Honourable Minister of Works Inaugurates Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway Section 1 Compensation  Committee, Gives 10 Days Deadline  For Completion Of Assignment   1. In keeping with the established rules on compensation and the ideals of transparency of  the Renewed Hope administration of His Excellency, President Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR, the Honourable  Minister  of Works, His Excellency Sen Engr Nweze David Umahi CON has constituted a committee  to review the  report on the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment in respect  of compensation for section 1, Lagos- Calabar Coastal Highway project. The committee  made up of 19 members is required  to interface with stakeholders  and property owners that will  be affected by  the project with a view to recommending  those who are entitled to receive compensation from Federal Government  as required  by law.  The Honourable  Minister   directed  that the commitee should  work strictly  with the terms of reference, which is to verify  and authenticate the list of those to be compensated and submit a report within 10 days effective 18th April 2024. He said, "We are setting up a review committee to look at the work done by the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA,) and the works to be reviewed by this committee is very simple, and it's just to interact with the property owners that are going to be affected, and then in their presence, in the presence of the committee and the ESIA Consultant and the contractor, look at the compensation as enumerated to be paid, and where possible, you visit the site. We are using the federal rates to do our enumeration. I know very well that there is nobody that is ever enumerated that is ever satisfied with how much  is to be paid, but we are bound by the law, and so we are using federal rates." 2. The Honourable Minister  promised to ensure a seemless  and  timely  payment  of compensation on the Lagos- Calabar Coastal Highway  project but warned that only those  legally  entitled  to compensation  would  be shortlisted. He said, "The moment the property owner signs, and then we have a form that we give to them to fill, and indicate the bank account; the moment that is done, within 72 hours, we authorize payment. The contractor is going to be paying directly to all those who are affected, and this we are committed to doing. This verification will  start Wednesday in Lagos, and of course, we have to make it very clear that 250 meters legally belong to the Federal Government. So if you have a title within these 250 meters and it's not a title from Federal Government, then it is encumbrance, and only Mr. President can give a waiver if he feels so for the person to be paid." 3. The meeting  which was held via zoom  in the Honourable Minister's conference  hall Mabushi-Abuja with the affected property  owners and other stakeholders, was in furtherance  of the resolutions earlier  reached in the stakeholders engagement  meeting held by the  Honourable Minister of Works  in Lagos on  11th April 2024 whereof opinions were ventilated from different  groups of stakeholders and decisions  were reached on the need for a review  of the report  on  the enumeration by the Consultant on the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment  of the affected  areas. The committee members were constituted to reflect  the different  groups  of stakeholders,  including  Lagos State Government,  affected  Local Government  Areas  Traditional Rulers, estate developers  and residents, as well as professional  bodies. 4. The committee  members  are as follows:  1. Engr (Mrs) Olukorede Kesha (FCW, Lagos State)    -  Chairman 2. Rep. of Director, Bridges and Design.  -  Engr Oladele Sola 3. Rep of Honourable Minister of Works.  -  Barrister Joseph Ekumankama 4. Engr Olufemi Dare.  -   FMW, Lagos 5. ESIA Consultant.  -  Dr. Eugene Itua 6. Rep 1 ESIA.  -  Suv. Popoola Lateef 7. Rep 2 ESIA.   -   Emmanuel Eneh 8. Rep. of Oba Oniru.  -  Mr. Yemi Stephen. 9. Rep. of Oba Elegushi.  -   Mrs. Peju Omotayo 10. Rep. of Oba Ojomu of Ajiran land.  - Hon. Jide Akintoye 11. Rep of Oba Onibeju of Ibeju  -  Mr Agbaje Adesegun 12. Rep. of Eti Osa Local Government.   -   Adeola Adetoro 13. Rep. of Ibeju Lekki Local Government.  -  Hon. Moruf Isah 14. Olawale Ojikutu (Min of Lands, LASG)  -  Secretary 15. Rep. Of LASG Surveyor General.  -  Moyosore Faji 16. Rep. Min of Physical Planning LASG. - Kunle Bello 17. Rep 1 Hitech.     -       Mr. Willie 18. Rep 2 Hitech.     -      Mr. Ashton 19. Rep DLS.    -    Mrs Igboko   ...

