All Posts in "Transportation"

MD NRC’s reappointment: Okhiria promises to work more harder

By Favour Nnabugwu

The Managing Director of the Nigerian Railway Coperation (NRC), Engr. Fidet Okhiria promised to ensure that the mandate given  him to serve is well delivered, following his reappointment as the Chief Executive Officer of the Corporation.
Okhiria who visited the Idu rail Station President Muhammadu Buhari and the Minister of Transport Rt Hon Rotimi Amaechi for the opportunity that was given him to serve his Country under the platform of the Nigeria Railway Co-operation.
‘Expressing his appreciation, he said, “‘I thank God and also the government for there support over the years. I am trying to do more than I have been doing before and I cant afford to throw away the mandate that was given to me by the President and the Minister.I will multiply what ever I have been doing before to ensure I leave a good legacy” .
He was particularly displeased non-adherence to social distancing while he frowned at the nonchalant attitude of some  staffs and security operatives on ground
Staffs require orientation and I dont want to say discipline because discipline is either positive or negative.. we will try and plan to see how we can make it better both on our staff side and customer side, because there is no limit to which the staff can press”
“As a person, l try to adhere to social distancing in order to save my life , that is why I was talking to the traveller because he didn’t adhere to social distancing. when  leave here i am going to to call my staff to know why the travelers are not adhering to social distancing .
“Its so disheartning that even with the presence of security operatives around , social distancing is still not enforced. we don’t expect the the directors to enforce social distancing , if not staff will suffer .we are going to ensure those managing them do their job”.
Okhiria also addressed the issue of E-ticketing, the Railway boss assured Nigerians especially users of the Idu train station that plans are on ground to work out the necessary modalities to ensure the E-ticketing becomes operational as soon as possible.
”The E-ticketing installation has commenced, with the last meeting that was held. by the end of the month , the first stage of people been able to buy ticket online will start, while we await the physical infastructure that is going to be put in place . we are working hard and also pressing and we think by month end we should be able to launch the E-ticketing platform and it will be functional”
‘According to him, ‘The programm of the train station is based on seven return trips, making it 14 a day, seven up and seven down. we are not doing the four trips except for wedenesday when we leave for maintenace. Couches have arrived, the diesel multiple units are heavier than about 150 ton and require special vehicle to move them”.
We have succeded in in moving the Locomotive to Abuja and we have also moved two two to Agbor and we hope by this weekend the two motorcave for the DMU’s will start their journey and it will take two weeks to get here. By November everything will be in place and seven return trips making 24 trips a day”.
Continuinng he stated, “Train scheduling is not an easy task, because if you dont do it well it can lead to accident. We dont want to interfere with the time table, Nigerians should be patient with us, before the first week of November we will get there .
Patoma Admin by — October 8, 2020 in News 0
FG announces total closure of 3rd Mainland bridge

By Favour Nnabugwu

The Federal Government has announced a total shutdown of Third Mainland Bridge in Lagos for three days from midnight on Friday to midnight on Sunday to carry out special repair works on the 11.8km platform.

The Federal Controller of Works in Lagos, Mr Olukayode Popoola, said in a statement that the construction had reached a stage where there should not be any form of movement or vibration on the bridge for concrete casting, hence the closure.

“The first total closure of the section of the bridge between Adekunle and Adeniji Adele will be from midnight of Friday, 9th October, 2020 to midnight of Sunday, 11th October 2020 to allow the contractor complete the first stage of casting works.

“The contractor, Messrs Borini Prono & Co. (Nig.) Ltd, is nearing completion of works on the closed section of Third Mainland Bridge and requires the total closure of both bounds of the bridge between Adeniji Adele and Adekunle (i.e. in addition to the closed bound of the bridge, the other bound from Adekunle to Adeniji Adele will also be closed) to complete work.

“Due to the number of expansion joints to be cast on the closed section of the bridge and the traffic situation in Lagos State, especially during the week days; the casting of the expansion joints will be in two stages to ensure that the total closure is only at the weekends, when there is less traffic plying the route,’ ’he said.

The controller said that adequate traffic management officials would be deployed to man all the alternative routes to help with traffic flow and expressed regret at any inconvenience the closure might cause.

Popoola added that the second total closure of the section of the bridge between Adekunle and Adeniji Adele would be communicated at a later date.

“The section of the bridge between Adekunle and Iyana – Oworo will still remain open, and traffic can move from Ebute-Metta/ Adekunle to Iyana – Oworo and vice – versa,’’he said.Recall that the Third Mainland Bridge in Lagos, which was going through series of repairs, was partially shut on July 24 for another round of rehabilitation works.

The repair is expected to last for six months with the construction divided into two phases of three months on each carriageway, starting with the Oworonsoki bound carriageway.

