National News
Yuletide: Nigerian Govt. repairs, rehabilitates 24,000 km roads nationwide
Yuletide: Nigerian Govt. repairs, rehabilitates 24,000 km roads nationwide
Federal Government says it is carrying out repairs and rehabilitation intervention on 24,000 km roads nationwide to ensure ease of traffic and movement of goods and services during the yuletide.
Mr Adedamola Kuti, the Director, Highway South-South, Federal Ministry of Works and Housing, (FMWH), made this known on Friday during the Annual Public Sensitisation on Ember Months in Abuja.
The sensitisation is to highlight all the activities proposed and being undertaken by the ministry and the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA) to improve the experience of road users during the yuletide season.
Kuti, giving an update on the activities of the ministry for the yuletide said the ministry had 24,000 km of major repair and rehabilitation of roads.
“We have all together 24000 km. Major repair works, major rehabilitation, and special repairs. We have at least 156 roads, totaling about N97 billion.
“We have identified them along the major alignment of A1 to A9 routes, we have specifically restricted ourselves to A1-A6; that’s the North-South bank and then the east to west.
“A1 is starting from Lagos. Supposed to start from the port, but we are starting from the Lagos-Ibadan expressway. The dual carriageway starts from Oyo-Ogbomosho road.
“Working on the Warri-Benin road and continues towards Benin-Auchi road. Lokoja to Zuba and from Zuba – Kaduna-Zaria-Kano, there’s a major work going on there by Julius Berger and then off to Kano-Daura.’’
Kuti said that other roads receiving intervention are Aba-Owerri road, Aba-Umuahia up to the Enugu State border, and Makurdi – Akwanga-Lafia Road.
“And from Jos to Bauchi to Potiskum is in fairly good condition and from Potiskum to Maiduguri, already completed and commissioned.
“From Jos to Bauchi to Potiskum is in fairly good condition and from Potiskum to Maiduguri, already completed and commissioned.
“The strength between Otukpo-Otukpa- Enugu, that is bad contractors will soon be mobilised to start rehabilitation there to make room for enjoyable travel experience for those traveling through his route to the east,’’ Kuti said.
The Director Overseeing the Office of the Permanent Secretary, Mr Uzo Chukwuwike, speaking further on the efforts of the government to provide infrastructure for citizens said the government was doing all it could in that regard.
“The ministry always anticipate that there would be a massive movement of goods and services in both directions nationwide.
“We always gather like this to brief the public and road users on where we have hiccups before what we have done and what they should expect.
“We also plan to collect data so that we can get to know where they spend longer journey hours before what is their experience now so that we know.’’
Explaining the alternative funding for the roads said the SUKUK fund had brought about enhanced funding.
He said this had helped to complete two sections of the Kano-Maiduguri road which would have still been ongoing if they had relied on budget allocation.
“We also have completed the Ikom bridge, which would have been an impediment, which was affecting conveying goods from Calabar port to the northeastern part of the country.
“So far, we have got the notice from the Debt Management Office for this year’s SUKUK; we have not yet applied to them to know which project will be there.
“But it runs across the six geopolitical zones and the money would be evenly distributed to critical roads.
According to him, the tax credit scheme was based on the executive order signed by the president.
He said the scheme had been a successful model for financing road infrastructure.
On his part, Mr Umar Rafindadi, the Managing Director, FERMA said the agency had identified 17 interstate economic routes corridors for repair works of which Abuja-Keffi-Makurdi was part and contractors ready to begin work.
He added that Lagos-Shagamu, Onitsha-Asaba-Enugu-Abakaliki, Benin-Shagamu, Apapa-Oworoisoki, and Shagamu interchange in Ogun were all areas where the agency was making interventions for ease of traffic for the Yuletide.
Mr Kumven Rindom, representing the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) said FRSC had conducted a road safety audit of all the critical roads nationwide and the reports would be delivered to the ministry and all stakeholders
“All FRSC commands have been directed to cooperate and collaborate with all stakeholders to implement the presidential directive, which was conveyed from the office of the chief of staff to ease on presidential infrastructural development sites.