ARMED FORCES FULLY BACKING THE RENEWED HOPE ROAD INFRASTRUCTURE INITIATIVES, DESCRIBE ROAD AS CRITICAL TO NATIONAL SECURITY AND AS A CATALYST FOR SUCCESSFUL MILITARY OPERATIONS AGAINST BANDITRY The Honourable Minister of Works, His Excellency Sen. Engr. Nweze David Umahi CON has been assured of the full backing of the Nigerian military in his efforts towards realizing the lofty road infrastructure objectives of the Renewed Hope administration of the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Nigeria, His Excellency, President Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR. This assurance was conveyed by the Chief of Defence Staff, Federal Republic of Nigeria, General Christopher Gwabin Musa, OFR during a courtesy call to the Honourable Minister of Works, held at the Ministry's conference hall, Mabushi-Abuja on 16th April 2024. Speaking during the courtesy call the Defence Chief commended the glaring determination of the Honourable Minister of Works to return Nigeria's road infrastructure to the part of glory knowing the importance of road to the socio-economic transformation of the nation. He placed on record the strategic importance of road to national security and its place in achieving successful military operations against acts of banditry. He said, "We are following your activities on the internet, and we know you're almost everywhere. I want to commend you for the efforts you are putting in. We know how determined you are to ensure that our roads are back. We all know that without roads, there can be no peace. That's true for rural areas and urban areas. Roads are significant and very important to the growth of any nation. Despite all the challenges, we’ve seen how comments have been made, both professionally and unprofessionally, to your person, but you’ve been strong. I want to encourage you, sir that the Armed Forces of Nigeria is solidly behind you. We will continue to provide every necessary support that you require. We are just a phone call away. Whatever there is, that you would want us to do for you, be rest assured, we will be there, because we know the relevance and importance of having good roads in any society." The Chief of Defence Staff also appealed to the Honourable Minister to take into consideration the need for interventions on the deplorable condition of some roads in the North East where bandits are taking advantage of the poor conditions of roads in the area to defy and relegate security operations. He noted that the areas where the military were recording high casualties of both manpower and equipment, especially in Maiduguri, were the areas the bandits use Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) in their attacks knowing fully well the deplorable conditions of the roads in those areas. He said, "So for us, roads are critical to our success in our operations. I want to appeal to you, whatever it is, whatever it takes, if we can fix most of these roads that we have, it will greatly assist us in carrying out our operations. Once we have good roads, the funny thing about North East, especially Borno State, will be resolutely tackled. Most of the distances are not that long." In his response, the Honourable Minister of Works thanked the Defence Chief for the wonderful work the Armed Forces are doing to rejig the security architecture and rid the nation of banditry. He particularly thanked Mr. President who is the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces for the successes he has recorded in the fight against banditry in Nigeria. He said that the military deserves the cooperation, support, and solidarity of all Nigerians in their efforts and sacrifices to secure the citizenry. He decried the recent brutal killing of the military personnel in Okuama Delta State and thanked the military for their sense of maturity in the face of the needless provocation. "Let me offer my deepest condolences to you for your personnel that were brutally murdered at Okuama in Delta State while doing everything to ensure peace and security in the area. It's quite very unfortunate. Let me thank Mr. President for the maturity and thank the military led by you for the maturity. Those personnel who were killed are children of parents. They have children, and they have wives. Our hearts go out to you and their families, and we condemn that very terrible and barbaric act. We caution those who are making very unhealthy statements on the matter, as if the lives that were lost were the lives of animals" The Honourable Minister assured the Defence Chief of the preparedness of the Ministry in addressing the concerns of the military on the conditions of roads, especially in the areas of their operations in the North East. He said, "Let me appreciate your concerns over our roads, especially as it affects your programmes in North East. And let me assure you that when we get those routes and your major concerns, we are going to analyze them to know the ongoing projects among them, and then know why the projects are slow in their execution. It could be for the reason of funding. Everything has become a priority in our road sector development. We would like to analyze it and together we will take it to Mr. President, who has put the security of life and property ahead of any other thing." He further said, "I'm very sure that Mr. President, as usual, will give it the desired attention. It's not his will that any person will die for the reason of a bad road. So I'm reassured by the character and the content of Mr. President that something will be done. We have to get our designs and figures right, and together, we can do that."   ...

