Over 35,000 Kilometres of Federal Roads Need Alternative Funding - Goronyo The Minister of State for Works, Muhammad Bello Goronyo, Esq has noted that over 35,000 kilometres of the Federal Government road network across Nigeria could not be funded through Annual Budgets alone, hence the need to source for alternative funding outside the government’s coffers. Goronyo stated this on Monday, 17th February, 2025, while addressing the Management and Staff of the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA), Kogi State Field Office at Lokoja during a maiden visit alongside the MD/CEO, Engr Chukwumeka Agbasi. He reaffirmed that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration is determined to fix all the roads to ensure a drastic reduction in the level of unemployment, rate of crimes, and insecurity. According to him, " Let me commend President Tinubu, GCFR for his determination. I have never seen a President so committed to sustaining physical assets nationwide. The administration gives priority to various road projects scattered across the country. This shows that he is a patriotic Nigerian. He is undertaking these projects so that our economy can be improved, and the rate of unemployment, poverty, and crimes will be reduced. We are seeing the Super Highways from Ilelah to Sokoto to Badagry and another from Lagos to Calabar." Goronyo, who commended the staff of FERMA for their resilience and hard work over the years, noted that despite insecurity, and inadequate funding, Nigerians have been commending them for their excellent work. He urged them to bear with the Ministry of Works over their entitlements, disclosing that their requests for adjustment and increment in consequential salaries have been forwarded to the Salaries, Income, and Wages Commission for consideration and approval. Speaking further on funding for the maintenance of roads, Goronyo stressed that "about 35,000 kilometres of roads cannot be funded and maintained overnight. We have to look for alternative sources of funding so that we can continue to maintain our physical assets, which are the roads.  We have to create new ways of funding and new alternatives. He assured that the Government is focused on ensuring that projects are completed in a timely and efficient manner with robust oversight and contractors’ compliance.  He also added "I am calling on all of you to support us to ensure that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu succeeds in his mandate to deliver on the 8-point Renewed Hope Agenda. We must put Nigeria first before our interests. Let us fix our roads, we must think positively." Earlier, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (MD/CEO) of FERMA, Engineer Chukwumeka Agbasi commended the Ministry of Works for its determination to ensure that the 8-point agenda of President Tinubu are realised, especially road projects across the country.  He informed the Staff that before the end of the year, there would be an increment in their salaries and appealed to them to continue to support and partner with the Ministry to achieve their targeted goals. In his remarks, Engineer Muktar Abdurahim, the Officer in charge of the Kogi Field Office, informed the Minister that the office has thirty-seven (37) staff with 25 permanent and twelve (12) casual workers. He disclosed that Kogi State has sixteen (16) Federal Government roads with a total of 1,263 kilometres, emphasising that the 2024 nationwide flood incident did not affect any of the roads in the state.    Engr. Abdulrahim revealed that out of six (6) roads under construction in the state, five (5) have been successfully executed, while one (1) is at 60% completion. He informed the  Minister that they are facing challenges such as insecurity, and hyperinflation on the cost of construction materials, amongst others. Furthermore, the Director, North Central Zone I, Engr Omotayo Awodun commended the Federal Government’s commitment to fixing all the Federal roads across Nigeria, especially those in his zone, he also applauded the leadership style of the Honourable Minister of Works for his innovation, where new techniques and stricter supervision are being enforced, like what we are witnessing, today. ...

