By Onyekachi Nnabu
The greatest problem with the administration of Francis Nwifuru in Ebonyi State is that contractors see contract funds as government patronage which are not necessarily meant to be used for execution of the contracts. Hence, they first divert the funds for personal use. This was why Nwifuru's contractors built private mansions and brought the governor to commission them even when the contractors had yet to identify the very locations where they were supposed to execute their contracts.
The media spaces are saturated with reports of abandoned or poorly executed contracts as well as government appeals for contractors to be serious with their jobs. From the housing estates, 2 kilometer community roads, 39 model school buildings to the traditional rulers palaces and the ICT university structures, none of the jobs is moving. Nwifuru's contractors come tops in poor quality and snail speed execution of jobs.
When appeals for improvement from the governor, Mr. Nwifuru, Ebonyi State Government officials and Ebonyi citizens failed, one of the commissioners summoned courage to arrest the contractors messing up the projects in his ministry. That was in September, 2024. While groups and citizens of Ebonyi State rejoiced and openly congratulated Ebonyi State Government's decisive move against the failed contractors, the contractors who were close allies of the governor threatened fire and brimstone against the unnamed commissioner. However, most of the contractors who had abandoned their project sites returned to site.
Barely three months after, that courageous commissioner who moved against the failed contractors was suspended for "dereliction on duty and gross misconduct". As at press time, the commissioner is still serving the suspension while the powerful contractors boast about that they would further deal with him.
During the Christmas homages, the governor of Ebonyi State, Mr. Francis Nwifuru mentioned that stakeholders had pleaded for the recall of other commissioners suspended for reasons within public knowledge, but none interceded for the courageous commissioner who is popular among the masses for his inspiring charisma. The powerful contractors who are close to the governor appear to have been working hard on their threats. This has instilled fear in Ebonyi government officials and emboldened many contractors who were forced back to site by the commissioner to re-abandon their sites.
The overwhelming influence of the failed contractors on Ebonyi State Government has remained a great mystery. In the end, Ebonyi people for whom the projects are meant are the ultimate losers. This is so because, from the way things are going, the governor may not have any meaningful project to commission in his first tenure.
