Governor orders the arrest of stadium contractor

“Very soon we would be receiving inspection teams from the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and the World Football Governing Body, FIFA; are they going to be inspecting this maize plantation which I am seeing here or the stadium?”

Southwest Governor, Bernard Okalia Bilai, wondered as he ordered for the arrest of the contractor charged with the construction of a parking lot at the new stadium in Limbe.

The Governor passed the order on Monday, January 11, 2016, while leading an Inter-Ministerial delegation to the stadium to inspect the rate of work done on the various projects there.

According to the Governor, since the award of the project to the contractor and part payment of his money, the contractor has deliberately stayed away from the construction site thereby grounding the project.

Okalia told the Inter-Ministerial delegation led by the Secretary General in the Ministry of Sports and Physical Education, Oumarou Tado, that he has paid several inspection visits to the project site but has never met the said contractor.

Angered by the apparent nonchalance of the contractor, Okalia Bilai instructed the Southwest Regional Delegate of Public Security to send his men after the contractor and bring him to book.

On their part, contractors outlined a myriad of problems impeding the smooth execution of the various projects.

The problems range from limited finances, rugged topography, irregular power and water supply among others.

Due to the rugged topography of the area, engineers involved in various projects are divided on the method which can be used to effectively level the area.

While one of the engineers asked the Governor to authorize them to use explosives, another one said it is unnecessary because the area is not too rugged to warrant the use of explosives.

However, the Governor asked the contractors to explore all the avenues to make sure that the work is completed on time, but warned that they should not use any method that would have an adverse effect on the stadium.

The Secretary General in the Ministry of Sports and Physical Education urged the contractors to respect the deadlines.