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The Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, has reaffirmed the dedication of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration to ensure it maintains the quality of roads throughout all 36 states of the federation.
Umahi said his ministry was not distracted by the challenges before it, adding that the incumbent government was committed to turning its ‘stone to bread.’
Naija News reports that Umahi made these remarks during a town hall meeting and stakeholders’ engagement organized by the Federal Ministry of Works, focusing on the alignment of the 63-kilometre segment of the Lagos-Calabar coastal highway in Akure, the capital of Ondo State, on Thursday.
He emphasized that the coastal highway plays a crucial role in the economic advancement of the states it traverses and the nation as a whole.
The former Governor of Ebonyi State also acknowledged his accountability for the inadequacies in federal road infrastructure across the nation.
He said, “One of the things we saw when we came on board was that Tinubu inherited 20,604 projects total as of May 29, 2023. N13 trillion. And contractors were being owed N1.6 trillion for jobs done. So, the President, a man of courage, still has to manifest all the projects inherited to fix them. Some of these projects are 20 years, 5 years, 13 years, and 17 years. He believes that this project should be fixed in 14 months, and it has to be fixed, and if it is not fixed, I will take responsibility.
“You are giving a contract; you are waiting for mobilization. The Procurement Act says you can’t maintain a mobilization fee. It did not say shall pay but must pay. It is within the convenience of the client, and when they are paid, the contractor is expected to show evidence of financial capability.
“We are committed to turning our stone to bread. There is no complaint. We are not distracted. I take responsibility for every failure, any road that is bad, any road that is ongoing and not being constructed. But be assured that we are not sleeping. The Ondo state is an oil-producing state, which is a key state to our nation’s economy. The commitment of Mr President in this legacy project is not just constructing a road it is an investment.”
Umahi vowed that his Ministry would ensure no project was abandoned and that any contractor who did not take the Federal Government’s projects seriously would have their contract terminated.
“We have terminated over ten contracts of big companies, and we have the mind to terminate more, and you can’t dictate for us; we will tell you what we want. Our books are very much open. We will conclude the design (for Ondo State) within the month of November and we will inaugurate it.
“We have directed that all federal road controllers should give us details of roads within their domain, whether awarded or not so that by this Christmas, all federal high roads will be motorable. We are coming back after your election to start the Aiyetoro project, which will get started after this one. Nigerians should be grateful that we have a listening president. He is committed to all sectors. This country still has a lot of potential,” the Minister added.
We Will Cooperate With The FG – Aiyedatiwa
In his remarks, the Governor of Ondo State, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, commended Tinubu for the initiative of the coastal highway, saying the project was not a political one and had already started in other sections.
“He (Tinubu) is supporting us economically. I want to thank you for all the other projects in the country. These projects will be of huge benefit to us, that is why we are going to cooperate with the Federal Government and the contractors,” the governor lauded.
In his remarks, the Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Works, Akin Alabi, commended Tinubu for the initiative and the minister for working hard to get the desired results for Nigerian roads.
“We at the House of Representatives are fully behind the President and works minister. Our aim is that, at the end of the day, we want Nigeria to work. We have to say bye-bye to the practice of contractors collecting money and not working. If contractors are not on site, don’t pay them; that’s one of the biggest scams in the ministry,” the lawmaker stressed.
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