NGGTour: FG delivered 32 roads in 2012- Maku

[FMINigeria]

                        The Minister of Information, Mr. Labaran Maku has said that 32 roads were completed by the Federal Government last year.

He made this known on Wednesday while inspecting the Makurda Bridge along Daura Road in continuation of the Tour of Katsina State.

Mr. Maku said: "In 2012 the Federal Government delivered on 32 roads across the country. They were built and completed. We will deliver also on many other roads this year. This will include the Benin-Ore road, the Abuja-Lokoja Road and Kano-Maiduguri Expressway".

The Information Minister further reiterated that the Federal Government is committed to completing all the strategic arteries in the country. He said "Only last week we were briefed that the road leading from Bida to Moukwa will be awarded this year as well as Moukwa to Ilorin, the money has been set aside.

"All the major difficult areas in the country, we are tackling them, and this is one of the 32 roads we delivered. So please we call on all Nigerians to use these roads safely because the problem we have is that when the roads get better more people die because people want to move faster than what is possible".

Mr. Maku, while describing the road as internationally strategic to the people of Daura, the people of Katsina, Kano and the. people of Niger Republic said "The Federal Government decided to rehabilitate this road and expand the bridge. There was a narrow colonial bridge here so if any vehicle was coming from the other end then others have to stop for it to cross before they can come in. Now this bridge has been expanded to enable vehicles passing both ways to drive through.

"This is also to reassure Nigerians that the Federal Government is working hard and most of the money used for these projects are coming from the SURE-P (Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme).

Briefing the NGGT members earlier, the Federal Controller of Works in Katsina State, Engr. Mohammed Aliyu said the Road links Nigeria with Niger Republic through Daura. He told the Team that the Road is a 75 Kilometer road and has four bridges.

"Three of the bridges before the rehabilitation were substandard and in fact that was the strongest reason that informed the rehabilitation at the time it was done", Aliyu stated.

He further informed the Team that the contract was awarded in 2009 and was completed in 2012. The job he added cost about 4.7 billion naira.

"It was done in two stages. At the initial stage the bridges were constructed and later on a wholesome rehabilitation was carried out by augmenting the 2.3 billion naira with 2.4 billion naira making it 4.7 billion naira.

"For those who know this road, definitely the rehabilitation of the road has brought lots of joy to the people of Katsina and Nigeria as a whole because this is a popular road and through this road you go up to Kano. It is a very important route. This road was executed ahead of schedule and that makes it very encouraging that we are witnessing contractors so loyal to the government and completing jobs ahead of schedule even when they were not fully paid", the Controller of Works said.

Via: Federal Ministry of Information (FMI) Nigeria