Works Minister Committed to Speedy and Quality Delivery of Road Infrastructure Nationwide, Says The Policy of No VOP on Mobilization is a Measure to Ensure Value for Money and  Timely Completion  of Projects   1. The Honourable Minister of Works. His Excellency, Sen. Engr Nweze David Umahi CON has restated the commitment of the Federal Government under the Renewed Hope administration of His Excellency, President Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR in ensuring that all the Federal Road projects are executed speedily and delivered in best standards.  The Honourable Minister gave this assurance during  his inspection  visit  to the rehabilitation  work at Enugu- Port Harcourt dual carriageway section 4( Aba-PH) executed  by China  Civil Engineering Construction Corporation Ltd(CCECC).He commended  the contractor handling  the project for showing  purposefulness, and he therefore  announced  the revocation of the warning letter issued  to  CCECC  a fortnight ago over their delay in mobilizing  to the site despite the government's  directive."The warning letter  given  to CCECC  for slow pace of work  is hereby  revoked. The new pace of work is excellent, the job quality is excellent, and the Controller sends me progress reports every day. "   2. The Honourable  Minister, who also inspected the Rehabilitation and Reconstruction of Enugu- Port Harcourt dual carriageway section 2 ( Umuahia Tower- Aba Township Rail/ Road) in Abia State, handled  by  the Arab Contractors; the East West  Road section 111( Eleme-Onne junction) in Rivers State handled  by  Reynolds Construction Company Nigeria Ltd; the Rehabilitation  of  Enugu- Port Harcourt  Expressway Section 3( Enugu -Lokpanta) in Enugu State handled  by CGC, said he was impressed  by the progress  of work on the respective projects. He said of RCC" I want to commend RCC openly and with all sincerity. I will also take the quality of work going on to Mr. President because he directed me. I was just barely one week in office when he directed me to go and flag off this project because the leaders of Niger Delta came to visit him, and they complained bitterly about the road. " He spoke of the good job by the Arab Contractors and said," I am very happy that the Arab Contractors has done a good job. I commend the contractor. Anybody who wants to see a good job should come here. The Controller of Abia State is doing extremely well together with his engineers." While at the CGC project site, he said, "I have seen the work they are doing, they are doing a very beautiful work. The job quality is very good and the speed is also very good. They are among the contractors that have the highest number of equipment in any of their project sites. So I commend them very highly. "   3. The contractors who spoke during the inspection visit to their respective projects said they were committed to the new order in road infrastructure development in Nigeria and assured the Honourable Minister that they would ensure  quality  and speed  in the delivery  of their road projects. The Project Manager of CCECC in charge of Enugu- Port Harcourt Expressway, Mr Henry Shaw said, "I am going to assure you that the Honourable Minister, His Excellency is a professional Engineer with a great difference. He knows everything, so nobody can cheat him." ...

Works Minister Visits Zamfara Governor, Says Dualisation of Zaria - Gusau - Sokoto Highway on Course   …..Umahi says no variation on 30% mobilization advanced to contractors   “Mr. President has not stopped the dualization of Zaria - Gusau - Sokoto highway rather, the projects will be completed, and the design would even be improved upon.”   “There were rumors that Mr. President has stopped this project and even the NNPCL tax credit; that is not the truth at all. In fact, he has given more life to the tax credit of NNPCL.”   Adding “though the NNPCL projects are not funded by NNPC 100 percent. We still have a funding gap of over N2.7 trillion to get them completed”.   The Honourable Minister of Works, Sen. Engr. Nweze David Umahi, CON, made the disclosure today at Government House Gusau when he paid a courtesy call on the Governor of Zamfara State, Dauda Lawal.   Affirming the position of the Federal Government, he said “Mr. President has approved that we should take the funding gap to the National Assembly for approval. So, it's not just committed to the commitment of NNPC, but it's committed to the entire completion of the projects.   Continuing, he said “he is the one that has asked us to visit this project, just like other ones, they are very important and key to Mr. President.   Commending the contractor handling the Sokoto - Gusau road, Sen. Umahi said “we have not seen everything they are doing, but the little we've seen is excellent. in fact, that project, the neatness and quality looks excellent”.   Explaining the delay in the progress of work, Sen. Umahi disclosed that “my directive was what slowed down the job. But I have redirected having come and examined the projects.”, he reassured his audience.”   On the issue of payment of compensation to those affected by the dualization of the roads, the Honourable Minister called on the relevant State Government to follow the commitment of Sokoto State which has agreed to settle all payments regarding compensation to the people concerned.   Meanwhile, the Honourable Minister, while speaking to some journalists along the Gusau - Funtua Road, after inspecting the ongoing work by Setraco, warned contractors that there would be no variation on 30% mobilisation advanced to them.   According to him “the contractors must know that I will never pay variation on mobilized funds or works that are delayed.” “Because if we do not obey the timetable, inflection and time will catch up with us.”   Stressing “it’s the Federal Government that is losing. That's why if we have little money to complete the project and we prolong it, then the Federal Government is unable to further source for funds”, he reasoned.   During his remarks, the Governor of Zamfara State, praised the vision of President Bola Tinubu for the road sector, noting the commitment of the Honourable Minister has truly helped to realize Mr. President’s goals.   He expressed his joy about the news that the construction of the Zaria - Gusau - Sokoto was still on course.   He therefore pledged the support of his administration to the Federal Government, while requesting Sen. Umahi to look into the rehabilitation of Gusau-Dansadau road.   Sen. David Umahi was accompanied to the Government House by former Governor of Sokoto State, now Senator representing Sokoto Central Senatorial Zone, Aminu Tambuwal and other senior government officials. ...