“We had a meeting with all the commanding officers; they have come up with their programmes on what to do to ease traffic having identified flash-prone areas and the challenges within those justifications and those areas will be given palliative treatment.
“We have also flagged off the ember months sensitisation in all the states to create awareness among the motoring populace with this we hope to have a bunch of free traffic movement.
The Minister of Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola reiterated that the 2nd Niger Bridge would be opened to traffic to ease movement for the Yuletide from Dec. 15 to Jan. 15, 2023.
Other stakeholders in attendance that pledge their cooperation and collaboration include FRSC, the Nigerian Association of Road Transports, contractors among others
Yuletide: Nigerian Govt. repairs, rehabilitates 24,000 km roads nationwide
NAN, AWALCO Partners to Promote ECOWAS Parliament
By: Michael Mike
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) has pledged to partner the Association of West African Legislative Correspondents (AWALCO) to publicise the activities of the ECOWAS Parliament, particularly its 25th anniversary celebrations.
The Managing Director of the agency, Malam Ali Muhammad Ali,, made the pledge when the leadership of the association paid him a courtesy visit in his office in Abuja on Thursday.
Ali while expressing appreciation to the association’s officials for deeming it worthy to pay him a courtesy visit, said as Africa’s biggest news content provider, NAN was home to all.
He said: “For deeming it worthy to come and pay us this courtesy call, the agency is appreciative.
“We hope that it will help the Parliament achieve its goals, and raise awareness, like you said, about its activities.
“On our part, the News Agency of Nigeria, like you know, is Africa’s biggest news content provider.”
He noted that the agency is the most authentic and biggest news hub in Africa, with a domineering influence and reach within the West African subregion.
Ali said: “So, with an association like this, certainly in the News Agency of Nigeria, you find a soulmate, a fellow traveler. You are welcome. We look forward to partnering and doing more, and the News Agency of Nigeria is your home.”
Speaking earlier, AWALCO President, Mr Innocent Odoh, explained that the purpose of the visit was to seek the collaboration and support of NAN, as the indisputable leader in terms of news credibility reportage, and viability.
He said that ECOWAS Parliament would be marking its 25th anniversary on November 16 and a series of activities had been lined up for it.
Odoh said that AWALCO, being the association of the parliament’s press corps, was fully involved in it by way of planning to give the occasion a media and publicity glitz.
He said this would help to propagate the ideals of ECOWAS in general, and ECOWAS Parliament in particular, and make the objectives of ECOWAS Commission and Parliament known globally, starting from the subregion.
He said: “In terms of viability, if we talk about the repository of news in all ramifications, in all dimensions, I think the News Agency of Nigeria comes first before any other one.
“So, what we are doing is in line with the media advocacy that we are projecting for the ECOWAS Parliament at 25.
“We can see that if the collaboration with NAN takes off as we planned it, I think it will go a long way in expanding the vision of the association.”
The AWALCO president further said that the partnership would determine how the regional bloc is run, especially at a time that so many things about ECOWAS needed to be interrogated.
“That is why we’re here, to seek that collaboration, to seek that support, how we can deepen that collaboration to ensure that the citizens of the Parliament understand what is happening around them.
“ECOWAS has a vision of 2050 but many people may not be aware of it, but collaborations like this can open up an opportunity for people to understand the vision of ECOWAS,” he added
on her part, Chief Communication Officer, ECOWAS Parliament, Mrs Uche Duru,, who was part of the delegation, in a remark, extended greetings from ECOWAS Parliament Speaker and Secretary-General to Ali and NAN’s management.
The spokesperson for the parliament said the association was beyond Nigeria, as its membership encompassed the entire West Africa, including even from member states that were threatening to exit or had already exited.
NAN, AWALCO Partners to Promote ECOWAS Parliament
National News
Nigeria, China May Head for Diplomatic Row Over Shooting of Immigration Officer at Chinese Firm
Nigeria, China May Head for Diplomatic Row Over Shooting of Immigration Officer at Chinese Firm
By: Michael Mike
Nigeria is not taking lightly the shooting of an immigration officer at a Chinese firm in Jos, Plateau State.
