.Express concern about rising insecurity
Cyril Mbah Abuja / Favour Ishember
Concerned Utako District residents in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have expressed concern over the prolonged delay in completing the district hospital located in the area which has been taken over and converted into residential quarters by illegal squatters, especially migrants from crisis prone far north and neighbouring countries.
The concerned residents pointed out that the inability of the contractor to complete the project has placed them at serious disadvantage as sick inhabitants have been compelled to depend on faraway and overcrowded Wuse and Maitama general hospitals for their health needs.
The residents complained that apart from the stress of using distant alternative hospitals, crime rate has tripled within Utako District with the influx of strangers who have since converted the abandoned hospital into residential quarters.
In a strongly worded appeal by the Chairman, Utako Residents Association, Chief Phillp Umelo and Secretary, Alhaji Inuwa Maigateri, the residents called for proper sanctions against the contractor and supervising officials, the revocation and re-award of the contract to a more competent contractor on grounds of abandonment.
The appeal which was addressed to the Federal Capital Territory Minister, Nyesom Wike claimed that the contractor’s inability to resume work on the multi-million-naira project was a clear indication that the company, Archcon Consortium, lacked the capacity to complete the Utako District Hospital.
Investigations showed that the contractors collected more than N250 million upfront on the project as at 2006 and commenced work in 2007 but abandoned the job in 2009 due to blunt refusal by the FCTA to accept the demands of the consortium for upward review of the contract from the agreed N2 Billion to N8 billion.
Experts in the construction industry estimate that going by current inflation rate, it will cost about ten or N12 billion to complete the project now.
The investigation showed that the contractors moved out of the site and abandoned the hospital which has reached about 65% construction stage when negotiations failed to favour them, according to credible sources at the office of the Health Management Board.
It was gathered that the former FCT Minister, Alhaji Bala Mohammed, who awarded the contract soon after assuming office as minister, did not agree to approve the demands of the consortium for upward review of the contract, arguing that the firm over-inflated the cost.
The two firms handling different aspects of the project, PPC Limited and Archcon Consortium came from Kaduna and Lagos respectively.
Soon after moving their equipment and personnel out of the hospital construction site, the firms left two private security guards to watch over several rods, machines, planks and other minor building materials scattered at the construction site but the materials have since been removed, sold-out or stolen and the watchmen have left the site due to non-payment of their salaries.
Some residents of Utako who were interviewed on the long delay in completing the hospital project expressed regret over the matter which has lingered since 2007 and wondered whether the dream of having a hospital at Utako will ever materialize in their lifetime.
One of the residents, Chief Gabriel Umeh stated that members of the community were elated when the construction of the hospital was started adding that the project has become a white elephant venture and a nightmare that spiked the level of insecurity in the area with the influx of strangers including several foreigners from Niger, Chad and Mali who do not speak English or Hausa languages.
“We have appealed to the FCT Minister, whose second name is Mr. Project, to look into the problem delaying the hospital project and solve it for us so that we can also feel his presence in Utako like other areas of the territory. It is not too much for Utako residents to ask that the abandoned hospital project should be completed,” he said.
When contacted on the matter, Mr. Anthony Ogunleye, Director Press to the FCT Minister, Barr. Nyesom Wike, said the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) is taking bold steps to improve healthcare services for residents by providing quality healthcare infrastructure.
Ogunleye explained that three hospitals are currently undergoing renovation and they include Gwagwalada Cottage Hospital, Gwarinpa District Hospital, and Utako District Hospital.
He said contractors have already moved to the Gwarinpa and Gwagwalada sites, with work expected to commence at the Utako site soon. The FCTA has ensured that funding is in place, and contractors will complete the projects on schedule, the director explained.
In the words of the Director “The FCT Administration is committed to providing quality healthcare to residents of FCT, and this is through providing infrastructure. Based on this, three hospitals are being renovated. They are Gwagwalada Cottage hospitals, the Gwarinpa District Hospital, and the Utako District Hospital has been pencilled down, some of them are already under construction, for the 2024 budget, provision has been made for the contractors to return back to site.”
“And it is our expectation that any moment from now, work will commence. In fact, that of Gwarinpa and Gwagwalada, the contractor has moved to site and any time from now, that of Utako will also move there. And work will resume at the Utako District Hospital, that also will be concluded on schedule just as much as all the projects of the current FCDA administration. The funding is there, the contractor will move to site and work will commence and also be concluded on schedule”, he assured.
“This development is part of FCTA’s broader efforts to enhance healthcare services. Recently, the administration launched the “Renewed Hope Medical Mission,” providing free comprehensive healthcare services to residents.”
Over 3,370 residents have already benefited from this initiative, receiving services such as antenatal care, immunizations, and HIV screening.
The FCT Minister of State, Dr. Mariya Mahmoud, has reaffirmed the administration’s commitment to providing qualitative healthcare services. With the renovation of these hospitals and the ongoing medical mission, residents can expect improved access to quality healthcare services.
