N16tn needed to complete inherited road projects – Works minister – Newstrends
Connect with us

News

N16tn needed to complete inherited road projects – Works minister

Published

on

Minister of Works David Umahi 

N16tn needed to complete inherited road projects – Works minister

The Minister of Works, David Umahi has said President Bola Ahmed Tinubu needs over N16 trillion to complete a total of 18,932.50 kilometres of ongoing road projects, with a total of 2,064 contracts it inherited nationwide.

Umahi revealed this at a press conference on the achievements of the ministry under the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu on Thursday in Abuja.

He said that the total value of all the ongoing projects as at May 2023 was N14.42 trillion.

He said that the amount certified was N4.73 trillion; however, N3.12 trillion was paid, and the amount owed contractors for certified works was N1.61 trillion.

“The funding gap to complete all the inherited projects is about N13 trillion as at May 2023 and will be more than N16 trillion when all projects are reviewed, in line with current market realities.

“This is due to the removal of fuel subsidies and the floating of the naira.

“It is a very sound economic decision by this administration, considering the fact that some of the projects have lingered for between five and eight years.

“Consequently, the projects are being reviewed to match current market realities; this position excludes all the new projects under the Renewed Hope Agenda and the four legacy projects,’’ Umahi said.

According to him, the old traditional method of funding highway projects was through the annual budgetary provision.

He said, however, that over the years, budget provisions have seemed inadequate to address the challenges of highway development.

Umahi stated that to meet up funding for road projects, the ministry embraced alternative funding mechanisms like the Presidential Infrastructure Development Fund (PIDF) and Sovereign SUKUK issued by the Debt Management Office (DMO).

READ ALSO:

The minister said that other funding included the Road Tax Credit Scheme (NNPCL, NLNG, Dangote, BUA, MIN, Mainstream Energy Solutions Ltd., and GZI Industries) and the use of multilateral loans.

Others are the Public Private Partnership (PPP)/Highway Development Management Initiative (HDMI) and the newly established Renewed Hope Infrastructure Funding model.

He said that 82 projects were approved under the SUKUK fund, with a total sum of N100 billion invested in road construction and rehabilitation in 2017.

Umahi added that the projects included N100 billion in 2018, N162.55 billion in 2020, and N210.56 billion in 2021; for 2,812 km of road, N110 billion was approved in 2022, and the approved 2023 SUKUK provision stood at N250 billion.

He said that the sum of N2.59 trillion was approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) for the funding of 65 highway projects under Phases I and II of the NNPCL Funding.

The minister said that the projects were to cover a total of 6,358 km, while the available funding for the projects up to 2025 was N2.59 trillion.

“The reviewed total contract sum due to inflation is N5.288 trillion.

“The funding gap for the completion of both phases I and II is N2.702 trillion.

“To date, the total payment made by NNPCL is in the sum of N840 billion, and the total outstanding funding approved by FEC is N1.750 trillion.

READ ALSO:

The projects are spread across the six geopolitical zones of the country,’’ he said.

The minister said that the ministry, under its statutory responsibilities over the federal road network, introduced the Highway Development and Management Initiative (HDMI) under the Public Private Partnership Unit (PPP).

He said that this was to attract sustainable investment and funding in the development of road infrastructure and maximise the use of assets along the Right of Way (ROW).

Umahi said that the idea behind the private sector engagement was to provide an alternative source of financing for road development and management.

He said that the HDMI was expected to, among other things, bring order, accountability, and profitable entrepreneurship to the operations, management, and maintenance of federal highways.

The minister said that the emergent concessionaires would recoup their investments through toll and non-toll revenues, as may be negotiated.

He added that four legacy highway projects were selected under the Renewed Hope Agenda of the current administration for implementation to improve road network and train service connectivity across the six geopolitical zones and boost socio-economic development.

Umahi listed the projects to include the Lagos-Calabar (750 km) Coastal Road Corridor, Sokoto-Badagry (1,068 km) Road, Calabar-Abuja Superhighway Project (482 km) (TransSaharan Road), and Akwanga-Jos-Bauchi-Gombe Road (439 km).

He said that the Renewed Hope mandate of the Federal Ministry of Works included the planning, design, construction, and maintenance of federal road infrastructure nationwide.

