Buhari inaugurates 2nd Niger Bridge, Customs headquarters, more legacy projects today

Buhari inaugurates 2nd Niger Bridge, Customs headquarters, more legacy projects today

 

President Muhammadu Buhari will today inaugurate more legacy projects completed by the Federal Government across the country as he prepares to bow out of office on Monday May 29.

The biggest of the historic projects is the Second Niger Bridge in the South East.

Already, the President this morning commissioned the newly built N19.6bn corporate headquarters building of the Nigeria Customs Service in Abuja.

On April 26, Works and Housing Babatunde Fasola, told State House reporters after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) that the Second Niger Bridge and the other projects were ready for delivery to the Federal Government.

Presidential spokesman confirmed today’s inauguration in the statement.

It read, “Following through on his administration’s determination to upgrade and expand the nation’s stock of infrastructure, President Muhammadu Buhari will (tomorrow) Tuesday, commission seven legacy projects completed by the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing across the country.

“Comprising three major bridges, three Federal secretariats and a road, the historic event will be headlined by the Second Niger Bridge, which was conceptualised in 2005. In 2014, there was an attempt to begin the project through Public Private Partnership (PPP), but this was not successful. The construction began in 2016 with the Presidential Infrastructure Development Fund (PIDF)

“Others are the Loko-Oweto Bridge across River Benue to link Benue to Nasarawa State and the Ikom Bridge in Cross River State while the Road project is the completed Section of the over 200 kilometres of Kano-Kaduna Dual Carriage Expressway and three new federal secretariats.

“The first of the Federal Secretariats at Awka is located at Executive Business District Layout, Awka South Local Government Area, Anambra State and is situated on a 5.106 Hectares of land. The project was first awarded on 9th December, 2011 but was practically completed and taken over by the Ministry of Works and Housing on 14th July, 2022.”

Meanwhile, the NCS Comptroller General, Col. Hameed Ali, said at the official opening of the new Customs building that the edifice is a world-class architectural and technological masterpiece office complex befitting of the agency status.

Although, he said the project was conceived in 2002, construction work on it started in 2007.