All Posts in "Transportation"

Amaechi apologises to Nigerians over Abuja-Kaduna train breakdowns

By Favour Nnabugwu

Minister of Transportation, Mr Chibuike Amaechi has apologised to Nigerians for the breakdown on the Abuja-Kaduna rail locomotives which occurred between November 18 and 20.

The minister made the plea on Monday at the Moniya rail station during the routine inspection of the ongoing rail project in Ibadan.

“I want to apologise to Nigerians over what happened at the Abuja-Kaduna rail station.
“We now have new locomotives and we have called the Chinese because we never expected the mechanical fault at this early stage.

“On behalf of the Federal Government, the ministry and the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), we apologise to Nigerians and I have instructed the NRC to fix it or invite the Chinese.

“If this is happening now, then they should bring back our old locomotives, it will just affect turnaround times because we get the new locomotive to increase the turnaround time,” he said.

Amaechi called for an increase in the pace of work by the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) adding that COVID-19 pandemic was no longer an excuse.

The minister said although the CCECC were doing well, they need to increase their pace to enable the ministry to deliver the project on schedule.

The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Transportation Madeleine Ajani, said there was significant improvement in the ongoing work from what it was in October.

Mrs Ajani said the ministry was not shifting their date of the commissioning but would rather put more pressure on the CCECC to enable them achieve their targets.

Patoma Admin by — November 24, 2020 in Others 0

The Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) has announced a revenue of N1.4 billion as at September 30, 2020  which is way less than it’s projected revenue of N4.4 billion for the same period.
The reduced revenue was due to the effects of the pandemic on the economy according to the NRC.

The Managing Director of NRC, Mr Fidets Okhiria, stated this during the 2021 Budget Defence to the Joint Committee of Land and Marine transport at the National Assembly in Abuja on Friday.

He added that the company remitted N245 Million to the TSA during the same period.

Despite reduced operations this year due to the pandemic. The NRC has acquired more trains for the Lagos-Ibadan railway project set to open soon. In August, The NRC announced the purchase of 24 coaches to operate the Lagos-Ibadan Railway..

The NRC MD  told the House Committee that the pandemic heavily affected operations, which caused a 32% performance of the company’s projections for the year so far.

The Joint Committee should  also note that for the year 2020, the Corporation presented a separate Internally Generated Revenue & Expenditure Budget.

He said, “The sum of N1.4billion has been generated as at Sept.  30 against the projection of N4.4billion from our core activities, representing 32% performance.

“It is necessary to mention that our train services were stopped and significantly reduced upon resumption due to the impact of COVID-19 Pandemic.

“The construction work within the Lagos corridor including access to Apapa Port also impacted on our ability to provide train services

“It is important to mention that during the period under review, the Corporation started making payments from its IGR into the Federal Government dedicated TSA as directed by the Federal Executive Council. A total sum of about N245.5million has so far been lodged into the account as at Oct. 31.

“The Railway Property Management Company Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary company of Nigerian Railway Corporation. As at Oct. 31, the Company has generated about N1.4 billion representing 91.5 per cent of N1.5 billion which was the revised approved revenue target for 2020.

He added that the NRC forecasts a revenue of N5.3 billion in 2021 as the company would have more coaches available for its operations deployed to operational routes across the country.

“For the year 2021, the Corporation plans to generate a total of N5.3billion as IGR. More coaches are expected to be deployed to Abuja-Kaduna Train Service, full commercial operation has commenced between Warri-Itakpe and the Lagos-Ibadan Train Service is expected to commence soon,” Okhiria added

He also added that 94% of the NRC’s Capital Appropriation for the year 2020 has been released so far, which has been used mainly for procurements.

“In the year 2021 Budget (Capital and Recurrent) of the Nigerian Railway Corporation for year 2020 budget, the sum of about N18 billion was appropriated for Capital Budge

“This amount was subsequently revised downwards to N16 billion due to the economic downturn as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic which led to shut down of economic activities as well as the dwindling revenue from crude oil.

“As at today, about N15 billion representing 94 per cent of 2020 Capital Appropriation has been released and procurement process is on-going,” he said.

Patoma Admin by — November 7, 2020 in Others 0
Transportation Ministry proposes N205bn for 2021

The Ministry of Transportation has proposed a capital budget of N205 billion in 2021 to facilitate the completion of all its ongoing projects and fund related agencies.
This disclosure was made by the Minister, Rotimi Amaechi in a statement during his presentation before the Joint Committee of the Senate and House of Representatives on Land and Marine Transport in Abuja on Friday.

