Minna-Bida Multi-billion Road Project in Niger Faces Setback

 Laleye Dipo in Minna

The Minna -Bida multi-billion naira road project in Niger State is now facing another setback more than three months after the contract for the project was re-awarded by the present administration of Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago.

Successive administrations in the state had tried to construct the road but all their efforts were abortive before Governor Bago intervened by awarding the contract to three construction companies.

The Bago administration was said to have reached “a workable agreement” for the funding of Lots 2 and 3 of the project from Kataeregi -Bida with the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) and the ABU Dhabi Fund for Development.

The project is expected to be completed in December 2025.

Investigations revealed that the over 500 workers of the company last weekend protested the non-payment of their salaries for three months.

The workers barricaded the main entrance to the company’s administrative building, carrying placards with different captions: ‘Pay us our money, we worked, and we must be paid’; ‘We are hungry pay us our money, it is our sweat’, among others.

An official of the workers’ union, who declined to give his name, told THISDAY that  “they did not pay us for three months, so we cannot continue to work on empty stomach.”

In the confusion that accompanied the protest by the workers, some senior staff of the company “spirited out” to the safety of the foreign engineers engaged by the company which led to the site being closed down

The company, according to the findings, has been having a running battle with the state government over its decision to split the contract into three giving each segment to different contractors a development that made the government to stop paying the firm until things are resolved.

According to the findings, the construction firm complained that it was not contacted before the contract was split and re-awarded to three firms.

In addition, the firm findings from the state Ministry of Works revealed that it was on site and being owed over N7billion before the government took its action.

An official of the workers union, who declined to give his name, told THISDAY that “they did not pay us for three months, we cannot continue to work without pay.”

The Public Relations Officer of Dantata and Sawo, Mr. Danladi Aliyu Damidu, confirmed that the site was shut after the workers demonstrated.

Damidu said the management initially paid the workers N30, 000 out of their entitlement but they refused to work.

“We also paid them another N10,000 each yet they did call off the strike,” Damidu said, adding that the company was expecting the payment from another state government running to N10billion “out of which we will pay them (workers).”

Officials of the state Ministry of Works and Infrastructure are keeping sealed lips over the development with both the permanent secretary and the commissioner said to be on annual leave and have traveled out of the state.