ROAD PROJECT DELIVERY UNDER PRESIDENT TINUBU DONE WITH INCREDIBLY LOWEST COST AND GREATEST QUALITY, AND SPEED ...Works Minister Describes The Statement Credited To The Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar On The 700km Coastal Highway As A Gross Misrepresentation Of Facts And Figures, And A Ploy To Mislead Nigerians By Darkening Counsel Without Knowledge The Honourable Minister of Works, His Excellency, Sen. Engr Nweze David Umahi, CON has expressed that despite the skyrocketed cost of materials in the construction industry caused by the dynamics of commodity price inflation and supply chain disruptions, the administration of His Excellency, President Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR has remained unmatched in prudence, cost effectiveness, speedy and quality delivery of road projects.   He made this comment during his inspection visit to the on-going rehabilitation of Enugu - Port Harcourt dual carriageway section 4 (Aba - Port Harcourt) handled by China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation Ltd (CCECC) on 8th April 2024.  The Honourable Minister who also visited the construction of a 23-span flyover bridge project at Eke-Obinagu Junction (NNPC Depot), along Enugu Abakaliki Road, Enugu State handled by Reinforced Global Resources Ltd, the rehabilitation work at the collapsed bridge site at the New Artisan Bridge near NNPC mega fillings station Enugu Capital City, Enugu State handled by CCECC, the rehabilitation of Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway Section 3, Enugu- Lokpanta handled by CGC, 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 and the reconstruction of the dualized 15km section of the East-West road section III: (Eleme Junction- Onne Port  in Rivers State  being executed on reinforced concrete pavement like the coastal road) handled by RCC, said that the administration  of President Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is committed  to a diversified and sustainable economic  future  of Nigeria, and this he is doing in the works sector through aggressive  infrastructure  development that would provide access  to  trade, tourism, industrialization and safety, especially along the local economic  corridors. While reacting to a statement credited to the former Vice President of Nigeria, His Excellency, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar on the 700 km coastal road projects, the Honourable Minister described the analysis he made on the coastal road project figures and the economic importance of the all-important coastal highway project as a gross misrepresentation of facts, and figures and a ploy to mislead Nigerians by darkening counsel without knowledge. "He doesn't understand figures. I am going to run figures for him to understand, and he will understand how prudent the administration of President Tinubu has been. He will understand how prudency is taking the centre stage in this administration. The President has once queried me on the cost of on-going projects nationwide. I had to analyse every basic rate of construction materials to arrive at our unit rates. I showed it to Mr. President. He still thinks I should bring down the cost of projects. At the same time, the contractors are crying that I am oppressing them so much by reviewing the costs of their projects downwards. They lamented that what they were getting before, they are no longer getting it now. They cried out. But when I run the figures, Nigerians will see what this present administration is doing. So, I'm not here to run the figures now. I will do that in a press conference on my visit to Lagos from 10th April 2024 to 12th April 2024.” On the economic importance of the coastal highway, he stated, "I will tell you the economic benefits of the project and how the coastal road is tying the entire country together. It's not tying just South-South and South- West. It is tying the North and South together. We are starting a project from Badagry to Sokoto, and we have a spur on this coastal route to that route and the African Trans Sahara Road that is passing from Enugu to Abakaliki to Ogoja to Cameroon which has a spur to the North". His Excellency, former Vice President Akitu Abubakar, may not know that the third section of the project is starting in Calabar by July 2024. The Honourable Minister commended the pace and quality of work on the projects he visited but harped on the need for the contractors to heed the project delivery timeline. On the progress of work at the East West Road section III, he said, "The reinforcement is very good, the concrete is very good, the speed is not very good, so they have to increase their speed. If RCC doesn't increase their pace, I will take out a portion of this road and give it to another contractor. We will not want contractors to stay on a job like this 15km dualization for two years or more." ...