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From Isaac Anumihe, Abuja
Following the approval of N300 billion in the supplementary budget for the Ministry of Works including N100 billion palliative projects, President BolaTinubu has directed that works in those palliative projects must commence before December 1, 2023.
But on the sections being frequently complained of by the public in all regions of the North and South of the country, the president has equally directed immediate actions on them.
“The engagements of the Federal Ministry of Works will not be limited to these isolatedly reported cases but shall be holistic in our approach through these approved palliative measures and the interventions of Federal Road Emergency Management Agency (FERMA) in all the 36 states and FCT.
“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 of the Ministry and FERMA. It is the right of every Nigerian to have value for his money deployed to the road infrastructure sector and therefore must show interest in all the ongoing projects by the federal, states and local governments” the statement noted.
According to the statement, the president is not complaining of the challenges he inherited in nearly all sectors of the economy, especially as it concerns road infrastructure, rather, he has promised to tackle the problems head-on.
The ministry used the occasion to explain its position on use of asphalt and concrete pavement, saying that the ministry has, at no time, banned the use of asphalt or directed that concrete pavement shall be the only means of road pavement structure.
“Contractors for all the ongoing projects are simply requested to have a choice to continue to use asphalt or have their projects redesigned on concrete at no extra cost to government following the underlisted conditions; Use of asphalt: contractors shall stick to only five per cent Variation On Price (VOP) in line with the signed contract agreement throughout the period of the project and the signed contract shall not be subject to review especially on bituminous items,” the statement noted.