According to a report by News Agency of Nigeria, the Minister disclosed that out of the N205 billion, land transport had about N204 million, marine transport had N845 million, with an overhead cost of about N358 million for the year 2021.

Speaking of the agencies funded by the Ministry, he said that Nigerian Institute of Transport Technology (NITT) Zaria and Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC) are fully funded from the national budget. Same with National Inland Waterway Authority (NIWA), Maritime Academy and Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding (CRFFN) derived their funding from both the national budget and the Internally Generated Revenues (IGR).

He said the major role of the Ministry in the marine transport sector was to oversee the monitoring of the implementation of government policies for the sub-sector, which were largely carried out by the agencies.

Amaechi said that the budget proposal had presented amounts required for completion of some of the projects by 2021, while others might extend to 2022. Some of these projects that are close to completion include National Freight Offices at Illela, Jibiya and Idiroko in addition to other land transport projects in 2021.

While presenting the budget, Rotimi Amaechi said: “The ministry is proposing a total capital budget of N205 billion with land transport estimates of N204 billion, marine transport estimates N845 million and overhead of N359 million in the 2021 budget, which is before you for consideration.

“The total capital appropriation of the ministry for 2020 is N70 billion, land has N69.6 billion, marine N698 million.

The aims and objectives of these proposals are to make significant progress on all ongoing projects, and to complete and deliver modern railway services that will provide an efficient and cost-effective alternative transport system for economic growth and job creation opportunities for the citizenry.”

Patoma Admin by — November 7, 2020 in Others 0
Lagos-Ibadan needs $656m for completion, Amaechi

By Favour Nnabugwu

The Minister of Transportation, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, said that the Federal Government needs a total funding of $656 million to complete work on the Lagos-Ibadan railway project.
This disclosure was made by the Minister, during the 2021 budget defence of the Ministry before the Joint Committees of the Senate and House of Representatives in Abuja, on Friday,
He said that for the project to achieve practical completion for the intended purpose, some aspects of works involving construction of upgraded railway stations, signalling and telecommunication system, among others, have to be completed.
These additional works amount to a total cost of $656 million, which is to be financed 100% by the Federal Government, is needed.
During the budget presentation session today, the Minister said:
“For the project to achieve full loan drawn down from our co-financier, China EXIM Bank, and attain practical completion for intended purpose, some aspects of works involving construction of upgraded railway stations, signaling and telecommunication system among others have to be completed.
“These additional and extra works amounting to 656 million dollars which is to be financed 100 per cent by the Federal Government has been approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) for implementation.
“Therefore, in order not to forestall the progress of implementation, adequate fund needs to be provided in the 2021 budget proposal to facilitate the completion of the project.”
What you should know
During the budget presentation session today, before the Joint Committees of the Senate and House of Representatives, Mr. Amaechi proposed a total capital budget of N205,161,882,492 to cover: Land, N204,316,793,527; Marine, N845,088,965; and overhead of N358,799,999 in the 2021 budget for consideration.
The Minister said that the aims and objectives of the proposals were to make significant progress on all ongoing projects, as well as to complete and deliver modern railway services.
In his presentation, he disclosed that under the railway modernisation programme, the construction of Lagos – Ibadan Standard Gauge line had reached 92% completion, and funds were needed for the project to reach practical completion.

Patoma Admin by — November 7, 2020 in Others 0

By Favour Nnabugwu

The Minister of Transportation, Mr. Chibuike Amaechi said government had done a lot to improve the economy of the country

Amaechi said a lot is being done to improve the economy, create jobs for Nigerians and build more infrastructure to push the overall growth of the country in different sectors.

“We have done a lot in Infrastructure development and employment. The massive infrastructural development in the Railway sector has employed so many Nigerians. Also don’t forget that in 2011/2012, the out of school children In Nigeria was 10 million which has now been reduced to about 3 million.

“In 2013, the cost of Tomato was extremely high, and the then Minister of Agriculture invited me for a meeting and he said to me, ‘can you provide railway transportation from Kano to Lagos?’ I called the MD of Railway to make the trip from Kano to Lagos more regular, and in one week the price of tomato crashed”, he said.

The Minister for Transportation further gave insight on the connection between economic development and defence, in the light of security challenges.

Amaechi stated this when he delivered a lecture to participants of National Defence College Course 29 in Abuja, Friday.

“The only way the army can rest and the police can do their job effectively is when the economy begins to grow. When people are properly engaged with different activities, they won’t think of engaging in criminal activities.

