The intervention of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which compelled a contractor back to an abandoned site, is a novelty, which we commend.

According to news reports, Enerco Nigeria Ltd, was in 2012 awarded the rehabilitation of the 94-kilometre, Kontagora-Tunga-Shambo-Rijau rural road project in Niger State, and paid N300 million, out of the N1.24 billion naira cost of the project, by the Federal Ministry of Works. After doing a minute percentage of the job, the company reportedly abandoned the project.

Clearly, one of the greatest causes of the infrastructure challenge in our country is the abandonment of projects by contractors, across the length and breadth of our country. In this case, Mr. Musa Elkasas, the owner of the Enerco Nigeria Ltd, allegedly absconded after collecting the mobilization fee. But following the mandate to the acting Chairman of EFCC, Ibrahim Magu, ordering his commission to investigate abandoned projects, the Rijau Community Youth Forum petitioned the EFCC to investigate this particular road project, a major artery that passes through many rural communities.

We commend the youths of the community for their civic responsibility. It is noteworthy that instead of protesting and rioting as some do in similar cases, the youths followed the due process of law, to obtain justice. Their action is also a lesson to other communities to own projects sited in their domain, monitor their execution, and where there is poor performance or abandonment take appropriate legal steps to seek redress, and even have a healthy interest in post-construction maintenance, instead of passively writhing hands in frustration.

The EFCC also applied wisdom, to get the project back on track. The commission had the option of seeking to punish the contractor, as an end in itself, but chose to give them the opportunity to return to site to perform the obligation, for which they were contracted.  They invited the run-away contractor for a chat; and with the help of the Board of Quantity Surveyors of Nigeria, and the procurement fraud section of the EFCC, established that only seven per cent of the job was done, before it was abandoned.

Following this intervention, the contractor returned to site to resume work, and has presently completed about 60 per cent of the job. The EFCC also reached an agreement with the contractor for performance evaluation. While the contractor reports monthly to the commission, the ministry gives a monthly evaluation report. So, not only that the EFCC has forced the contractor back to site, it has also helped to ensure performance evaluation from the ministry, which will entitle the contractor to his payment. By this approach both the contractor and the ministry are in a win-win situation.

Another lesson from this is that when contracts are awarded, the agency concerned should develop a robust programme of monitoring performance. A synergy between the community and the awarding agency is usually the most effective. But such cooperation will only happen when the people are carried along, in determining the priority project for the community; and there is transparency in determining the cost of the project.

The project in question is clearly impactful on the communities, considering that the road traverses four communities. With the EFCC intervention, the cost of the project and the quantum of performance was also determined. Of course, the needed fillip for the EFCC to perform is the community ownership of the project and their determination to hold the contractor to account.

We commend the checks and balances developed by the cooperation between the community, the EFCC and the awarding agency that led to the revival of the project, and the potential for its completion. We urge other relevant agencies and communities to emulate such synergy to ensure that projects are not abandoned.