

Mr Akinghibe …