“The Army is not supposed to give internal security but the Police is overwhelmed by the level of crime rate, hence the Army has consistently been rescuing Nigerians.

“Economic growth reduces crime and when there is no crime, the Military and police can rest”, Amaechi added.

As Minister of Transportation, Amaechi said a lot is being done to improve the economy, create jobs for Nigerians and build more infrastructure to push the overall growth of the country in different sectors.

“We have done a lot in Infrastructure development and employment. The massive infrastructural development in the Railway sector has employed so many Nigerians. Also don’t forget that in 2011/2012, the out of school children In Nigeria was 10 million which has now been reduced to about 3 million.

“In 2013, the cost of Tomato was extremely high, and the then Minister of Agriculture invited me for a meeting and he said to me, ‘can you provide railway transportation from Kano to Lagos?’ I called the MD of Railway to make the trip from Kano to Lagos more regular, and in one week the price of tomato crashed”, he said.

The Minister for Transportation further gave insight on the connection between economic development and defence, in the light of security challenges.

“The only way the army can rest and the police can do their job effectively is when the economy begins to grow. When people are properly engaged with different activities, they won’t think of engaging in criminal activities.

“The Army is not supposed to give internal security but the Police is overwhelmed by the level of crime rate, hence the Army has consistently been rescuing Nigerians.

Economic growth reduces crime and when there is no crime, the Military and police can rest”, Amaechi added

Responding, the Commandant, National Defence College, Abuja, Real Admiral M.M Kadiri, expressed the Defence’s appreciation for honouring their invitation and for enlightening them on the role of economic and infrastructure development in curbing crime.

Patoma Admin by — October 23, 2020 in Others 0
Transportation Minister challenges S/S, S/E on unity for development….As SESSPN pledge to work with government

Minister of Transportation, Mr. Chibuike Amaechi has called on the people of the South East and South South to work together in unity for the development of their regions.

Amaechi during an interactive session with the South East South South Professionals of Nigeria (SESSPN) in Lagos over the weekend, told the need for them to speak with one voice for development.

Amaechi without mincing words said, “We fight a lot among ourselves. In South South and South East we fight amongst ourselves. I’m saying this so that we can separate emotions from reality. Today it is not about President Buhari, it is about us. This administration is doing a lot, but because it’s President Buhari, we pretend not to see it.

“We complain about lopsided appointments. Apart from the area of security, have you checked other areas side by side? The President will appoint someone from the South East and people from the same region will fight against the appointment, if you are the President, how will you feel?

“When we took office, the President asked us to complete all projects left by previous administrations before starting new ones. We did that and it was across all regions. We completed Port Harcourt Airport, we are working on Enugu Airport; Enugu Onitsha road, work is going on, no matter how slow.

“The second Niger bridge in Onitsha – 48 percent and we have assured the country that by 2022 it would be completed. Those who are from Onitsha or from Anambra, have you gone to the site and work is not going on? When we came it was zero. Most of you don’t see it because it’s not beside the Niger bridge, so you don’t see it unless you visit the site.

The Minister noted, “Onitsha is a River port, 3.5 metre draft. The only thing that can go there is barge. Port Harcourt and Warri seaport will be the highest. And people still criticise a president that is doing this much for this zone. How do we survive by ethnicity?”

On rail projects and why work has not been done in the South East, Amaechi said, “I hate tribalism. I’ve said this before, for me, I’m Nigerian, and what informs my decision of choosing which rail line to construct at any point in time, is the economics of rail; and currently the economics shows that Lagos to Kano has the capacity to move 30 million tonnes of cargo per year. I do the same analysis for Port Harcourt to Maiduguri, 11 million tonnes”.

“We are currently doing the analysis for Lagos to Calabar to know how many tonnes of cargo can be moved there per year. So we started with the Lagos to Kano rail. President Obasanjo approved it, President Jonathan started construction on it by doing Abuja to Kaduna and President Buhari told us to complete all previous projects”.

“Now, we are applying for $11b loan to construct Lagos to Calabar rail. There was no design for Port Harcourt-Maiduguri. We knew that the first thing to do was to commence a feasibility study, after that we did the design. Its now they’ll start to do the site drawing. In that three months that they are doing that, you’ll start shouting again, why are they not constructing? You forget that Ibadan to Kano, they are just finishing the design now, that’s why they’ve not started construction.”

