President Tinubu Approves N100bn To Fix Bad Roads
The Federal Government has announced the approval of N100bn out from the N300bn 2023 supplementary budget allocated to the Ministry of Works to fix bad roads in some parts of the country.
The Minister for Works, Dave Umahi, speaking on Monday, said that the rehabilitation of all failed federal roads will commence on December 1, 2023.
He said the rehabilitation was as a result of the deplorable situations of some sections of the Federal roads in the country.
The roads are the Makurdi-Nsukka 9th Mile Road; East-West Road; Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway; Benin bypass road; collapsed bridges of Enugu- Port Harcourt Road; collapsed bridges of Shandam-Plateau State; Abuja-Kaduna- Zaria-Kano road and Gombe- Bauchi among others.
Umahi said, “Mr President is not complaining of the challenges he inherited in nearly all sectors of the economy, especially as it concerns our road infrastructure, but he is quite courageous as he had promised to tackle the problems head-on which he has started to do.
“Mr President has directed that works in those palliative projects must commence before 1st December 2023, while observing all due process.
“He has just approved a 2023 supplementary budget of N300bn for the Ministry of Works comprising N100bn for immediate palliative works in 36 States and FCT and N200bn for continuation of most of the inherited ongoing projects and very few new but critical road projects.
“On the sections being frequently complained of by the public in all regions of the North and South of the country, Mr. President has equally isolated them and directed immediate actions on them and indeed work has started on all such roads. The public can crosscheck our claims and report back to us.”
Umahi asked Nigerians that all poorly constructed roads should be photographed and reported while showing the name of the contractor, the location and the type of contract and defects observed to assist the FG.
“The public is hereby requested to assist the Federal Ministry of Works and FERMA by supervising the contractors that will be engaged in these palliative works and indeed all ongoing projects.
“It is the right of every Nigerian to have value for their money deployed to the road infrastructure sector and therefore must show both interest and passion in all the ongoing projects.
“All poorly constructed roads should be photographed and reported immediately to the following contacts: 08030986263, 08037086137, or 08106423197; showing the name of the contractor, the location and type of contract and defects observed.
“The Federal Ministry of Works will document such reports, verify and take effective action to correct such infractions. The Ministry shall also periodically recognise publicly those who made such reports that are genuine in a public engagement forum to be hosted quarterly and will sanction such erring contractors publicly too” Umahi noted.