Niger State Universal Basic Education Board (NSUBEB), has lamented that almost all the projects executed from the inception of the present administration in the past were substandard and poorly executed, threatening to sanction ailing contractors.
Chairman of the Board, Alhaji Saidu Ibrahim disclosed this during an interaction with newsmen in Minna.
He said efforts were being made to scrutinize projects to ensure that they were executed according to a specified standard.
Saidu Ibrahim said the Board currently has about 180 ongoing projects across the three senatorial zones, threatening to blacklist or revoke contracts from contractors who fail to handle the various projects according to specifications.
To avoid abandonment and poor quality jobs, the Board Chairman said he has reviewed supervision and monitoring of the various projects since he assumed office close to two months now to ensure quality and standard jobs.
Alhaji Ibrahim claimed that he inherited poorly executed and substandard projects, adding that the reports by the National Assembly committee on education on oversight function to Niger State about the poor quality of jobs were not far from the truth.
Stressing the need for standardization in projects’ execution, the Board chairman expressed the resolve and commitments of Governor Abubakar Sani Bello’s led administration to pay as at and when due counterpart funds for over 2,000 ongoing projects.
Niger State SUBEB has given assurances to pay contractors who completed their projects accordingly, the State SUBEB chairman pointed out as he also read a riot act against any staff found compromising the standard set for them or being dealt with accordingly.
All the staff of SUBEB, especially those of them as technical officers compromising in their official conducts to desist, adding that it will no longer be business as usual, or be prepared to face the full wrath of the law if found wanting in any way.
While encouraging communities to take ownership of all SUBEB projects in their domain, Saidu warned greedy contractors who are desperate to maximize profits at the detriment of the state to have a change of heart as they would not be spared.
For effective monitoring and execution of projects, Saidu said plans were underway to partner National Assembly in providing the required logistics for the over 3,700 schools spread across the state.