“Back to Port Harcourt-Maiduguri, the first thing was the instruction from the President that all rails in Nigeria must be standard gauge. So we did a standard gauge design. We went to Bonny to do studies and we did that study up to Maiduguri. I did a feasibility study that brought it between $14billion to $11 billion. When we finished, we got approval from the President, but I realised that we may not get the money in this government. I changed my course, and I said, while we are looking for money for the standard gauge for Port Harcourt-Maiduguri, let me ask for money to reconstruct the narrow-gauge at $3.1billion. And the President after much argument, accepted. After sometime, he agreed, that we can proceed with the narrow-gauge, while seeking for money to construct the standard gauge.”

“At least I’m sure that before we leave government we would have done up to 80 percent of that rail. Also, there was no line to Owerri, I added Owerri to the Port Harcourt-Maiduguri rail design, because of the Industrial Park and the University of Transportation in Ubima”, Amaechi said.

He talked about safe anchorage issues which has delayed the government’s maritime security project from commencing operations. According to the Minister, “The deep blue project which has most of its surveillance equipment already on ground would ensure end to end surveillance and safety of Nigeria’s waterways, and would in turn encourage usage of all ports in the South South.”

“The problem with maritime in Nigeria is insecurity. There are rich Nigerians who do bunkering. Next are those who escort vessels, another is the OMSL group who say they are protecting vessels and so on. We have a disadvantage where those who are making the money will not allow you provide the security. We have bought equipment for use in securing our waters. The moment I announced it, they reported me everywhere. But we must end it”, Amaechi stated.

In his opening remarks, President of SESSPN, Hannibal Uwaifo while welcoming the Minister, said, “We will need to work with our people in government, support them, no matter what political party they belong to, to help and promote our region. It is those of us who are exposed, those of us who are professionals that can put heads together with our people in government to overcome these challenges. We have to up our game in order to get a better tomorrow for our children.”

Patoma Admin by — October 19, 2020 in Others 0
Lagos-Ibadan rail-line will stand the test of time, Amaechi

The Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, said the the Ministry wil make sure that the rsilline on the $1.6 billion Lagos-Ibadan stand the test if time for years to come

Amaechi in his tweeter handle yesterday was indeed satisfied work being carried by the contracors. saying that he saw a lot of improvement the their work on that axis.

“On our inspection today, I noticed that there is huge improvement in almost all stations on the Lagos-Ibadan rail line.”

I have charged the contractors to continue with this pace but never to compromise on quality and safety. We want a rail line that will stand the test of time.”

He explained that by December 2020, to the first or second week in January 2021, the project should have been completed.

As the road infrastructures would not last without the construction of functional rail lines, he emphasized that there would be a restriction on the type and capacity of vehicles that can ply the expressways in the country, so as to reduce destruction.

The restriction is needed to reduce traffic congestion, ensure the safety of people and property, and also the safety of the road infrastructures across the country.“

He added that in a bid to make this a reality, the railway would be put to use, as cargoes from Apapa Seaport will be transferred to Ibadan via the railway.

While the Ibadan-Kano rail project is under construction, the expressway would be used to convey cargoes, pending the completion of the railway, which should be completed between 2-3 years.

Amaechi stressed the need to ramp-up the construction of the railways to ease the burden off the expressways, he said doing so will help to ward off the destruction on the infrastructure, caused by trucks and other heavy-duty vehicles.

As tankers are plying the road infrastructures with excess cargoes, He reiterated that the best way is to move all the cargoes to the rail tracks.

The Minister advised more patience and understanding with the government, to allow them to complete the infrastructures and the myriads of projects the government is working on.

Patoma Admin by — October 19, 2020 in Others 0
President Buhari to commission Lagos-Ibadan railway Jan 2021

Minister of Transportation, Mr Chibuike Amaechi

By Favour Nnabugwu

President Muhammadu Buhari will be commissioning the Lagos-Ibadan rail-line in January 2021.

Minister of Transport, Mr Chibuikem Amaechi made this known during an inspection tour of the ongoing construction of the standard gauge in Lagos-Ibadan rail-liney yesterday

“We have cooperation from the various communities along the standard gauge construction; the contractors have done what they could do but the problem is change in weather

“They couldn’t work beyond that period, besides that, I think the contractors have done well.

“The construction is coming to an end; they are trying to beat the target they gave the ministry of transportation because there is huge improvement.

“Is there any facility in Nigeria that is better than the one in Ebute-Meta,?” he asked.

Amaechi said that the transition period between now and January would enable the Federal Government acquire Right of Way for Lagos-Ibadan route.

