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Tag: reconstruction

  • Abiodun flags off reconstruction of 81.6km Abeokuta – Ota – Lagos expressway

    Abiodun flags off reconstruction of 81.6km Abeokuta – Ota – Lagos expressway

    • Project for completion in 18 months

    Governor Dapo Abiodun on Friday flagged off the reconstruction of the deplorable 81.6km dual carriageway of the Abeokuta—Ota—Lagos expressway, vowing to complete it in 18 months.

    Speaking during the flag-off held at the Itori corridor of the road, the governor said simultaneous reconstruction works will be carried out at five points—Ita Oshin(Abeokuta), Itori, Papalanto, Ifo, and Ota—to ensure completion in the stipulated 18 months.

    According to him, each of the gangs would cover 15 kilometers stretch of 81.6km road with drainages, culverts, sidewalk, median and all essentials of modern road.

    He recalled that the contract for the dualization was initially awarded in 2003 during the administration of Olusegun Obasanjo, but lamented that it was neither completed nor the road handed over to the Federal Government (FG) for commissioning by the contractor due to insufficient funding by the Federal Government.

    He also lamented that spirited efforts made by his administration and later in conjunction with his counterpart in Lagos, Governor Babajide Sanwo – Olu to take over the rehabilitation and reconstruction frustrated the immediate past administration at the Centre.

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    He hailed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for giving the responsibility of reconstructing the road to the Ogun State Government, stressing that before now, the state had expended so much to carry out some palliative measures on it.

    Describing it as the second busiest road after that of the Lagos – Ibadan expressway, he said it is strategic to the zones of the state.

    “The road is strategic and of great importance to the economy of Ogun State and Nigeria, this road has been in bad shape for so long until President Bola Ahmed Tinubu approved the reconstruction while waiting we have expended a lot to do palliatives on the road. I also expressed gratitude to the Minister of Works, Engr. Dave Umahi.

    “This road has long suffered negligence, it was not completed and not handed over to the FG. It would be started and then abandoned because of insufficient funds but today our hope is revived as we will expedite action on it and ensure its completion in ample time,” Abiodun said.

  • Reconstruction of Karu Road begins August 31

    The Satellite Towns Development Department (STDD) of Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) yesterday said the impending reconstruction of Karu Road will impede vehicular movement and advised motorists and commuters to take the designated alternative route.

    The Director of the Department, Mr Yamawo Tank, who made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja, said the work would begin on Friday and be completed by September ending.

    He advised motorists and commuters moving into the city centre from Karshi, Orozo, Kurudu, Jikwoyi and Karu site to divert to Karu Market through the overhead bridge to Nyanya, while those coming from the city centre should pass through the same route.

    He appealed to road users to cooperate with the contractor, China Civil Engineering and Construction (CCECC) and bear the inconveniences while the work lasted.

    Tanko said that on completion of the work, traffic congestion would be eliminated and the city centre easily accessible.

    “The Satellite Towns Development Department regrets any inconveniences which the closure might cause motorists in the affected areas,” he said.

    Some of the road users who spoke with NAN, however, expressed mixed reactions over the development.

    A taxi driver, Mr Johnson Adams, commended the STDD for the prompt response to public outcry about the inconveniences being encountered by motorists and other road users on the ever busy route between the city centre and Nasarawa State.

    “The road is actually bad and has always caused damage to our cars; but thank God they are coming to fix it,” he said.

    However, Mrs Joyce Hassan, a businesswoman, noted that the reconstruction work would cause a lot of inconveniences throughout the period of the work.

    A civil servant, Mr Ben Uche, lauded the STDD’s initiative, saying that the reconstruction work was long overdue considering the deplorable state of the road.

  • Lafarge Africa ends share reconstruction with AshakaCem

    Lafarge Africa ends share reconstruction with AshakaCem

    The Board of AshakaCem has approved the reconstruction of shares held by its shareholders in Lafarge Africa. The approval was given at the Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) held in Abuja last Monday.

    Under the arrangement, shareholders of AshakaCem will receive 57 Lafarge Africa shares for every 202 shares held in AshakaCem shares. This development makes AshakaCem a fully-owned subsidiary of Lafarge Africa and offers its shareholders the window to liquidate their investments following the delisting of the Gombe-based cement maker from the trading floor of the Nigeria Stock Exchange last July.

