FG Committed to Building Enduring Road Infrastructure at Lowest Possible Cost

• Commended By Leaders Across Political Divide for Historic Infrastructural Transformation
• As Minister of Works Save Over N300 Billion on The Design of The Onitsha Axis of The Second Niger Bridge Bypass Done by The Past Administration

As part of efforts to secure  the future of Nigeria  and guarantee  her  progressive  march to economic prosperity, the Renewed Hope administration of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, His Excellency, President Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR has expressed  its commitment in building everlasting  road infrastructure with the most effective design at the lowest possible cost.

A statement issued by Hon. Barr. Orji Uchenna Orji, Special Adviser (Media) to the Honourable Minister of Works, noted that this assurance was made by the Honourable Minister of Works, His Excellency, Sen. Engr. Nweze David Umahi CON during  his inspection visit  to the rehabilitation of  Enugu- Port Harcourt  dual carriageway section IV (Aba-Port Harcourt) handled  by China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation Ltd( CCECC) on Sunday, 24th March 2024.

The Honourable Minister who was accompanied  by  a member of the Senate Committee on Works and Deputy Chief Whip of the 10th Senate, and other leaders  across  political  divide from South  East said that some of the ideals in the Renewed Hope  mantra under his Ministry  include design and cost effectiveness, speed and standard of job delivery as well as innovations  that would guarantee zero maintenance  and durability of road infrastructure in Nigeria.

He urged contractors to always consider  the sufferings  of the road users as they  set up their  work plans.

The Honourable Minister also enjoined  contractors to ensure that the roads they are working are made passable  for commuters during  the rainy season.

He thanked  Mr.  President for the enablement to change  the narrative  of the road infrastructure  in Nigeria.

On the section being  handled  by CCECC, he directed, “We will not accept anything less than two to three sections working. And I’ve given seven days for this particular lane, that is, the upper bound lane to be totally repaired, to ameliorate the sufferings of the commuters. I feel for them very highly. When you go through this road, you now need to take a number of painkillers. It’s not desirable. So I’m begging CCECC, the controller, and engineers to do everything possible in the next seven days and create a smooth sail on this right-hand side.”

He further  said, ” I want to thank Mr. President, so much. He has done a lot in our road infrastructure. He’s a man who wants all the roads to be completed as soon as possible. But let me assure him that I’m doing the best that I can with the fear of God and with commitment to his Renewed Hope agenda, which we all embraced.

He continued, “And just two days back, with these leaders, we went to Asaba to look at the design of the bypass of the second Niger bridge, and we went to Onitsha. And by that singular movement, we saw that the design was defective and we agreed on a new kind of design. That was how we saved the country over N300 billion by that singular movement to that location.”

The Honourable Minister  who also visited  the Upgrading of the 15km section of the East-West road section III:  (Port Harcourt – Eleme Junction to Onne Junction in Rivers State) handled  by RCC, the rehabilitation of Enugu- Port Harcourt Expressway Section 3, Enugu- Lokpanta handled by CGC and the rehabilitation work at the collapsed bridge site at the New Artisan Bridge near NNPC mega fillings station Enugu Capital City, Enugu State, expressed  satisfaction  with the job being  done but charged contractors to step up their pace to cover a milestone ahead of the rainy season.

He said of the project along Eleme refinery road, ” We are upgrading the 15km road between Eleme flyover to Onne junction. We are starting with excavation to fill all the failed sections to make them stable. And when we get to where stable, we build up the boulders. After boulders, we put up sharp sand, and after the sharp sand, we compact. After the compaction, we put the first layer of stone base, 20cm first layer that will build up against another 10cm of stone base, we compact. After compacting, we leave it out for the traffic. So that it gets maximum compaction. After that, we put 10 cm with 5% cement to stabilize it and make it very strong. That will make the road very stable and it will last for a long time. ”

The leaders from South East, who accompanied  the Honourable Minister, thanked  Mr. President  for appointing  a round  peg in a round hole and for taking  a bold and reassuring step to recover the economy  of the country.

They  enjoined  Nigerians to continue to have faith in the Renewed Hope administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR.

The Deputy Chief Whip, Sen. Barr. Onyekachi Peter Nwaebonyi, who is also the Deputy Chairman  Public Accounts and member,  Works  Committee of the 10th Senate said, “This is what we were lacking before, like he said here, he is not an office Minister. He moves from site to site to ensure that the jobs are done according to specification.  That is what we want in this country, and I want to commend Mr. President for finding him worthy. This is the very first time an expert is leading this ministry, and I want to assure Nigerians that very soon, they will see the difference in all our projects.”

The former Secretary to the Government of the Federation and former Senate President, Sen. Anyim Pius Anyim, GCON said, “I want to remind you that the day the Honourable Minister took oath of office, he had a reception and I chaired it and I reassured Nigerians that he would exceed their expectations. I think this trip is a follow-up to that assurance to satisfy myself that he’s actually exceeding expectations. And I can tell you that it’s amazing. His  passion, his expertise impacts the design,  the quality, the speed,  the durability, and, in fact, impacts the style of project implementation. And for the two days we’ve been on the road, it’s been like never before. And I want to say that I am proud that he is exceeding expectations. And I want to say that I have been vindicated that the President did not make any mistake. Again, I want to reemphasize, like my brother, there is a case of square peg in a square hole. Thank you, Mr. President.”
The former National Publicity  Secretary  of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, Chief  Olisa Metuh said, “I want to state clearly, publicly what I have seen in the past two days. In the last two days, I have witnessed things that I never knew were possible on the issue of road construction in Nigeria, especially on these roads. I’ve gone with the Honourable Minister. I have seen, I’ve been satisfied. I feel that it is a question of a round peg in a round hole. Our request, Mr. President, is that the hope is real, and as long as the Minister is in charge, he’s being supported, he’s being funded, Mr. President is going to write his name in gold in the annals of our history for generations to come. This will be a reference point about what he has done on our roads in the entire country. It’s a legacy project for Nigerians. I want to state that the most important thing is not only the quality of the roads that we have seen but the fact that it’s being done with the lowest amount of money. What the Honourable Minister is saving the country, saving from the budget, saving the Nation on the instruction of Mr. President is unquantifiable. This is democracy in action. Mr. President, thank you so much. We thank Mr. President and we thank you, Mr. Honourable Minister.”

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