N16tn needed to complete inherited road projects – Works minister

(NAN)

News

Edo Gov Okpebholo freezes govt accounts, reverses ministry’s name

Published

on

Edo State Governor, Monday Okpebholo

Edo Gov Okpebholo freezes govt accounts, reverses ministry’s name

Edo State Governor, Monday Okpebholo, has directed the immediate freezing of all state-owned bank accounts.

In a statement issued on Thursday by his Chief Press Secretary, Fred Itua, the governor stated that the accounts would remain frozen until further notice.

He instructed commercial banks, ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) to comply with the order immediately or face severe consequences.

The statement reads: “All state bank accounts with commercial banks have been frozen. Commercial banks must comply with this order and ensure that not a single naira is withdrawn from government coffers until further notice.

READ ALSO:

“Heads of Ministries, Departments, and Agencies must ensure full compliance without delay.

“Following necessary investigations and reconciliations, the governor will take appropriate action and decide on the way forward. For now, this order remains in effect.”

Okpebholo also directed relevant agencies to revert the name of the Ministry of Roads and Bridges to its previous title, the Ministry of Works, a change made during the Godwin Obaseki administration.

“It is odd to name a government institution the Ministry of Roads and Bridges, especially when not a single bridge was built by the previous administration — not even a pedestrian bridge.

“In the coming days, we will examine further actions taken by the previous administration and make decisions that serve the best interests of the state,” the statement added.

 

Edo Gov Okpebholo freezes govt accounts, reverses ministry’s name

Continue Reading

News

Israel-Palestinian conflict: Two-state solution is a deception, says Gumi

Published

on

Prominent Islamic scholar Dr. Ahmad Mahmud Gumi

Israel-Palestinian conflict: Two-state solution is a deception, says Gumi

Prominent Islamic scholar Dr. Ahmad Mahmud Gumi has criticized the widely discussed two-state solution for the Israel-Palestine conflict, calling it a “deception.”

His remarks followed a recent summit of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Riyadh, where President Bola Tinubu and other leaders condemned Israel’s actions in Gaza and urged an end to hostilities.

In an interview with Daily Trust at his Kaduna residence, Gumi argued, “This Two-State Solution is a deception. No Israeli will allow a Palestinian to survive, and Palestinians will never allow Israel to survive.

READ ALSO:

The only solution is to dissolve the two states and create a democratically electable region.”

Gumi commended the OIC’s support for Palestine, noting that Muslims and Arabs worldwide increasingly see the treatment of Palestinians as “genocide” and accuse Israel of human rights abuses.

He also called for a return to the pre-1948 structure, where Palestinians, Jews, and Christians lived together, suggesting a single, inclusive state that allows peaceful coexistence.

“When I hear people talking about Two-State Solutions, I know they are just deceiving themselves,” Gumi added, advocating for a unified region where people of all faiths can live together, similar to the multi-faith coexistence seen in countries like the United States.

 

Israel-Palestinian conflict: Two-state solution is a deception, says Gumi

Continue Reading

News

Court sacks Ondo LP candidate, two days to governorship poll

Published

on

Olusola Ebiseni

Court sacks Ondo LP candidate, two days to governorship poll

The Labour Party candidature of Olusola Ebiseni for the upcoming gubernatorial election in Ondo State has been nullified.

The nullification follows the sacking of Ebiseni by the Court of Appeal, sitting in Abuja, on Wednesday.

The governorship election of the southwest State will hold on Saturday, 16 November 2024.

The judgement disqualifying Ebiseni was unanimously delivered by the three members of the panel and read out by the chairman of the panel, Justice Adebukola Banjoko.

The judgment granted the prayer of the Labour Party who preferred the case against Ebiseni.

READ ALSO:

Justice Banjoko held that, “the appeal marked CA/ABJ/CV/1172/2024 brought by the Labour Party against Chief Olusola Ebiseni and two others is allowed.”

Justice Banjoko further stated that the Certified True Copy of the judgment would be provided to the parties involved in the appeal as soon as possible for their review.

Recall that Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja had ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission to accept and recognize Olusola Ebiseni and Ezekiel Awude as the Labour Party’s governorship and deputy governorship candidates for the November 16 Ondo State governorship elections.

Justice Nwite confirmed that the second primary election conducted by the Labour Party, which resulted in Ebiseni and Awude being selected as candidates, was valid and should be upheld by INEC.

However, the appellate court has now overturned the judgment of the trial court’s judgment.

 

Court sacks Ondo LP candidate, two days to governorship poll

Continue Reading

Trending