INFOQUEST NIG LTD WAS NEVER AWARDED ANY CONTRACT ON ABUJA- KADUNA ROAD AS FALSELY AND MALICIOUSLY REPORTED IN A PUBLICATION OF DAILY TRUST NEWSPAPERS OF 21/01/2025. -DAILY TRUST TO RENDER UNRESERVED APOLOGY TO FEDERAL MINISTRY OF WORKS FOR UNJUSTIFIABLE FALSEHOOD   The Honourable Minister of Works, His Excellency, Sen. Nweze David Umahi CON has rebutted in strong terms  the unwarranted, false,  misleading, and damaging report published in Daily Trust  Newspapers of  21st January 2025, which falsely represented the Federal Ministry of Works as having awarded a section of Abuja-Kaduna-Kano road dualization to Infoquest Nigeria Ltd. In a press conference held on 21st January 2025 at the Conference Hall of the Honourable Minister of Works and attended  by the Honourable Minister of State for Works, Rt. Hon. Barr. Mohammed Bello Goronyo, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Works, Engr. Folunso  O. Adebiyi and  key directors of the Ministry, the Honourable Minister, described as mischievous, insensitively misleading and injurious the statement credited to him in the said publication, where he was wrongly quoted to have said that  Infoquest Nigeria Ltd secured a "No objection" of N252.89 billion from the Bureau of Public Procurement ( BPP) for the rehabilitation of a section Abuja- Kaduna- Zaria-Kano road and where they described  the Ministry as having awarded  the said contract to an obscure company.   He made it clear that the Ministry had no business relationship with Infoquest Nigeria Ltd. He further made it known that the company that has a contractual relationship  with the Ministry on the said project is Infiouest International Limited and that the company  is corporately active and is absolutely in compliance with all legal requirements and regulations set by the Companies and Allied Matters Act. He berated the mischief  created  by the publication as a deliberate orchestration by a cartel to malign the Ministry, undermine  the efforts of the Renewed Hope administration in revolutionizing  road infrastructure  development and demarket the company that has proven capacity in road construction. He demanded from Daily Trust Newspapers a public apology to the Federal Ministry of Works to be published in at least 5 national dailies for unjustifiably publishing falsehood against the Ministry of Works.   The Honourable Minister also alluded  to the mischiefs and deliberate misrepresentation of facts contained in the sponsored publications made in several  national dailies by Julius Berger Plc recently on the reason why they reneged in their contractual obligations in respect  of the section of  Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano road they were handling before  it was determined.   He  wondered why the coordinated onslaught of falsehood, blackmail, gangup by adversaries to the policy of government just because of the Ministry's insistence on a new order of  value for money, quality assurance and best practices  in project pricing and execution. He urged the public and the press to join in this desirable fight against national sabotage by some contractors.   In his remarks, the Honourable Minister of State for Works said he was delighted  by  the proactiveness and resoluteness  shown by the Ministry in decapitating  the intentions of those who made the false publication against  the Ministry which according to him was intended to distract  the Ministry and undermine its confidence before Nigerians. He called  on the media operators not to allow themselves  to be used by the fifth columnists to publish unfounded reports to undermine  the Renewed Hope agenda but should always crosscheck  their information  with the appropriate authority so as to let out only the truth to the public.   In his vote of thanks, the Permanent Secretary described  the press briefing as thoughtful and timely. He  harped  on the importance of development journalism and urged the media to always uphold  the truth in their professional duties of information dissemination rather than allow themselves to be used as a tool in the hands of enemies of our national development. ...

EIGHT-POINT AGENDA OF MR. PRESIDENT LINKED TO GOOD ROAD INFRASTRUCTURE - Umahi The Honourable Minister of Work, His Excellency, Sen. (Engr.) David Nweze Umahi, CON, FNSE, FNTI has reiterated that the availability of good road network is instrumental to achieving food security, ending poverty, improving security, enhancing economic growth and job creation. He affirmed this, while opening a two-day retreat organised for Highways Engineers and management staff of the Ministry with the theme, “Ensuring Delivery of Mr. President’s Agenda on Road Infrastructural Development” on 17th January, 2025 in Abuja. According to Engr. Umahi, the massive infrastructural development embarked upon by the present Administration across the entire six (6) geo-political zones of the country is premised on stimulating the economy and improving the lives of the citizenry. He re-affirmed the present administration's commitment towards the reconstruction and rehabilitation of failing major highways across the zones, which will provide robust road infrastructure, as well as alleviate the sufferings of the citizens. He also added that the retreat, which is aimed at enhancing optimum service delivery, efficiency, and