Mineralogical Characteristics of Nahuta Clay, Jos Plateau, Northcentral Nigeria: Implications for Hydrothermal Alteration

Abstract

The study evaluated the performance of labour only projects, the influencing factors and relationship between the significant factors and performance of labour only projects executed by federal income earners in Akwa Ibom state.

A survey design approach was adopted using structured questionnaires purposively administered on 132 respondents resulting in 118 valid mail questionnaire comprising 23 low, 40 middle and 55 high income earners.

Data were analysed using descriptive, relative importance index, Kruskal Wallis and correlation analysis.

In conclusion there were 46.2%, 69.2% and 76.9% level of performance among low, medium and high income earners respectively, with minimal high level performance, while performance variation was significant among income groups.

All the income groups unanimously perceived that majority of the factors have significant influence on the performance of labour only projects.

The significant factors among the low and medium income had negligible correlation, while the factors among the high income earner had no significant correlation with the performance of labour only projects.

The study recommends that low and medium income earners should enhance the performance of their labour only projects by putting consideration on other factors, apart from management styles and availability of fund.

While high income earners should place priority on other performance attributes apart from clients’ satisfaction and meeting construction costs.

Government should create enabling environment through provision of soft loans, improved technology, procurement awareness, and use of local materials.

Introduction

Background Of Study

A recent study conducted in Nigeria (Ujene and Idoro, 2015) opined that buildings are major products of the construction industry which serve as life support systems, provide shelter, enhance productivity, and embody our culture.

The peculiarity of buildings as outdoor products which consume huge resources make them incredibly expensive to build and maintain, hence the economics of building is a vital and complex issue throughout their existence.

Memon, Rahman, Abdullah, and Abdu Azis (2010) see cost as a foremost consideration in project delivery and regarded as one of the most important criteria of project success.

According to Ujene and Idoro (2015) some studies (Ogunsanmi and Bamisile, 1997; Ogunde, Fagbenle and Amusan, 2012; Ujene, 2012; Ogunsemi, 2013 and others) have placed continuous search for alternative procurement systems, construction methods, cost estimation/prediction and control methods due to the high costs of buildings, continuous failure of cost and other performance considerations of projects.

Clients and consultants have always been considering cheaper ways of achieving constructions since the downturn in the Nigeria economy between 1985 and 1999 which had created recession in the construction industry (Ogunde, Fagbenle and Amusan, 2012).

This led to modifications of existing project execution systems in favour of labour-only, direct labour and public-private partnership systems.

In a labour-only system clients are involved in the purchase of materials while leaving the management of the labour and construction to the contractor who gets paid for the costs of engaging the labour and the contractor‘s profit (Adenuga and Akinsola, 2007).

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