Patoma Admin by — October 7, 2020 in News 0
Anambra State Governor laments stranded equipment for 2nd Niger Bridge in Germany

By Favour Nnabugwu

GOVERNOR Willie Obiano of Anambra State yesterday begged President Muhammadu Buhari to intervene the 2nd bridge equipment purchased for the ongoing work which are still in Germany to be brought to Nigeria for the speedy completion of the project on record time.
Governor Obiano told President Buhari that the construction work at the Onitsha-Enugu federal highway has slowed down to almost zero level.
 Speaking with State House correspondents after meeting behind closed-door with the President, Governor Obiano, who is the only governor on the platform of the All Progressive Grand Alliance, APGA, said that he sought the assistance of the federal government for the settlement of about 5,000 displaced people from his state.
 On the reason for the visit, he said, “I come once in awhile to brief Mr. President on the developments we are having in Anambra state and we do have a lot of beautiful developments. We also have some that bothered me to come right now, which is the flood.
 “Four of my local governments, that is four out of 21 are under water now as we speak because of this flood and it affected a lot of things, properties which include farm produce and what have you. So, I called on Mr. President to assist us at this very crucial time being a COVID-19 time and now, the flood we are experiencing this time around is like the one of 2012 which is terrible. So, he promised to do something immediately.
 “I did also apprise him on the progress so far made on the 2nd Niger Bridge. If you watch from their side, you will see that almost half of that bridge has been done. But because the water level is very high, the contractor working in that bridge requires some equipment which they’ve already purchased long ago sitting in Germany and requires some support from Central Bank to be able to bring in. I did mention that to him and the President noted that and said he will do something about that.
 “The other point was on the Federal University of Education in Aguleri. Anambra North Senatorial District does not have any federal institution at all. Other two senatorial districts have two or three federal institutions. The place is part of the area I just told you that is flooded – Anambra West, Anambra East, the whole of Anambra West is under water now, half of Anambra East is under Water, Ogbaru area is under water.
 “All these are majorly Anambra North. So, the Senate graciously approved and wrote to Mr. President to assent to the bill that they passed. This letter was written 19th September 2019.  So, Mr. President has agreed to quickly acquiesce to that so that this institution can move on.
 “On my own, I’ve paid compensation to the land owners and I’ve started the fencing of the massive property. And I am doing the gatehouse of the institution. All I require is Mr. President’s support by acquiescing to the recommendations of the Clerk of the National Assembly on 19th September 2019.
 “We did discuss some other roads, federal roads that are in very bad shape, about six of them and I requested Mr. President to see if they can go into their budget as they prepare for the budget of next year, to see whether those roads can go into their budget.
 “I did also talk to him that work has slowed down almost to zero on the Onitsha-Enugu expressway. I understand there are little issues, I don’t know what it is but he also promised to look into that.
 “Mr. President is doing well in Anambra. You know he built the Zik Masoleum that took 23 years to build, the road he’s working on, the Onitsha-Enugu expressway, he finished that road as PTF chairman and he came back as President to come and fix that road again. So, that’s an important thing to remember that he did it before and he is the fellow doing it again.”
 On the extent of damage in the four local government areas affected by flood, he said, “We have over 5000 people displaced and we already prepared some receptacles where we received the displaced people. But they need help when the water is receding because they lost their property which majorly includes their produce which they harvested before this flood crept in.
 “I believe Mr. President will be able to assist us to be able to support these families that have been displaced in this manner.”
 On the level of damage by flood and how much he would be looking for from the President, he said, “Well, Mr. President will give me the money and how much is it? I can’t tell you off the cuff but if they give N300 billion, I will like it.
 “You know normally, when you make this kind of presentation, the President will now send NEMA to come and see for themselves what has happened. So, NEMA will work with your team and they will be able to ascertain what the volume is and from there, Mr. President will see whether they can take in all of them or part of it as the case may be. So, I believe that process will go that way.”
Patoma Admin by — October 6, 2020 in News 0
ANKER EXPLOSION: GOVERNOR BELLO MEETS FASHOLA, SEEKS URGENT ATTENTION TO FEDERAL ROADS IN KOGI

Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello on Wednesday visited the Honourable Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola to solicit urgent Federal Government’s attention to the deplorable condition of federal roads in Kogi.
The governor’s visit came at the wake of a fatal road accident involving a tanker and other vehicles on the Okene/Lokoja/Abuja road that resulted in an explosion which claimed over 20 lives in the Felele area of Lokoja on Wednesday.
The governor told the minister that the deplorable state of all federal roads across the state have led to recurrent accidents in the state.
He said the state government has done a lot in maintaining the roads but owing to the large volume of traffic on the roads, in view of its strategic location as gateway state, such repairs and maintenance do not stand the test of time.
He appealed to the minister to expedite action in carrying out reconstruction of roads across the state to curtail the preventable accidents on the road.
The governor appealed to the minister to direct contractors handling repairs on the Murtala Bridge at Jamata to speed up the rate of work, noting that the slow pace of work has caused the commuters untold hardship.
Bello informed the minister that he had to personally be on ground on the Lokoja -Abuja road on July 26 to help other agencies to control the traffic gridlock caused on the Lokoja -Abuja road as a result of the damaged portion of the bridge.
He equally urged the minister to direct the contractors handling the Kabba-Ilorin road to return to site, noting that the total neglect of the road in the area has made life unbearable for motorists and commuters plying the road.
The governor also drew the attention of the minister to the Lokoja-Ganaja-Ajaokuta road which the federal government awarded for over three years but contractors were yet to be seen on site.
Responding, Fashola said he has directed the Federal Road Maintenance Agency to immediately move into action to fix bad portion of the road at the Felele end of the Okene/Lokoja/Abuja road.
The minister equally put calls across to contractors handling Kabba-Egbe-Omuaro road, Okene-Lokoja-Abuja road to inform them of the governor’s presence in his office and the need for them to speed up the works on the roads.
He assured the governor that the ministry will use the remaining part of the year to achieve more in fulfilling the governor’s request in respect of federal roads in the state.
Fashola commiserated with the governor, people and government of Kogi State over the accident that claimed lives on Wednesday in Lokoja.
Patoma Admin by — September 23, 2020 in Transportation 0