metro
Lagos-Ibadan Kaduna-Kano expressways ready 30 April – FG
Lagos-Ibadan Kaduna-Kano expressways ready 30 April – FG
Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola has said the Lagos-Ibadan expressway will be completed by April 30 this year.
He however said about nine kilometres of the road within Ibadan would be done after the drainage currently being done by the Oyo State Government was ready.
The minister who spoke at the pre-inspection of the completed Loko-Oweto Bridge in Nasarawa State on Wednesday also said some sections of the Abuja-Kano would be ready before the end of the administration in May 29.
Specifically, he said Kaduna to Kano would be fully ready, leaving part of Abuja-Kaduna for the incoming government to complete.
He said, “I want to appeal to commuters on that road (Lagos-Ibadan) for continuous patience and understanding: it is a difficult project to execute because it is perhaps one of the busiest roads in the country.
“Building through 40,000 vehicular traffic daily is not an easy undertaking, we cannot shut down the road. So, we have to manage and divert traffic for the safety of those involved in the construction.
“So, I want to implore that forbearance continues because the deadline date we have for completion now is April 30.
“In about four weeks, 26 days, plus or minus, that road should also be fully completed, open to traffic from Lagos to Ibadan, and beyond the tollgate up to kilometre 116.”
According to him, what will be left is nine kilometres from Kilometres 17 to 27.
Fashola said the reason that would be left was that the Oyo State Government is constructing drainage across the road, adding that the drainage was necessary to help address the issue of excessive flooding and climate change in the state.
“We believe that it is better to wait for them to finish that project, and then complete the remaining nine kilometres, instead of building it now and then having them cut it up again,” he said.
Speaking about the Abuja-Kano expressway, also to be completed on April 30, Fashola said it was the biggest of all the road projects in terms of scope and budget.
“Abuja-Kano is the biggest of the three projects in terms of scope, in terms of size, in terms of budget; it is 375 kilometres.
”It encompasses 41 bridges of different sizes. It was the last to start, so it cannot finish at the same time. That is the honest truth.
“But we have made progress from Zaria to Kano, that is, 137 kilometres, and the contractors told us that by May 15 that site should be fully completed.
“Then, we have Kaduna to Zaria, which is about 70-something kilometres. That side of course, they say will be completed on the 30th of this month, fully open to traffic,” he said.
Fashola, however, said the Abuja-Kaduna road which is one of the projects embarked upon by the Buhari administration, would not be finished in the life of the administration.
“The eye of the storm, the most difficult part and that is the busiest part, is the Kaduna to Abuja side. That has suffered all kinds of delays and it would not be finished in the life of this administration.
“It is the most trafficked side. It has almost 40,000 vehicles in traffic every day. But those are not just the problems; the problems are that the right of way has been severely encroached on between FCT, Niger and Kaduna states.
“We are working with the governors to help relocate all the obstructions, otherwise, we cannot fully build it.
“Apart from that, the project is also delayed by the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano gas pipeline project. We need that gas pipeline project as a major boost for our energy security.”
The minister said these were some of the challenges unseen to members of the public, adding that both the road and the pipeline were important, hence they had to be taken in sequence and order.
“We lost almost a year and a half to security challenges or sometimes contractors had to move from that section completely – they could not work.
“Thankfully, we must acknowledge the work that has been done by the law enforcement agencies, especially the Chief of Defense Staff and his team.
“They have made the return to that site easier and possible for our contractors. So, those are no longer an existent problem now. It is just the manhours now to do the work.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Federal Government has also finished the Loko-Oweto Bridge in Nasarawa State and the Second Niger Bridge both to be inaugurated soon.
Lagos-Ibadan Kaduna-Kano expressways ready 30 April – FG
metro
200,000 repentant terrorists surrender, drop arms in North East – CDS
200,000 repentant terrorists surrender, drop arms in North East – CDS
The Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, has disclosed that about 200,000 repentant terrorists have so far dropped their arms and surrendered to troops in the North East, noting that the twin strategy of kinetic and non-kinetic operations was responsible for this achievement.
The CDS made this known at the Security and Justice Symposium organised by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) in collaboration with the British High Commission, which began at the National Counterterrorism Centre in Abuja on Tuesday.
He disclosed that the theme of the symposium, ”Securing Peace, Ensuring Justice, Protection, Conduct, and Accountability,” speaks volumes about the deluge of security challenges the armed forces and security agencies are facing.
His words, “All the challenges we are facing today have to do with fairness, equity, justice, and accountability.
“There will not be peace without justice, equity, fairness, and accountability. In our operations, we are conducting both kinetic and non-kinetic strategies, which have to a large extent yielded significant successes, and we want to particularly thank the National Security Adviser for his great support in this regard.
“Nigeria is going through so many challenges, and we feel we’re able to address this, and everybody has a sense of belonging. A lot of the security challenges we are having, we are sure, will go down. I want to thank the National Security Advisor for all the support he’s given us, both the kinetic and the non-kinetic.
“We have said it; the kinetic aspect is just less than 30%. The non-kinetic has a lot to play. The non-kinetic, because when you have democracy, people must have the evidence of democracy. As long as it tells people to sleep well and be peaceful, and they are hungry, their children cannot eat, and all this creates more problems.
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“The issue of informants. We have to look at how we tackle this issue of informants. Because these are the people who have created the issue.
200,000 repentant terrorists surrender, drop arms in North East – CDS
metro
Robbers kill two members in shoot-out with Delta police
Robbers kill two members in shoot-out with Delta police
The spokesperson for the police in Delta State, SP Bright Edafe, has confirmed the death of two robbery suspects in the state.
Mr Edafe, who disclosed this to journalists on Tuesday in Warri, said that the deceased were killed from the bullets shot by their gang members.
According to him, the incident occurred on Wednesday at Effurun, Uvwie Local Government Area of the state.
Mr Edafe explained that the deceased were leading the police surveillance team attached to the Ekpan Division to their hideout when they were caught during a shoot-out.
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“The suspects were arrested at Effurun roundabout with a bag containing 57 live cartridges and other items. They were leading the surveillance team to their hideout at Warri/Sapele road when their gang members, on sighting the vehicle of the police team, engaged them in a shootout.During the gun duel, the arrested suspects that were leading the police team were fatally wounded by the gun shot of their colleagues. The two injured suspects were taken to the hospital and later died while receiving treatment,” he said.
Mr Edafe said that items recovered from the hoodlums hideout included: one English pump action gun, one locally made cut-to-size gun and eight live cartridges.
Others were: six iPhones, Smart phones and a Rolex wrist watch.
He said that the command had intensified manhunt on the fleeing members of the gang.
Robbers kill two members in shoot-out with Delta police
(NAN)
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