Adamawa deputy gov directs contractors to hasten delayed hospital projects

The Deputy Governor of Adamawa State, Professor Kaletapwa Farauta, has directed contractors handling ongoing construction work on Lamurde Cottage Hospital in the southern part of the state to hasten up work.

Also at nearby Numan General Hospital, the deputy governor, who was similarly dissatisfied by the pace of work on projects there, asked the contractors to sit up and fulfil the terms of their contracts.

Farauta, during inspection of the two project sites on Thursday, expressed surprise that the 60-bed Lamurde cottage hospital with staff quarters could still be far from being completed.

She said, “The government wonders why Lamurde Cottage Hospital is still crawling. Some cottage hospitals were started after Lamurde and they have been commissioned.”

She warned the contractors to deliver the project without further delay if they did not want “government’s action.”

At the Numan General Hospital, Farauta told the contractors that the state government will not tolerate any further laxity that could undermine the estimated time lag for the completion of the pediatric, laboratory and theatre units.

In his response, Usman Ismail, who is overseeing the Lamurde project, promised to complete it within two months.

On his part, Yusuf Ahmad Gankuba, who spoke for the firm doing the projects at the Numan Hospital, attributed the delay to disagreements between the contractors and the first resident engineer who was supervising the projects.

DAILY POST reports that contract for Lamurde Cottage Hospital was awarded more than three years ago, the same time that the Adamawa State Government awarded contracts for same 60-bed cottage hospitals, at almost same contract sums, in Gombi, Shelleng and Girei LGAs.

Specifically, Governor Ahmadu Fintiri laid the foundation for the building of the four hospitals on September 12, 2020.

Of the four, only the Lamurde project stands uncompleted. The other three have been commissioned and put to use.

The cottage hospitals in Lamurde, Gombi, Shelleng and Girei were awarded the respective contract sums of N179m, 180.9m, N172.7m and N179m.