He attributed weather conditions as one of the challenges being faced by the contractors despite the effort of the contractors who have done their best with the project,

He said that it could be difficult to embark on perimeters fencing, adding that the fence constructed in Warri had been pulled down by hoodlums.

TheChairman, Board of Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC), Alhaji Ibrahim Musa said in the course of the project, the management of NRC sat with Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA) and agreed on areas where overhead crossing and bridges would be constructed

“For instance, we constructed new two line bridges at Costain and brought down the old ones to enable us have access.

“As we are coming, you can see that passengers’ movement are under the track, while in some places we could see overhead bridges from Lagos to Ibadan in consideration of human and goods trafficking along the corridors,” he said

Musa said that although people were still asking for more access to the corridor, they however would be considered based on merit and the finances available on ground.

The Director of Railway, Federal Ministry of Transportation, Mr Babakobi Muhammed said the ministry officials held meetings with transportation ministries of Lagos, Ogun and Oyo states to ensure safe corridor for the train

Patoma Admin by — October 18, 2020 in Others 0
FG to reopen Eko, Marine Bridges on Monday

Federal government has directed that Eko and Marine Bridges in Lagos would be reopened on Monday after concluding urgently needed repair works on Bridges .

The Minister of Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola who announed this on Saturday, said the bridges are to be  reopened to traffic on Monday, October 19, 2020.

The approval for the reopening of the completed First Phase of the repairs on the Bridges by midnight on Sunday 18th of October, which was given by the Minister on Friday was sequel to the report by the Contractor handling the projects, Messrs. Buildwell Plant & Equipment Industries Limited that the repair works on the First Phase had been completed 100 percent.

Fashola who expressed the Ministry’s appreciation to Lagosians for their patience, understanding and cooperation while sections of the Bridges were closed also directed that members of the public should be informed of any restrictions to traffic while work is ongoing on the Second Phase of the project.

The Minister added that while the completed section of the Eko Bridge (Lagos Island Bound) should be reopened to traffic, work should commence immediately on the Alaka Bound side of the project.

Explaining further on the next phase of repair works on the Bridges, the Director Highways (Bridges & Designs) in the Ministry, Engr. Emmanuel Adeoye, said work was taking off without the need for either partial or complete closure of the Bridges, adding, however , that the public would be informed adequately should such a step become necessary.

The 1,350 metre Eko Bridge, built in phases between 1965 and 1975, links the Lagos Island to the Mainland. It was closed to traffic in March this year in order to replace faulty joints and bearings. But, as a result of COVID-19 lockdown, actual repair works commenced in the first week of June.

Work commenced in May on the first of the three phases in which repair works on the Marine Bridge was divided. The repairs on the Bridge, which is part of a network of complex bridges with several loops taking traffic in and out of the Apapa area of Lagos, included jacketing and skin repairs of the piers, lifting the bridge section deck in order to change the electrometric bearing, milling and placing a new wearing course of asphalt among others.

The repair works on the Eko and Marine Bridges is part of the ongoing Federal Government’s Bridge Maintenance Programme which involves the repairs and rehabilitation of over 37 bridges nationwide with a substantial number already completed while others are at different stages of completion.

 

Patoma Admin by — October 17, 2020 in News 0
FEC approves $1.96bn rail contract from Kano to Niger Republic

* Okays N745.2m for another 8 forensic auditors.

