The Ogun State Government has ordered an immediate stop to reconstruction work on the Paddy-Arikawe Road in the G.R.A. area of Sagamu, taking a firm stance against substandard construction.
In a statement on Wednesday, the government declared it would not compromise on standards and warned all contractors working for the state to deliver jobs that strictly conform to official specifications or risk termination of their contracts.
The action followed a stop-work order issued by the State Ministry of Works and Infrastructure on Monday, December 15, to Slavabogu Nigeria Limited, the contractor handling the 3.39km road project. The directive came after the ministry’s resident engineer reported that the contractor had begun drainage work using singly reinforced steel, contrary to the contract’s specification for doubly reinforced steel.
The government, in a statement signed by the Special Adviser on Media and Strategy, Hon. Kayode Akinmade, stated that the contractor was instructed to demolish all non-compliant concrete bases, remove the reinforcement steel, and reconstruct the drainage using the correct doubly reinforced steel and Grade 30 concrete.
“The Dapo Abiodun administration is fully committed to the delivery of quality roads that will stand the test of time,” Akinmade said. He explained that the permanent secretary’s letter to the contractor was “driven by safety considerations,” citing “significant concerns regarding non-compliance.”
This is not the first time work on Paddy-Arikawe Road has been halted. The initial phase, a 260-metre constituency project by Senator Gbenga Daniel, was previously stopped for failing to meet specifications. The state government later took over the remainder of the road to expedite its completion for residents.
In view of the latest development, the government issued a blanket warning. “All state contractors [must] follow specifications religiously, as there is no room for shoddy works that would compromise the safety of Ogun citizens,” the statement concluded.
