By: Monday Danladi, Bauchi
Bauchi State Governor, Senator Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed, has expressed displeasure over slow execution of the ongoing multi-billion Naira flood and erosion control project from Tsohon Kampani to Gwallaga-Mayaka in Bauchi LGA, embarked upon by the Agro-Climatic Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscapes (ACReSAL), a World Bank financed project,
The visibilly unhappy Governor therefore directed the contractor to urgently increase equipment and manpower in order to accelerate its completion on schedule.
The Governor gave the directive when he was led on inspection of work progress of the at the Abubakar Tatari Ali Polytechnic (ATAP) site of the project.
Bala Mohammed inspecting the project site in ATAP
The project, covering a total corridor of 15.2 kilometres, including 3.2 kilometres of feeder channels, currently stands at 7.2 percent completion as at the time of the inspection and is being implemented within the same micro-catchment as several other ACReSAL interventions across Bauchi.
Bala Mohammed expressed dissatisfaction with the contractor’s level of mobilisation, saying the project had adequate funding and should not suffer unnecessary delays.
He said the state had already released 40 percent of the contract sum and expected the contractor to demonstrate greater readiness to execute the work.
The Governor recalled that the project was originally conceived during the administration of former Governor Ahmed Adamu Mu’azu and described the current intervention as a major humanitarian project aimed at protecting communities, particularly those located along riverbeds and areas vulnerable to flooding and erosion.
Also speaking during the inspection of the project, the ACReSAL Task Team Leader, Dr. Joy Iganya Agena, commended the quality of work executed so far but expressed concern over the slow pace of implementation.
Joy Iganya Egena also said that the project was one of the largest ACReSAL interventions in terms of scope, scale and cost, stressing that the contractor must deploy more equipment and manpower to bridge the implementation gap and deliver the project on schedule.
While responding to the concerns, the contractor attributed the delay mainly to the rainy season and assured the Governor that full mobilisation had commenced.
He said four teams would be deployed to work simultaneously on different sections, with additional equipment and manpower, and expressed confidence that the project would be completed by March or April 2027 before the end of the association.
The project site in ATAP
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