As planned, Tinubu govt will deliver Abuja-Kano expressway in 14 months – Mohammed
President Bola Tinubu
As planned, Tinubu govt will deliver Abuja-Kano expressway in 14 months – Mohammed
The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris said President Bola Tinubu is committed to the swift completion of the Abuja-Kano Expressway.
Idris, made this statement on Thursday evening in Tafa, Niger State, during an inspection visit to the project site.
He was accompanied by the Minister of Works, Senator Dave Umahi; the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Works, Senator Mpigi Barinada; the Chairman of the House Committee on Works, Hon. Akinola Alabi; and other senior officials of the ministry.
According to him, the determination of the President led to the revocation of some sections of the contract previously awarded to Julius Berger PLC and subsequently reassigned to a reputable contractor to expedite the project’s progress and ensure timely delivery.
“Mr. President is extremely determined to see to the completion of the construction of the Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano road project, and has insisted that this work must be completed. We will not allow any contractor to hold us to ransom on this project or any other project. We do not have the luxury of waiting another three years for this road to be constructed.
“The Honourable Minister of Works has said that they have set for themselves a target of 14 months, or thereabout, to complete this road. And you can see the passion, the enthusiasm, you know, the kind of determination that all of them have. And we do believe that all of them working the way they are doing, they will complete this work in record time.
“For those who are politicising this road project, please keep politics aside. This road is there to be constructed. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is determined that this major artery linking the Federal Capital Territory to Kano and to other States will be completed. Nothing is going to stop it,” he said.
Idris stated that the President had rejected the initial three-year timeline proposed by Julius Berger for completing the project and instead directed that the project be reassigned to another contractor with a revised deadline of 14 months for its completion.
The Minister said the project is currently segmented into three sections for ease of work.
He commended his counterpart in the Ministry of Works, Senator Dave Umahi, for his unwavering commitment to delivering the project, noting that the Minister was involved in protracted negotiations with Julius Berger, which lasted 14 months because of the company’s insistence on increasing the contract sum from N797 billion to N1.5 trillion and extending the completion timeline to three years.
“We salute the determination of the Minister of Works, Senator Dave Umahi, the Permanent Secretary, members of his team, the National Assembly, and all other stakeholders. And the Minister has said, Nigerians can hold the Ministry accountable; the President has given them every support that they require. In the near future we will have a fully-completed and brand new road linking Abuja to Kano,” he said.
In his remarks, the Minister of Works, Senator Umahi announced that the Ministry has secured a “No Objection” of N252.89 billion from the Bureau of Public Procurement and would present the contract for ratification at the next setting of the Federal Executive Council.
“I am happy to announce that as at yesterday, we got “No Objection” from BPP for a total of N252.89 billion contract sum and I am very sure that FEC will give us approval at next sitting but let me say that we added 10.6 kilometers at the Kano axis to take the project to Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport and we added another 5 kilometers towards Kogi and also full solar light installation to prepare the entire road for operation and maintenance concessioning,” he said.
