metro
Lagos-Calabar coastal highway will cost N4bn/km, Umahi replies Atiku
Lagos-Calabar coastal highway will cost N4bn/km, Umahi replies Atiku
Minister of Works, David Umahi, says the construction of every kilometre of the 700km Lagos-Calabar coastal highway will cost N4 billion.
Even as he disclosed that the highway would be done using concrete and more expansive than the previous design, with a middle rail track, the cost is far less compared to the amount previously quoted for the project.
Umahi was reacting to the claim made by the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in the 2023 election, Atiku Abubakar, that one kilometre of the road project would gulp N8 billion.
The minister’s cost disclosure means the infrastructural project which is 700 kilometres will consume N2.8 trillion.
Umahi spoke Thursday on the Television Continental (TVC) News Hour programme.
The former Ebonyi governor also refuted claims that the project did not follow due procurement process.
He added that the project was awarded on a counter-funding basis and not on a Public-Private Partnership as claimed.
Atiku had criticised President Bola Tinubu’s decision of awarding the contract to Gilbert Chagoury’s Hitech without competitive bidding.
He also asked the President to disclose the full cost of the Lagos-Calabar highway project.
He also wondered why the Tinubu administration released N1.06 trillion for the pilot phase, or six per cent of the project, which starts at Eko Atlantic and is expected to terminate at the Lekki Deep Sea Port.
Reacting to the allegations, Umahi explained that despite the increasing costs of materials in the construction industry due to commodity price inflation and supply chain disruptions, the ministry is committed to prudence, promising to reveal the true cost.
Umahi stressed the project would be completed within eight years, adding that with the use of concrete pavement on the four-lane carriageway, the project costs N4 billion per kilometre.
He said, “People are just building castles without knowledge and they don’t know figures, I will run the figures for you. We are going to compare the cross-section of the one the former vice president mentioned that was renegotiated for $11.1bn for 700km.
“So you have to now ask what was there to be constructed. And what was there to be constructed is the only available design from NDDC.
“They had designed the entire 700km but we are not following exactly that pattern or right of way. “We have a different modification. The original design had two carriageways on each side of the road with four lanes.
“And in the middle, they did not provide for the train track. It’s just going to be a water-collecting basin.
“But the coastal road we are constructing has a total of 10 lanes, you know; not only that it has a total of 10 lanes, it also has what we called shoulders.
“And the total shoulders can be put at about 23 metres. So when you put the total concrete pavement we are doing, it’s about 59 metres. When you put the total flexible pavement that he quoted it’s about 23 metres.”
He also said, “And so when you run the figures, you now find out that under his calculation, it is giving you about over N19bn per kilometre. Now if you divide it by the 23km that they are doing, it is about 2.225 times a standard superhighway carriageway, which is N11.55 billion.
“Whereas what we are doing, if you divide it, you get N5.167bn, So when you now divide using our N1.067 trillion, you get about N4 billion per kilometre. If you go back to what he has quoted, you will get over N8 billion.
“So using concrete, which should be more expensive because of the kind of terrain we have, and using flexible pavement, which shouldn’t stand the coastal route, you will find out that our cost is N4bn instead of the N8 billion claimed by the former vice president.”
metro
Six terrorists surrender to troops in Lake Chad
Six terrorists surrender to troops in Lake Chad
At least six Boko Haram terrorists have surrendered to troops of the Multinational Joint Task Force, MNJTF, in the Lake Chad region.
A statement by the Chief Military Public Information Officer, Lt-Col. Abdullahi Abubakar, said the terrorists laid down arms between 17 -27 April 2024 following offensives launched by troops of Operation Lake Sanity 2, in the Lake Chad Region panning Cameroon and Nigeria.
Abubakar said a 19-year-old Boko Haram terrorist, Alhaji Ali, surrendered to troops of 403 Amphibious Brigade (Baga) of Sector 3 in Monguno, Nigeria on 17 April 2024.
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According to him, military investigation revealed that the surrendered Boko Haram fighter had three years affiliation with the Buduma faction of the dreaded sect.
He stated that Ali hails from Masarram on Lake Chad Island and resides at Duguri and had operated with the group before growing discontent within the group.
The MNJTF urged other Boko Haram terrorists hiding in the Lake Chad islands and adjoining communities to cease hostilities and embrace peace.
“We reiterate our commitment to restoring lasting peace and stability to the Lake Chad Basin, encouraging terrorists to follow the path of those who have already surrendered.”
Six terrorists surrender to troops in Lake Chad
metro
BREAKING: Suspected herders kill 3 mourners, farmers in Enugu
BREAKING: Suspected herders kill 3 mourners, farmers in Enugu
Suspected herders killed three Ugwuijoro villagers in Nimbo hamlet, Uzo-Uwani Local Government Area, Enugu State.
It was discovered that the attack, which occurred on Sunday evening, left many others gravely injured.
According to village sources, the herdsmen attacked mourners and farmers in the Ugwuijoro Nimbo community, leaving them in tears and grief.
Some of those killed were Okeh Simon Ugwu Oruku, Okeh Chukwuebuka, Julius Ogbonna Odiegwu, and Gabriel Ugwor Ezea.
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A viral video sighted seen by our correspondent on Monday morning showed a deserted community.
The voice in the video cried the invaders took the villagers by surprise and shot sporadically at the mourners.
Tables and chairs could be seen scattered in the compound where the mourners gathered with lifeless villagers also seen in the pool of their blood.
Recall that Nimbo was also attacked in 2016, leading to the death of scores of people.
The incident attracted a nationwide outrage then.
Enugu Police Command was yet to respond enquiries on the ncident as of the time of filing this report.
More details to follow…
BREAKING: Suspected herders kill 3 mourners, farmers in Enugu
(Nation)
International
Floods sweep Kenyan cities, 42 dead in dam collapse, 130,000 displaced
Floods sweep Kenyan cities, 42 dead in dam collapse, 130,000 displaced
About 42 people have died in Kenya and hundreds displaced after a dam burst its banks near a town in the Rift Valley as heavy rains and floods battered the country.
The authorities confirmed this to AFP on Monday,
The dam burst near Mai Mahiu in Nakuru county, washing away houses and cutting off a road, with rescuers digging through debris to find survivors.
“Forty-two dead, it’s a conservative estimate. There are still more in the mud, we are working on recovery,” said Nakuru governor Susan Kihika.
Monday’s dam collapse raises the total death toll over the March-May wet season to 120 as heavier than usual rainfall pounds East Africa, compounded by the El Nino weather pattern.
The Kenya Red Cross said Monday it had retrieved two bodies after a boat carrying “a large number of people” capsized at the weekend in flooded Tana River county in eastern Kenya, adding that 23 others had been rescued.
Video footage shared online and broadcast on television showed the crowded boat sinking, with people screaming as onlookers watched in horror.
On Saturday, officials said 76 people had lost their lives in Kenya since March.
Flash floods have submerged roads and neighbourhoods, leading to the displacement of more than 130,000 people across 24,000 households, many of them in the capital Nairobi, according to government figures released Saturday.
Schools have been forced to remain shut following mid-term holidays, after the education ministry announced Monday that it would postpone their reopening by one week due to “ongoing heavy rains”.
“The devastating effects of the rains in some of the schools is so severe that it will be imprudent to risk the lives of learners and staff before water-tight measures are put in place to ensure adequate safety,” Education Minister Ezekiel Machogu said.
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