President Bola Tinubu has directed the Ministry of Works to extend the Bodo-Bonny road using concrete pavement by 8.7km to the East-West road.
Nigeria’s Minister of Works, David Umahi stated this during a press briefing at the Ministry’s Headquarters in Abuja.
He added that progress is being made on the Akwanga–Jos–Bauchi–Gombe–Maiduguri corridor.
The Minister further revealed that the Nigerian government through the Ministry of Works has taken over total responsibility of supervision and payment for road projects previously funded by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).
Umahi explained that under the revised framework for projects initiated under Executive Order 007 (April–May 2023), NNPCL will no longer make direct payments to contractors.
“The president directed that we should take over as Ministry of Works, prioritise the projects, re-phase the projects and rescope the projects and that is what we are doing with our contractors,” he said.
He added that President Tinubu said the projects must continue and to this end released N127bn to sustain work on the inherited projects but, about N7tn will be required to finish all NNPCL-funded road projects, describing them as vital to national connectivity and economic development.
He further called on Nigerians to take care of road infrastructure and desist from vandalising them so that they will last long.
“I want the public to go and see the things we have done to protect the coastal route being destroyed by people. The green barbed wire we put up to expose the beauty of the coastal route in a number of sections is being cut and taken by people,” he said.