The Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, has assured the Bauchi State Government of an immediate intervention on the flood-damaged section of the Kano- Maiduguri Federal Road.
THE WHISTLER recalls that the flood-damaged section of the Kano- Maiduguri Federal Road within Bauchi State was cut off by flood after a heavy downpour recently.
To this end, Umahi has directed a technical team from the ministry to move to the spot to evaluate the damage done and report back to the ministry to procure an emergency solution to the problem to alleviate the attendant inconveniences faced by road users.
A statement issued in Abuja on Saturday by the Special Adviser (Media) to Umahi, Barrister Uchenna Orji, stated that he spoke in Abuja during a performance review meeting with Dangote Group of Companies Plc, BUA Group of Companies Plc and Mainstream Energy Solutions Ltd on the road projects handled under Road Infrastructure Development and Refurbishment Investment Tax Credit Scheme.
The minister said, “I’m directing the Director of Highway Rehabilitation to liaise with the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Works to immediately deploy some technical people to go and evaluate what we can do over there and it’s very unfortunate that when a job is completed by contractors, we don’t even enjoy the road for five years, and we are back to square one.
“That’s why I’ve been saying that this issue of a one-year liability period is not desirable because every badly executed job can last for one year, but it can not last for five years. So we are still going to request the contractor that did the job, Mothercart Ltd, to join that team and find out why the road had to cut into two as reported to us today, and that is section three of Kano-Maiduguri road.”
Umahi also announced the termination of section one of the Kano-Maiduguri road awarded in 2007 to Dantata & Sawoe Ltd due to the effluxion of time and disclosed that plans were underway to review the liability period for all federal government projects to ensure durability and value for money.
He highlighted the progress made so far in funding critical projects under the Tax Credit Scheme and called for more concerted efforts by all contractors handling projects under the tax credit scheme to complete all the awarded projects in record time, as the projects are within the economic corridors of the nation.
He said going forward, there would be an agreement on milestone completion and timetable for the various ongoing projects being done under the Tax Credit.
“So my position as the Minister of Works is that everybody must take responsibility. We will no longer fold our hands and allow the projects we have awarded and even reviewed to continue to linger. Nigerians are suffering on these roads, and President Ahmed Bola Tinubu GCFR is doing everything possible, giving the road sector special attention.
“And so it will be a failure on our side for us to fold our hands and watch contractors linger on these roads without minding the sufferings of the people”, Umahi said.
He called for more commitment on the side of all the funding partners, the ministry, and the contractors and asked for patience on the side of Nigerians.
Umahi said, ” So we call for patience, partnership, and patriotism. The President means well for this nation. We must play our part and this is very important. So to our contractors and every staff member of the Ministry of Works, and of course to myself, we all must sit up and play our part to support the divine vision of Mr President to retake our country.”
Umahi Orders Intervention On Cut-Off Section Of Kano- Maiduguri Road is first published on The Whistler Newspaper