    The Chief Financial Officer of Lafarge Africa, Bruno Bayet, said: “The minority shareholders of Ashaka now have the opportunity to be part of Lafarge Africa with total installed production capacity of over 14 million metric tonnes per annum and strong growth prospects.”

    For the nine-month period ended in September 2017, Lafarge Africa reported a four-fold increase in operating margins. Operating EBITDA grew to  41.7 billion while net sales increased by 39 percent to  223.7b. Despite lower ceme, the company’s turnaround plan and energy strategy delivered EBITDA margins of 30 percent. For instance, AshakaCem operations utilised 82 percent of coal over the period.

    Speaking at the EGM in Abuja, CEO of Lafarge Africa, Michel Puchercos, said: “We remain committed to Ashaka in good times and in bad times because we have a long-term view of our investments. Ashaka cement as a brand has for decades become synonymous with housing and infrastructural solutions in the entire north. We shall maintain that legacy of quality even in the face of temporary setbacks.”

    Though now a 100 percent subsidiary of Lafarge Africa, Ashaka cement will have its own board of directors. Also, sale of cement products under the AshakaCem brand will continue in the north.

  • Why Aba residents should endure reconstruction of Faulks Road

    SIR: The proverb, “One can’t make an omelette without breaking eggs,” simply means “it is not possible to accomplish something worthwhile without adverse effects elsewhere.”

    Nothing aptly captures the above proverb than the discomfort Aba residents and other users of the popular Faulks Road, a major street located in the commercial city, are undergoing as a result of the current construction work on the road.

    It is an indisputable fact that Faulks Road is very strategic to the commercial life of Aba, the commercial- nerve of Abia State and, indeed, the South East, for multifarious reasons. The road begins from Brass Junction by Aba-Owerri Road through Ukwu-mango to Aba-Port Harcourt Expressway. It also serves a major link to Ariaria International Market, Umuocham, Umule, MCC, Tonimas junction by Port- Harcourt- Enugu Expressway.

    The strategic nature of Faulks cannot be overemphasised especially now that the Ikpeazu administration is striving hard to hit a N2.5billion internally- generated revenue (IGR) mark by December this year. It is heartening to note that the state IGR recently improved from the staggering between N300million to N500million mark which the present administration inherited to N1.1billion last December.

    Ariaria International Market ,which was established in the 1970s,  the largest market East of the Niger, is strategic to the economy of the state. The market cuts across three local government areas of Aba North, Aba South and Osisioma, and countries of West and Central Africa such as Cameroun and Gabon are served by the market. The market is the largest shoemaking cluster in Africa with 85 zones.

    Currently, the market has assumed the hub where quality footwear are manufactured attracting orders from far and wide. Barring any unforeseen circumstance, Ariaria shoe market holds the prospect of satisfying the footwear needs of military and paramilitary formations in the country as well making significant inroad into the global market. That Abia recently assumed the Small and Medium scale Enterprises (SMEs) hub of the country should be substantially credited to Ariaria International Market. Also, the state is mobilising efforts on a large scale to ensure that the market is remodelled into a market that competes based on global standards.

    It will not be out of place here to note that Ariaria is the proverbial goose that lays the golden egg, and as such the road leading to the market should be given the best attention.

    Indeed, there must be a moment of discomfort before comfort is achieved. Residents of Umuola, Ukaegbu, Umuojima, Ehere, among other roads in Aba where Gov. Ikpeazu’s infrastructure revolution has taken strides, are good witnesses to this. The passionate appeal here to residents of Aba and other users of Faulks Road is to endure for a while because “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.”-Psalm 30:5

     

    • Okechukwu Keshi Ukegbu
  • Reps investigate N500m meant for reconstruction of Chibok School

