Minister of works, Engr. Nweze David Umahi, has declared the commitment of the federal government to complete the Abuja-Kaduna-Katsina-Kano Federal Highway within a record time.
He stated this when he received the Governor of Kaduna State Uba Sani in his office in Abuja yesterday.
Umahi in a statement by his special adviser on media, Orji Uchenna Orji, said he had the directive of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to present a programme that could see to the completion of the project within the next one year.
He assured the governor that the project, which was inherited from the past administration, would be started in three sections as soon as possible.
Umahi said, “We are going to have the first section of 38 kilometres by 2, (which is 76 kilometres,) done by Dangote Group of Companies on tax credit and it’s going to use concrete to do it.
“We will allow the next 82 kilometres for Julius Berger to handle. And then the last 20 kilometres by 2, (which is 40 kilometres) for BUA to handle and to also use concrete to do that and I can assure you that the job will start in these three sections within this month of May,” Umahi said.
The minister commended the governor for the peace and development being witnessed in Kaduna State under his administration despite inherent challenges.
“I want to commend you very highly. In spite of the challenges you have in your state, you have started very well. And God will be with you. God will provide the means because you mean well for the nation, for your people in Kaduna State and in fact, for everyone who is living in Kaduna State. I want to commend you for the peace in the state, the unity and the oneness of the state, irrespective of religion ”
Umahi stated that the president’s directive on designing the 1,000 kilometres Sokoto-Badagry Highway was being handled with dispatch by the Federal Ministry of Works.
He explained that the project would cover the old African trade route of Sokoto, Kebbi, Niger, Kwara, Ondo, Oyo, Ogun, Lagos States, connecting Badagry.
He also stated that a proposal was being made to link the South East to the North through the Trans Sahara Highway that would have a spur passing through Benue, Kogi, Nasarawa and end in Abuja.
In his remarks, Governor Sani extolled the vision and will of the president in revolutionising road infrastructure, which is a catalyst for the socioeconomic development of the country and the commitment of the minister which has changed the narrative in the development of road infrastructure in Nigeria.
He said,” I have to commend him for his effort. Since his assumption of office, he has made us proud, because he has done extremely well, and because he has been able to follow the blueprint of our president, who has promised everyone when he was elected, that he would take development to every part of Nigeria, irrespective of those that elected him or not. And of course, that is the agenda, that is the Renewed Hope. Today, we are proud to say that development is reaching everywhere in Nigeria.”
He commended the president’s initiative to construct Lagos-Calabar Road and the Sokoto-Badagry Road, noting that the projects would enhance the socioeconomic potential of the country when completed.
The governor emphasised the importance of federal government’s intervention on the Eastern Bypass in Kaduna State, the Mando-Birnin Gwari Road connecting the North West.
He said the road was of prime importance or agricultural programmes in the North. “And for all of us in Northern Nigeria, you will agree with me that farming is very important. And what we really want is creating opportunities for people that are in the rural areas. That will certainly help, particularly our farmers, linking our farms with markets. Our people believe in this infrastructure to support our farmers,” he said.