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Tag: Federal Ministry of Works

  • Lagos-Calabar coastal highway: Protesters storm ministry of works over demolition

    Lagos-Calabar coastal highway: Protesters storm ministry of works over demolition

    Protesters on Tuesday besieged the Federal Ministry of Works in Mabushi, Abuja, demanding adequate compensation for properties demolished along the Lagos-Calabar coastal highway project.

    Speaking on behalf of the group, leaders Declan Ihekaire and Shina Loremikan decried the government’s handling of the situation, stressing that such actions discourage both local and international investments.

    They demanded prompt and fair compensation that reflects the true value of the demolished properties, urging the authorities to address the issue without further delay.

    “I am here in conjunction with my other colleagues who believe that equity should be equity. Those who believe in fairness. Those who believe that oppressive tendencies should be resisted. So, what we are saying is that justice, justice now. When do we want it? Now. What do we want? Justice.

    “So, we are here at the Ministry of Works, Abuja. The same way we were at the Ministry of Lands in Lagos some weeks ago, to tell the Honourable Minister of Works that he has not been fair to Nigerians who invested so much in the corridor where you have the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road.

    “We are saying there is nothing wrong with constructing that road. But there is so much wrong when you take over people’s property, legitimate property, properties that have a C of O., and you take over such property without compensation.

    “We are saying no to that. We are also saying no to a situation where you convince Nigerians to come from overseas and put down their hard-earned currency. And after putting down such money in a property, you come and you demolish.

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    “How do you now tell others there to come back and invest? So, it is a case of you giving and also taking away. We are also saying that a young Nigerian, Obanla, was also abducted at the site some time ago.

    “And to date, we are yet to locate where Obanla is. We are also saying that Obanla should be released to the family. And so, we are saying enough is enough,” Ihekaire said.

    While urging the National Assembly to call the minister to order, Ihekaire said the victims should be given the same treatment as the Super Falcons and D’Tigress, as they also laboured for their property.

    “We have enough money to compensate those whose property has been taken away. Just a few days ago, our Falcons did well. And after doing well, they were paid millions of Naira, 150 million, to each player.

    “And we are saying if we have so much to appreciate people, we should also have so much to compensate people whose property has been taken away.

  • FG gives contractor 15 months to complete Enugu-Onitsha road rehabilitation

    FG gives contractor 15 months to complete Enugu-Onitsha road rehabilitation

    The Federal Ministry of Works has directed the contractor handling the Enugu-Onitsha dual carriage way to complete rehabilitation of the road on or before May 10, 2026.

    The ministry also pleaded with manufacturers of cement to crash the price from N9,500 down to N7,000 to enable for rehabilitation of most Nigeria’s roads, particularly now that the foreign exchange rate has stabilised downwards.

    In a meeting with the project contractor and financier of the Infrastructure Development and Refurbishment Investment (Tax Credit) Scheme in Abuja, on Wednesday, the Minister for Works, Engr Dave Umahi, warned that going forward there will be no variation on the project and must be in accordance with the procedure contained in the Conditions of Contract and not at the whims and caprices  of the contractor.

    Umahi reiterated  that the Federal Ministry of Works is unwavering in its commitment  towards  ensuring  that the  contractor handling the project under the Tax Credit Scheme is made to ensure quality and speedy delivery of the project. 

    “We have to put the records straight that this ministry has the responsibility to ensure quality delivery of work by contractors,” Umahi said.

    He recounted the various  inspection visits he made to contractors’ project sites and how it had caused them to brace up for ensuring quality and speed in project  delivery. 

    Umahi called on the manufacturers of cement, which is a key element  in the construction industry, especially on the use of Continuously Reinforced Concrete Pavement, to please reduce  the cost of cement to N7,000 as the price of dollar has drastically reduced. 

    “The cost of petrol is coming down and efforts are being made by Mr. President to fix the road. I’m happy that the policies of Mr.  President, are working. Today, a dollar is about N1,400. And let me use the opportunity to express dissatisfaction with the cost of cement.

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    “Our contractors have called and complained that they wanted to move back to asphalt. We are using this medium to tell the cement manufacturers that at the time, the dollar was almost N2,000, they increased cement from N7,500. Why should today that the President has brought dollar to stability to about N1400, and is still going down, why should cement be selling for N9,500? 

    “We are requesting cement manufacturers to bring down the cost of cement to N7,000. If after one week they don’t do that, I have to complain officially to Mr. President.”

    President Bola Tinubu’s former spokesman in the South East, Dr Josef Onoh, commended the President for continuing with inheritance projects, stating that abandonment of inheritance projects had been the bane of previous administrations.