The Federal Government has issued a final seven-day ultimatum to Julius Berger to accept its proposal of N740.79 billion to complete the rehabilitation of the 82km Section II of the Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano road, or face contract termination.
Minister of Works, David Umahi, stated that the prolonged negotiations must be resolved within seven days. He gave this ultimatum during a visit from Julius Berger’s new Managing Director, Dr. Pier Lubasch, accompanied by the outgoing MD, Dr. Lars Richter, at the Ministry of Works headquarters in Abuja. According to a statement by the minister’s Special Adviser (Media), Orji Uchenna, the visit was to introduce the new MD.
This comes after an earlier warning by Umahi to revoke the contract, which was awarded in 2018 under former President Muhammadu Buhari. While the Kaduna-Zaria section is completed and the Zaria-Kano portion is near completion, only 27% of the Abuja-Kaduna section has been done in six years.
Last week, Umahi accused Julius Berger of delaying the project to undermine the current administration. He expressed frustration that, despite Federal Executive Council approval of funds, the company had failed to mobilize workers, causing hardship for road users and damaging the government’s image.
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Umahi warned that if Julius Berger fails to accept the revised contract sum within seven days, the government would revoke the contract. He criticized the company’s delays, which raised costs from N710 billion to N740 billion, saying the Ministry of Works would not be held hostage by contractors demanding inflated prices.
“This offer is final, with no conditions,” he stressed, calling an end to the extended 14-month negotiations. He also pointed out that several other Julius Berger projects had already been terminated due to site abandonment.
Umahi urged construction firms working with the ministry to adopt realistic pricing to help drive Nigeria’s much-needed infrastructure development.
In response, the new MD of Julius Berger promised to address the issues quickly, hoping to reach an agreement to avoid further delays. The outgoing MD noted that the visit’s primary purpose was to introduce the new MD to the minister.
