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Newly appointed Minister for Works, David Umahi, has resumed office amidst jubilation and promise of speedy completion of works across the country.
Umahi, the immediate past governor of Ebonyi State, while addressing staff of the ministry alongside contractors handling various projects in the country, promised to replicate his exploits as governor in Ebonyi State in the area of infrastructure.
The minister, while decrying the worrisome state of federal roads across the country, said the Ministry of Works, under his watch, will explore various grey areas of using local contents in road construction by using concrete pavement.
He said the ministry shall, in near future, adopt the Public Private Partnership (PPP) which will enable private sector participation in construction of federal roads and running same for a period of time.
The minister, however, said the issue of tolling the federal highways would be brought to the front burner, adding that what the ministry was concerned more about speedy completion of various road contracts across the country.
“We are going to be reintroducing the PPP to allow private individuals or firm take part in our road construction and running same for a period of time. We are not going to introduce tolling on our federal expressway but maybe, with time, we will but what matters now is to fix these roads,” he said.
He vowed to dismantle unnecessary bureaucratic bottlenecks which he identified had been a clog in the wheels of progress in the ministry by ensuring civil servants working with the ministry adopt more speedy approach in working in synergy with contractors.
The minister further disclosed the ministry will be introducing constructing roads on rigid pavement to enable the roads last. He said this would be part of the new innovation he brought to bear in Ebonyi as governor. In a related development, Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, paid a courtesy call on the minister where he described him as great man who has full knowledge of road infrastructure and a man who has solution to the road challenges in the country.
