The Federal Government has approved the re-award of contract for two bypasses of the 2nd Niger Bridge linking Asaba- Benin and Enugu-Onisha dual-carriageways.
Minister of Works, Engineer Nweze Dave Umahi disclosed this when he received a delegation of South South Caucus of the 10th Assembly, Federal House of Representatives.
Umahi also revealed that the government equally approved that Section III of Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway be started on the Cross River- Akwa Ibom axis of the superhighway and for the East-West Road to be given accelerated attention.
The minister said he was humbled by the visit of the caucus and their expression of burning desire to collaborate with the Federal Ministry of Works and to support the life-changing initiatives of the federal government.
“And so, I want to commend the president very highly for the courage of this project. The four legacy projects of Mr. President are icing on the cake. We will finish the Lagos-Calabar 700 kilometers, and with your support and of course, by God’s special grace, the miracle of the second tenure will still come to pass, and so we have time to get this project fully completed.
“I have no apologies when I speak that we need time to get this project completed because he that has started this good work, God will give him time to finish it and it will be a catalyst for economic growth,” he said
He warned lazy contractors that non-performing contracts on federal roads would be terminated and assured that by the time the vision of the president in the works sector is fully accomplished, Nigeria would achieve enviable milestones in economic growth and prosperity.
In a statement, the minister announced that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) has re-awarded three sections of East-West Road.
“On Eleme-Onne Road, we have agreed to commit RCC Limited within the first carriageway of 15 kilometers, including one bridge and one flyover. But for us to get this road completed by December, as it should be, we must definitely need to engage two extra contractors. But if they are wise, they could get sub-contractors and put on that 15-kilometer stretch so that they çan save the job. But they cannot keep the job when the people are suffering on that road
“On the Agbor route, we’ve sent the document. It’s going to be done on public private partnership (PPP). And so we’ve sent the amount to the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP). We will hopefully get approval by next week. And then, we’ll call you so that we can do a groundbreaking ceremony. We would not want to do anything without getting you involved,” he said.
Presenting his mission statement on behalf of the South South Caucus, the leader of the group who doubles as the leader of Bayelsa State caucus, Honourable Agbedi Yeitiemone Frederick said their visit was to engage the Federal Ministry of Works on the state of the roads in the South South and to seek for government’s decisive action on the projects being delayed by contractors in the area.
He, however, commended the president for the recent approval of funds by FEC for the execution of some projects in the South South, particularly the approval to have Section III of the Lagos- Calabar Coastal Highway started in South South Zone.
He decried the difficulties faced virtually by all the South South states in connecting to one another and in connecting to the North, East and West. He offered the collaborations of the caucus in achieving the road infrastructure goals of the Renewed Hope administration in South-South and indeed Nigeria.
“Yes, we know that there are works, there are projects, there’s construction going on. But we want to seriously say that the work level is slow, and our people are suffering. Our people are really suffering. Today, it’s difficult for you to fly to Benin and access the other parts of Benin.
“Today, it’s difficult for you to land in Port Harcourt and even go through the industrial part of Rivers State, particularly in the Eleme-Ogoni Axis. Today, if you fly to Akwa Ibom, it makes it absolutely difficult for you to access Cross River State and Calabar,” he said, while appealing to contractors to assist their people through employment, empowerment, and skill development as part of the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to the communities where they work.
In his remarks, the Minister of State for Works, Mohammad Bello Goronyo assured that the present government will fix the bad roads but would require the support and cooperation of Nigerians.
“The minister has demonstrated his capacity, experience, and knowledge by bringing a lot of innovations in the discharge of the mandate of his office and in piloting the affairs of this ministry. Through him, we can have it better.
“So, this is the time for us to join hands together. And we are sure that you will continue to give us full support for this vision, so that together we achieve our aspirations to build a virile nation, a prosperous nation, a nation that we can all be proud of,” he said.
