Ekiti State Government has expressed concern at the slow pace of work on some of the on-going federal government projects in the State, especially the Silo being built in Ado Ekiti.
The State Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Mr. Babajide Arowosafe expressed the displeasure of the state government at the slow pace of work on the 100,000 metric tonnes Silo which was awarded in 2009 and was expected to have been completed within 12 months.
Speaking at Erifun in Ado Ekiti during an inspection tour of Agric projects embarked upon by the Strategic Intervention Fund for Agriculture in the Federal Ministry of Agric, the Commissioner said the State government had intended to use the silo for the storage of its proposed mass grain production and would want the silo to be operational so as to prevent eventual wastage of the produce.
Arowosafe lamented that the silo would have been given enough monitoring if the state government had been carried along in the construction exercise; saying that the location problem which the contractor attributed as one of the reasons for the slow pace of work on the project would have been averted by giving the federal government a feasibility study.
While expressing optimism that the contractor may make meaningful progress with the inauguration of State and Regional Committees by the Minister to monitor all Agric projects, the Commissioner said the state government is putting in efforts at ensuring that all projects allocated to it by the federal government are well monitored for quick execution.
In his remarks, the leader of the Strategic Intervention Fund for Agriculture who is also an Assistant Director in the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Mr. Bright Wategire said the inspection tour was to assess the level of work done on the agriculture projects as well as strengthen the relationship between the Ministry and state governments in the sector.
The Assistant Director added that the Ministry has been decentralised to have State and regional office with the aim of monitoring its projects and ensuring their early completion.
Wategire expressed optimism that construction work on the silo would be completed in December this year as the team would continue to monitor the contractor to ensure its completion.
The Contractor handling the project, Mr Dipo Aina, said the challenges encountered on the site were responsible for the delay in the completion of the job as the terrain of the site was not feasible enough for such construction as well as delay in bringing the equipment for the silo.
Aina however promised that the project would be delivered in December and on cost.
Last modified: August 5, 2012