The Minister of Interior, Hon. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo who narrated the story,
The federal government has threatened a serious diplomatic row with the Republic of China over maltreatment of a Nigerian Immigration Service officer shot by a Chinese company in Nigeria for asking for the company’s expatriate list.
Minister of Interior, Hon. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, who narrated the story on Thursday in Abuja at a stakeholders sensitisation workshop on the implementation of the Nigeria Visa policy 2025, said Nigeria is not handling the matter with kid gloves as it would be taken up as a diplomatic issue.
Tunji-Ojo lamented that the development alone is an attack on Nigeria. It will never be condoned.
He said the Immigration officer, who was on official duty, had visited the Chinese company in Jos, Plateau state, to check the list of the company’s expatriates, but the owner of the company ordered a security officer in the premises to shoot the government official.
Tunji-Ojo said: “I won’t go to China as a Nigerian, open a company and tell my security to shoot a government official in uniform. It’s never done anywhere in the world.
“These officers put their lives on the line. These officers serve this country with their all. And you will not come from anywhere and ask them to shoot them in their fatherland.
“It will no longer happen. We will take it up with you. Because that company, we (Nigerian government) have the power to withdraw their business permit Nigeria and declare them illegal.”
He wondered how it had become an offence for an Immigration officer to visit a foreign company and demand to see their expatriate list.
He said: “It will not happen again. So we’re going to be very hard. We will not stop your business. We will not overburden your business. But don’t make us inferior in our own land. No, please.
“And we’re going to be very tough on this. Because talking to you, I’m not just talking with passion on this topic, I’m talking with a lot of anger, because that guy that was shot is a Nigeria that we all swore to protect by virtue of the laws of Nigeria, by the constitution. That Immigration guy was not shot by a terrorist, is a father, he is a son to somebody. He is a husband to somebody. That cannot happen anywhere in the world.
“We will not tolerate it. Please, no agent, no company is above the law,” the Minister declared
Nigeria, China May Head for Diplomatic Row Over Shooting of Immigration Officer at Chinese Firm
Nigeria Explores CNG Technology to Power Defence, Industrial Vehicle Fleets
By: Michael Mike
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Amb. Yusuf Tuggar has led a high-level delegation on a tour of UROVESA—a renowned Spanish manufacturer of military and industrial vehicles.
The visit focused on exploring potential collaboration in Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) technology for powering Nigeria’s defence and industrial vehicle fleets.
The minister was accompanied on the visit by key figures including the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Ekperikpe Ekpo; Presidential CNG Initiative representative, Engr. Michael Oluwagbemi; Engr. Henry Oki; and the Special Assistant for Gas Business and Investment to the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), where they all engaged in detailed discussions with UROVESA executives.
During the visit, Tuggar emphasized the longstanding trade ties between Nigeria and Spain, noting that Spain remains one of Nigeria’s top trading partners, with Nigerian crude oil exports reaching $3.64 billion in 2023.
He lauded UROVESA’s innovative approach to producing all-terrain, armoured, tactical, and logistical vehicles, and expressed Nigeria’s growing interest in and implementation of CNG-powered solutions.
Tuggar also highlighted Nigeria’s business-friendly economic reforms under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration, which have positioned the country as a prime destination for investment in clean energy technologies. The discussions provided a valuable platform for further exploration of future collaborations between UROVESA and Nigeria’s Ministry of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas) in CNG-powered vehicle production and supply.
According to a statement by the foreign affairs minister spokesman, Alkasim AbdulKadir, the engagement not only reinforced Nigeria’s commitment to a green energy future but also laid the groundwork for modernizing the nation’s defence and industrial fleets with environmentally friendly and cost-effective energy solutions.
He said the promising outcome of the discussions sets the stage for a strategic partnership that is expected to foster sustainable innovation and drive economic growth for both Nigeria and UROVESA.
Nigeria Explores CNG Technology to Power Defence, Industrial Vehicle Fleets
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