The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Darius Ishaku

  • Minister appeals to SURE-P to increase funding of East-West road

    Minister appeals to SURE-P to increase funding of East-West road

    MR Darius Ishaku, the Supervising Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, over the weekend appealed to the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P) to increase funding for the East-West road.

    Ishaku made the appeal during a courtesy visit to the Chairman of SURE-P, Retired General Martin Agwai in Abuja.

    The minister was there to brief the chairman on the progress made on the East-West road project.

    He said that the intervention by SURE-P in 2013 had contributed immensely toward the realisation of the project.

    He said that the provision of N30 billion for the project in the 2014 budget of the ministry was inadequate.

    He pointed out that if more money was not made available, the target date would not be realisable.

    He further emphasised the urgent need to complete the 15-kilometer Port-Harcourt-Onne portion of the road to reduce traffic holdup in the city.

    “I can assure that the work will continue and also be concluded once the funding issue is addressed,” he said.

    Ishaku highlighted the economic importance of the road to the nation and urged the management of SURE-P to consider an increase in the budgetary provisions it made for the road project in 2014.

    Responding, Agwai said the committee was mandated by the president to accelerate Nigeria’s economic transformation through investment in critical infrastructure to achieve Vision 20:20 20 of the Federal Government.

    He applauded the minister for the positive impact he made recently in the Niger Delta region.

    He said, “SURE-P has new projects to undertake in the 2014 budget in spite of competing demands on its lean resources,” he said.

    He, however, emphasised that new strategies would be evolved in close collaboration with the ministry in completion of the project, which links diverse communities in the Niger Delta region.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the supervising minister had earlier said that the East-West Road project is 70 per cent completed.

    Ishaku said that in spite of the budgetary provision and funds from African Development Bank (AfDB), a gap of N30 billion still existed.

    He said that the Federal Government had committed the sum of N248 billion as at March.

    He, however, added that the ministry had obtained a 300 million dollars loan from AfDB, adding that about 50 per-cent of this loan was released and committed to the 2013 financial year.

    He further stressed that the total contract sum for the East West road was put at N349. 87billion and a total of N248 billion had so far been paid for the work done.

  • ‘East-West road ready next year’

    The biggest Federal Government project in the Niger Delta, East-West road, will be ready in 2015.

    The last scheduled completion date for the over N300 billion project was December. The completion of the project has suffered many postponements.

    Despite the major constraints, the supervising Minister for Niger Delta, Darius Ishaku, said the project had reached 70 per cent completion.

    Ishaku, who addressed reporters in Abuja yesterday, said the completed sections of the road were being used.

    The minister said the ministry would work out alternative funding outside the budget line for the project.

    He said the African Development Bank (ADB) and the SURE-P had proven to be worthy alternative sources of funding.

    Ishaku said the ministry had accessed $150 million of the $300 million ADB loan.

    The minister, who attributed the slow pace of work to kidnapping and excess demands on contractors, assured the people the ministry would ensure it delivered on its mandate.

    Speaking on other projects in the region, the minister said the ministry trained 701 of the non-militant youths in agriculture.

     

  • Minister orders distribution of transformers to states

    Minister orders distribution of transformers to states

    The Minister of State for Power, Darius Ishaku, has directed that all 33/11KV transformers, transformers panels, oils and other power equipment at the Central Stores of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria,(PHCN), Shogunle, Lagos , be allocated to every part of the country that needs them within the next two weeks.

    In a statement by the Assistant Director, Press, Patricia Doweritshe, the move is to ameliorate the plight of the communities affected by power supply due to damaged transformers .

    She said the Minister gave the directives in Lagos, when he paid an unscheduled visit to the PHCN Central Stores, adding that he was surprised that over 2000 transformers and other accessories for the transmission and distribution of power effectively to Nigerians were idling away at the central stores, while consumers are complaining of damaged transformers.

    She said Ishaku was at the Ikorodu Port of the Nigeria Customs and Excise, to receive inventory of all the Power equipment at their custody, since 2004, adding that the Minister took delivery of these equipment from the Comptroller of the Port, Dan Ogu, who represented the Comptroller-General of the Nigerian Customs and Excise, Abdulahhi Inde Dikko, and thanked the Customs for protecting the equipment from vandals all these years.

    He assured that these equipment would further consolidate power supply in the country, as they would be distributed to all successor companies of the PHCN according to their requirements.

    He said a Distribution Committee would be set up to identify areas of needs to enable each company take delivery of the available equipment.

    Ishaku said government is anxious to see a quantum leap in power supply to the citizenry and therefore directed the chief executives of these companies to pick up their allocations from the port before the end of October.

    The Minister was accompanied by the Permanent Secretary, Dr. Dere Awosika and the Chief Executive Officers of Eko and Ikeja Distribution Companies, Chris Akamnonu and Amoda.