unity in the delivery of road projects, nationwide, is expected to help participants ensure that the government gets value for money expended on all projects. While urging participants, especially the Ministry’s supervisory staff, to make the best use of the retreat to sharpen and improve their technical capabilities, he expressed optimism that they would acquire enough resources to help in delivering Mr. President's 8-point agenda. The Minister, who earlier maintained that bad roads are tantamount to keeping people in prison, as it hinders their movement, also called on Highway Engineers to change their _modus operandi _and work professionally, imbibing internationally recommended engineering standards and practices, to achieve the objectives of the Renewed Hope Agenda of Mr. President. He directed that henceforth, contractors must mobilise to the site before requesting for mobilisation fee. Acknowledging the need for continuous capacity building for Engineers, as an enabler for improvement in service delivery, he promised that such exercises would be institutionalised. He, as well, directed all Federal Controllers of Works (FCW) to dismantle all speed calming devices/measures (speed breakers or bumps) on Federal highways in their respective states, insisting that there is nothing wrong in mounting such bumps but there should be approval and standard design and specifications guiding such endeavours. In his Goodwill Message, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Works, Engr. Olufunsho Adebiyi, FNSE thanked and welcomed the Honourable Ministers for approving, as well as gracing the occasion. He called for rapid transformation in service delivery in the road sector. The Permanent Secretary, however, formally presented to the Honourable Ministers, a team of transformed Engineers, who are willing to support the government achieve its Renewed Hope Agenda. The Honourable Minister of State for Works, Muhammadu Bello Goronyo, Esq., eulogised the personality of the Minister, whom he revered and referred to as a go-getter, intelligent, hardworking and highly professional. He expressed gratitude to all stakeholder for their collaborative efforts in ensuring the success of the present administration, particularly in the provision of critical road infrastructure. The Chairman of the House Committee on Works, Hon, Akin Alabi enjoins the Ministry to put in more effort, so that our roads work for the citizens, while the Chairman, Senate Committee on Works, Sen. Mpigi Barinada, called on the need to engage the members of the National Assembly (NASS) to ascertain that correct appropriation is made to accommodate all Nigerian roads. He concluded by saying that the good works of the Ministry are an indication of support for Mr. President’s Agenda. The retreat was facilitated by a panel of experts delivering insightful presentations on critical topics. The panelists included the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, the Director, Highways, Construction and Rehabilitation, Engr. Clement Ogbuagu, representative of the Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Francis Useni, the Chairman of the FCT Civil Service Commission, Engr. Emeka Eze and retired directors from the Ministry such as Engineers Bala Danshehu, Bola Aganaba, J. A. Yusuf, A. A. Adebiyi and Olufemi Oyekanmi. Their Sessions covered Compliance with Procurement Laws, Prudent Use of Resources, Project Planning and Alignment with President Tinubu’s Eight-Point agenda. Discussions were centred on the composition of the Site Management Team; Project Planning; Resolving Bill 1; Direct Labour Policy; Inter Relationship between Engineers; Adherence to the Rules of Law and lastly, Funding of Projects. It was agreed that the Ministry should return to its original structure; waiver for recruitment of young Engineers is to be pursued to bridge the gap of shortage of staff; there is no free money in Bill 1 anymore; the issue of direct labour was stepped down, as extant laws do not support it, more so, to avoid conflict of interest with the Federal Emergency Road Management Agency (FERMA). It was rather agreed that FERMA should be strengthened to effectively carry out its mandates. The Ministry was advised to lobby for the establishment of a Federal Highways Authority; Participants were admonished to eskew backbiting and learn to bond with each other, as well as to forgive one another. As takeaways from the Retreat, participants were asked to reduce the use of emergency contracts; publish all contracts on the Ministry’s websites, including the names of the contractors, and value for money expended on every project; ensure that effective from 2025, categorisation of contractors will start and no longer portfolio or envelop contractors. To avoid unnecessary embarrassment, Officers need to apply extant rules in discharging their duties. The year 2025, being a year for enhanced performance for Mr. President, priority projects will be tracked by the second quarter of 2026, which should be ready for commissioning.  Participants also were urged to ensure that Nigeria roads are motorable, especially that of Abuja - Kaduna, a vital artery linking the South to the North of the country. Civil Servants were, as well as urged to guide and support politicians in performing their jobs.   ...