The Ebonyi State Government has threatened to arrest and prosecute 63 contractors delaying the completion of 140 housing units in Izzo and Amanze communities in Ishielu Local Government Area of the state.

The 140-three-bedroom bungalow scheme was designed to resettle the displaced persons in the Ezillo-Ezza Ezillo communal war that claimed thousands of lives and properties worth billions of naira. The conflict was resolved by the past administration in the state and the housing project was awarded to 87 contractors by Governor Francis Nwifuru.

Out of the 87 contractors, only 24 of them have completed their projects, while 63 have yet to do so.

Commissioner for Housing and Urban Development Francis Ori and his counterpart, Jude Okpor, Commissioner for Information, told journalists in Abakaliki on Thursday that the contractors were given one year to complete the projects and threatened that any of them that failed to abide by the agreement after September 25, 2024, would be arrested and prosecuted.

According to Ori: “You will recall that on September 22, 2023, the Ebonyi State government awarded contracts to various contractors for the construction of 140 units of three-bedroom bungalows for Izzo and Amanze autonomous communities. These 140 bedrooms were shared evenly, 70/ 70 per autonomous community.

“These contractors signed a contract agreement with the ministry and were mobilised 50 per cent, first time in history and they commenced construction. Along the line, they started making some requests from the ministry, which we considered. We deemed it necessary to convene a meeting with the contractors.

“We had a meeting with the contractors on the 22nd of January, 2024, when the contractors stayed up to the required time at the site.

“They came complaining that they need a variation of the job and we said no, we paid you people 50% of the mobilisation upon that, you are expected to have completed the substructural and superstructural work.

“It was a very long argument and after the day, I briefed my boss, who out of grace, said we should give them up till April. The contractors were mobilised back to site and were told ‘if you have any certificates outstanding, you should indicate.’ Some of the contractors applied and we paid them and they returned to site. Little did we know that some of them did not complete the project.

“When we now conveyed another meeting of the contractors in June, the contractors started giving many excuses and we told them to go back to site and complete the job.

“Some of these contractors are still waiting to see what we will do up until a few days ago during the Ojiji festival, the governor directed that any contractor who fails to finish his job on or before the 25th of September shall be arrested and prosecuted according to the law of the contract agreement.

“Yesterday, I was at the site for inspection. I saw some of the contractors coming back to site and I do hope they are coming back to site to complete the work.

“Immediately after the contract was awarded, the contractors signed a contract agreement with the ministry. That agreement was drafted by the Ministry of Justice of Ebonyi State government. The contractors were given to go through it before signing.

“There is a very important section of the contractual agreement, i.e., Article 5 Subsection (g) that states that contractors have no reason to stop that work except if the certificate generated is delayed on payment and they have a minimum of three months to stay at that site.

“These contractors have spent close to a year on that site and some of them are not ready to finish this job if we allow them to go the way they are going about it. They are also aware that this is a contract and I do not see reasons contractors should default.”

On his part, Okpor said the law would take its course on the contract no matter whose ox is gored and urged the contractors to comply with the agreement with the state government.

“If the governor’s well-thought-out intentions to accommodate local contents in the execution of a contract in the state is referred to as kinsmen, I do not understand. But the truth remains that Ebonyi is an economy all of us must make a conscious effort to stimulate. If the resources of the state are given access to participate in the execution of contract, it will go a long way to stimulate the economy of the state because these people are going to buy materials from people of the state, and invariably it will help them to pay their taxes and other obligations to the state.

” So, no matter who is involved as His Excellency said, the law will take its course at the end of the expiration of this time that has been set by the state government because nobody is going to drag the state government out because of its magnanimity to patronise local content,” he stated.