The Minister of Works, Engr. David Umahi has suspended the FCT Controller of Works, Engr. Yakubu Usman over allegations of shoddy activities.
Umahi gave the directive, while on an inspection tour of the ongoing Mararaba-Keffi Road Expansion on Friday.
“Today, I am directing the Permanent Secretary to remove the Controller with immediate effect and send him to my office to learn how to obey instructions. Another Controller should be redeployed immediately to take over,” he said.
Umahi accused the Controller of issuing fraudulent certificates that led to payments for uncompleted jobs and also issuance of certificates for palliative works that were not executed.
“Now the problem is my staff and I’m going to set an example today with what 2026 will be between all of us in doing this job. The staff of the Minister of Works on site, they have all the powers because if a minister or minister representative comes to site and gives a directive and so if the contractor is not doing the directive, it is the duty of the staff to do two things. One, refuse certificate for the contractor, you refuse to do certificate for the contractor.
“The number two, you will escalate that disobedience to perm. secretary, to the minister, to the head of department. The controller has not done that and for that, I’m directing the Permanent Secretary to remove the controller effective from today.
“It is the same controller that issued certificates to a contractor on palliative work for work not done. Issued certificates and we paid, not to China Harbour but to a contractor on the same route and the commuters were passing through hell and yet, a controller issued fraudulent certificates for work not done and monies were paid. It took me to come to site and force the contractor to do the jobs that he was paid for”, he queried.
The Minister therefore directed China Harbour Engineering Company, the contractor handling a 43-kilometre section of the Mararaba–Keffi Expressway, to complete and hand over the project on or before February 28, 2026.
“I am giving you the end of February to hand over this job. You must come to my office on Wednesday with your timetable and a commitment to complete the project by then,” the Minister said.
He therefore urged the contractors to keep to the terms of agreement as nobody would escape discipline this year:
“2026 is an action year, and nobody will be spared. Discipline will be our watchword. Diligence is our watchword.
“Doing the work we are paid to do is our watchword, and nobody will be spared. And when we take action, there is no amount of pleading. I report directly to Mr. President.
“So any stakeholder that wants a relation to perform one thing or the other should call the person and advise him to do the work that we’ve been paid to do so that Nigerians will be happy with us. Because once an action is taken, nobody reverses it other than God Almighty and Mr. President”, he concluded.