* Raises PTDF hqtrs contract sum to N14bn

THE Federal Executive Council, FEC, has approved about $1.96 billion for the award of contract for the development of the proposed Kano-Jigawa-Katsina-Jibia to Maradi rail line in Niger Republic.
The Council on Wednesday, also approved the sum of N745.2 million for the procurement of additional eight Field Forensic Auditors for the forensic audit of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC and another N12.088 billion Umuahia/Bende/Ohafia road with a distance of 45 kilometers.
The approval was disclosed by the Ministers of Transportation, Rotimi Amechi, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio and Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, while briefing State House correspondents at the end of the FEC virtual meeting presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari at the Council Chamber, Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Briefing on the rail project, the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amechi said that his ministry presented two memoranda that were approved by the council.
According to him, “Two memos for the Ministry of Transportation were approved by the council. The first one is the award of contract for the design, manufacture, supply, testing and commissioning of one railway crane of 150 ton capacity for emergency and recovery of rolling stocks.
“This is to sort out say situations of accident on the track. It is for a total cost of N3,049,544,000. That’s the first memo that was approved for the Ministry of Transportation.
“The second one is the award of contract for the development of the proposed Kano-Katsina-Jibia to Maradi rail line in Niger Republic and to Dutse, the capital of Jigawa, for a total cost of $1,959,744,723.71, inclusive of 7.5% VAT.”
It was gathered that the proposed rail line from Kano in Nigeria to Maradi in Niger Republic is to cover a track length of 248 kilometres and will pass through seven senatorial districts in the North.
The rail contract which was initially budgeted in the 2018 Appropriation will connect at least seven cities in Nigeria and one city in Niger Republic and is expected to start from Kano and pass through Dambatta, Kazaure, Daura, Mashi, Katsina, Jibia and terminate in Maradi, Niger Republic.
It will connect about three states of Jigawa, Kano and Katsina and when completed, would assist in the supply of crude oil from Niger Republic to the refinery being built in the border town between both countries.
The border town is close to Katsina State and a mutual agreement for the construction of the refinery was some time ago reached between Nigeria and Niger Republic.
Also briefing, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Mohammed, who briefed on behalf of the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Dr. Zainab Ahmed  said that the council approved the precocurement of 1,800 units of laptop computers for training schools and computer-based test examinations at three Nigeria Customs training schools.
He said, “On behalf of the Honourable Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, I want to report also that she got two of her memos approved. One is for the procurement of 1,800 units of laptop computers for training school and computer-based test examinations at three Nigeria Customs Service training schools in Gwagwalada, Lagos and Kano for a sum of N351,540,000, with a completion period of six weeks.
“The major advantage of this particular contract is that it saves the department a lot of money in hiring consultants for training and other services.
“The Minister also got another approval for N197,843,100 for the expansion of the Nigeria Customs Service’s cash management’s software in compliance with International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS). This is also going to enhance the efficiency of the Department of Customs.”
Also briefing on behalf of the Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, Alhaji Mohammed said, “Finally, on behalf of the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, a memo was presented today asking for approval for the augmentation of the contract for the construction of Petroleum Technology Development Fund corporate headquarters office in Abuja, for the sum of N3,773,784,399.48, therefore raising the initial approval for the contract to about N14 billion.
“However, the important thing about this particular contract is that the building has since been completed, it has since been in use and we inherited this augmentation from 2012, but since governance is a continuum, we are honouring the augmentation, but this headquarters building has been completed, the contractors have been magnanimous while all these arguments about the augmentation was going on, they were magnanimous enough to complete the project and many international conferences have been held in that building.”
The Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola said a memorandum for the award of contract for the section two of the Ohafia/Arochukwu road at the sum of N12.088 billion.
He said, “The memorandum presented by the Ministry of Works and Housing today is for the Section two of the Ohafia to Arochukwu road. This section comprises Umuahia/Bende/Ohafia road in Abia State and it was approved for construction at N12.088 billion comprising a distance of 45 kilometers to complement Section One which was previously awarded in 2018, that is the section from Bende/Arochukwu to Ohafia which was 19.27 kilometers.
“So with this award now, the entire length of the road is now under contract with the same contractor and we hope for expeditious execution.”
The Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Akpabio said that the memo that was presented by the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs was a concluding memo on the procurement of Field Forensic Auditors for the forensic audit of the Niger Delta Development Commission.
He said the council approved eight additional forensic field auditors at a total sum of about N745.2 million.
“This brings to the total number of field forensic auditors to 16 in addition to the earlier approved Lead Forensic Auditors, messrs Olumiluwa Bashir and Co. These people are now going to be charge of the nine states of the Niger Delta which has been divided into 16 lots.
“As I stated earlier, lots one is Ernst and Young for the headquarters. They will be undertaking the 19 years of audit and also bring out the organigram for restructuring of the NDDC for better performance in future.
“Council also considered and approved the need to attach investigative security agencies, the relevant ones to each of the team to ensure transparency and also to be sure that whatever comes out is acceptable to not just in Nigeria but to the international community.”
On his part, the Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola said, “We considered in exco the award of contract for the procurement of 52 number operational Green Maria vehicle to facilitate effective operation in the Correctional Service as well as ease of movement of awaiting trial inmate from the Custodial centres 247 of them in all to about 5022 courts in Nigeria.
“This is to compliment what we have already acquired between 2016 and 2019 of about 451 Operational Green Maria vehicles. The objective is to ensure that the delay associated with trial of inmate is reduced if not eliminated.”
Patoma Admin by — October 14, 2020 in News 0