Lafia — CCECC, the Chinese construction firm handling the provision of roads in Lafia, the Nasarawa State capital, and its sub-contractors, are yet to return to site, more than two weeks after the end of October which the government promised as deadline for work to pick up.

The contract for the provision of township roads to ease road users' hardship in the 13 year old state capital, was the first project to be awarded for execution by the Governor Aliyu Akwe Doma led government in 2007, the state's Commissioner for Works and Transport, Ofoku Giza had said. Job on the project could not commence as agreed in the contract, however, for reasons which the commissioner declined to state, but the government reviewed the contract upward, following which the contractor commenced work earlier in the year with the provision of drainages subcontracted to other contractors.

Giza declined to state the contract sum in his several comments to Daily Trust inquiries, however.

He told Daily Trust in October that the government was worried that work on the project was yet to pick up on a considerate pace, but blamed the rains which poured in during the year. He promised then, that CCECC will return to site by the end of October for the job which specification, according to him, include provision of roads, drainages and a roundabout at the Doma Road Junction.

But Daily Trust observation showed that more than two weeks after the end of October, the contractors are nowhere on site, while the foundation work done on the roundabout is fast developing cracks because of the chaotic traffic situation the abandoned work caused at that point of the Akwanga-Lafia Road.

When contacted for his official comments on why CCECC and its sub-contracted have not returned to site to beat his deadline, Giza said he would not talk on the phone. But he did not deny Daily Trust observation.