Niger gov orders contractors back to site, says life must go on despite COVID-19

The Niger State Government has directed all contractors handling various projects to return to sites amidst the novel Coronavirus pandemic.

Gov. Abubakar Bello of Niger, gave the directive when he inspected some road projects under construction in Minna, the state capital.

According to Bello, life can not be put on hold because of the spread of the Coronavirus.

“Normal life activities have to continue as it is not definite when the pandemic will be over, therefore, the government has moved on,” he said.

He called on those handling the various projects to observe all the precautionary measures put in place to avoid contracting and spreading the virus.

The governor, however, expressed satisfaction with the level of work ongoing, noting that more pressure would be put on the contractors to complete their work before the rains set in.

He noted that any contractor found to be defaulting for not executing a project within the stipulated time would have their contract terminated.

However, among the projects inspected were Moris and Tunga low-cost 4-kilometer township road reconstruction projects awarded in 2017 with 14 months completion period at the cost of N2.4 billion.

Other projects inspected were the ongoing road construction at Morris fertilizer Area and Tunga Low-Cost
Road.