The Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, has stated that Nigeria would save N640 billion by terminating Julius Berger’s contract for the construction of the Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano road.
Umahi revealed this during his appearance before the House of Representatives Ad Hoc Committee to justify the government’s decision.
In November 2024, Umahi had announced the termination of Julius Berger’s contract due to their failure to meet contractual obligations.
Following this, the Nigerian Senate issued an arrest warrant for Julius Berger for their non-compliance.
Umahi explained that the decision to terminate the contract was made because Julius Berger failed to fulfill the terms of the agreement.
He also expressed dissatisfaction with the handling of the road project over a seven-year period.
“By my engagement approach, I saved the nation N640 billion from Julius Berger. We wouldn’t if we had accepted to do the job for N1.5 trillion,” Umahi said.
“Now we are not; we are saving the country over N640 billion, and we are improving the architecture of the road.
“The problem of Berger is not just a problem of cost. We said in our conditions for acceptance that this project must be completed in 14 months.
“This project is a non-vary project unless the dollar goes beyond N2000 per dollar. They refused all those conditions, and they set booby traps for us.
“We terminated the job within our rights as executives. They were fairly treated,” he stated.