Inspection of Ongoing Federal Roads Rehabilitation in Northwest Zone: We Know Concrete Road Technology Will Be A Huge Success, Says Works Minister   …..BUA Cement restates commitment to reduction in price   We know that concrete road technology is going to be a huge success for the benefit of our people, says the Honourable Minister of Works, Sen. Engr. Nweze David Umahi, CON.   According to him, we are sure that utilizing  concrete road technology is the right decision and so we have not made any mistakes insisting that concrete road technology should take its root, especially in some of these key projects.”   The Honourable Minister disclosed this today in Sokoto while fielding questions from journalists after the inspection BUA Cement facility which is part of his inspection of ongoing rehabilitation of highways in Sokoto State.   Speaking on his visit to the State, Sen. Umahi disclosed that “first, I'm here to inspect as you know, a very ambitious road project being embarked upon by His Excellency, the President of the Republic of Nigeria, Senator Tinubu Ahmed.   He added that the Federal Government was “constructing 372 kilometers of roads, multiplied by two, which means its dualization. One road is an existing one, which we are doing complete rebuilding, and then a brand-new road, again, of 372; a total of 744 km roads.   The Honourable Minister revealed that “Mr. President wants this road very fast, but wasn't too sure if we can get the volume of cement to use. So, we are constructing the first 372 kilometers running from Kaduna, Zaria, Zamfara, to Sokoto, with asphalt as the carriageway, and then the shoulders will be concrete”.   Adding that “but the entire new lane, carriageway, will be constructed with concrete.”   Stressing the agenda of President Tinubu for the road sector, Sen. Umahi reiterated that “I know very well that Mr. President's still desires that the public should get something much better. And he's giving all the support, so we still expect that you will fulfill the promise you made to Mr. President as we're going back to the status quo so that the public can benefit.   “The very massive housing project Mr. President has embarked upon will definitely see the light of the day. And also, the massive road construction Mr. President has embarked upon will also benefit from this initiative.”   Commenting on his impression of facility tour of BUA Cement, Sen Umahi said “So we have gone there, we have seen, and it's quite amazing, the complexity of the cement factory of BUA in Sokoto.”   “We saw very organized industrial setup, no single dust. There was no need to use a nose mask. There was no loitering of workers, everything being in automation.”   While speaking to journalists about the cooperation of BUA Group with the Federal Government on the reduction of price of cement, the Group Executive Director, BUA Cement, Alhaji Kabir Rabiu while thanking the Minister, told them his company stands by their commitment made to the Federal Government two weeks ago.   He said further that “then we gave a commitment, not only on the pricing, but also on additional capacity to go to the market, reassuring that with 165 additional trucks on a daily basis from our Sokoto cement allotment, we're putting almost 400 trucks by day of cement into the market.”   “We believe this additional capacity is going to have a serious positive effect on the supply and demand issue in the country, he emphasized.   He reaffirmed that “we also gave in our commitment that we don't believe cement should sell more than 7,000 Naira anywhere in Nigeria.   He thus promised that “we will continue to do our best to support this administration, to support Mr. President's agenda in ensuring that Nigerian economy is back on its feet and is doing so much better than it is doing at the moment.”   On his part, the Senate Chairman of Committee on Housing, Senator Aminu Tambuwal noted that cement product is very critical and a major component towards delivery of housing projects by the Federal Government by state governments and even by the private sector in our country.   The inspection visits by the Honourable Minister to Sokoto and Zamfara States will see him inspect four projects across four States; which includes Katsina and Kaduna States. ...