    Reps investigate N500m meant for reconstruction of Chibok School

    What happened to the N500 million meant for the reconstruction of Girls Secondary School, Chibok in Borno State?
    This is the knotty question the House of Representatives has resolved to investigate and find answers.
    The House yesterday mandated its Committee on Public Accounts to probe the matter and report back to the house within four weeks for action.
    The resolution was sequel to the passage of a motion sponsored by a member, Raphael Igbokwe (PDP-Imo).
    Igbokwe, moving the motion noted that of the N1.6 billion budgeted by the Federal Government in the 2015 budget for the ‘Safe School Initiative’”, N500 million was earmarked for the reconstruction of the Girls Secondary School, Chibok.
    The lawmaker expressed concern that the Governor Kashim Shettima, in one of his recent visits to the school alerted the world that the school has not been reconstructed, indicating that the funds approved for the reconstruction may have been diverted.
    The lawmaker worried that there had been no official clarification from the Ministry of Finance or the Office of the Auditor General of the Federation over the status of the funds.
    Members said there is the need to know what happened to the funds and that its necessary to find out if the money was appropriated and not utilised or was diverted.

  • Boko Haram: Borno commences first phase of reconstruction

    Boko Haram: Borno commences first phase of reconstruction

    • Shettima inspects 16 projects

    Borno State yesterday began the reconstruction of houses, schools, hospitals, police stations, courts, local government secretariat and worship places among others destroyed by Boko Haram insurgents.

    Governor Kasim Shettima inspected the first phase of works in different parts of Kaga local government area in northern part of the state.

    As much as 16 projects being carried out by the newly established Ministry for Rehabilitation, Reconstructions and Resettlement were inspected.

    While announcing the appointment of 21 commissioners in September, Shettima had insisted that POPs be used to replace normal ceiling sheets and ultra-modern aluminum roofing sheets should take the place of zinc.

    Shettima, who undertook the inspection which lasted for over seven hours with reporters, reviewed the progress of work in major villages of Auno and Jakana as well as Beneshiek, headquarters of the local government area along the Maiduguri- Damaturu highway

    At Auno village, located 21 kilometres away from Maiduguri, the governor assessed the low cost houses being built for the resettlement of villagers displaced by insurgents.

    The governor proceeded to inspect a primary healthcare centre rebuilt with staff quarters for doctors, nurses and other health workers in Auno.

    He also assessed a rebuilt and modernised primary school ?as well as the residence of the District Head expected to play renewed role in mobilizing citizens towards community policing.

    Shettima also assessed newly constructed boreholes and a central mosque already completed before moving to Jakana, which is 15 kilometres away from Auno.

    In Jakana, the governor assessed reconstruction of a police quarters made of units of houses and a primary school.

    He instructed the immediate drilling of an additional borehole for the community.

    At Benisheikh, the governor assessed reconstruction of the General Hospital with six units of houses being built as staff quarters as well as other expansion and modernisation works.

    He also assessed works at the large council secretariat, a boarding primary school, the low cost primary school, Tamandara Primary School, a secondary school, an office complex of the Federal Road Safety Commission, an estate of 20 units of houses, an upper area court, a magistrate court, a cooperative store as well as the divisional police headquarters.

    Addressing the reporters, Shettima said his administration decided to start with Kaga local government area in the first phase to convince the federal government and support organisations of its commitment to rebuilding.

    He said Kaga was chosen because of its immediate access to reconstruction workers, noting that Bama, Gwoza and Askira Uba will form the next phases.

    According to him: “We are completely rebuilding the attacked communities with a remodeling mindset to turn them to cities with modern private and infrastructures that will stand the taste of time with very functional service delivery in water supply, healthcare delivery, education and other essentials.

    “With the massive support we are awaiting from the federal government, Borno will be transformed.

    “President Muhammadu Buhari has shown sufficient commitment to ending this insurgency and he has shown equal commitment to the reconstruction and rehabilitation process and we are so full of appreciation to him and all stakeholders involved in supporting Borno.”

     

  • IDPs: Focus shifts to rehabilitation, reconstruction

    IDPs: Focus shifts to rehabilitation, reconstruction

    The details may not be quite out yet, but it is clear that with the liberation of most communities in the Northeast from Boko Haram insurgents, coupled with the massive return of Nigerian refugees from Cameroon and Niger, focus has shifted from handing out relief packages to comprehensive rehabilitation, reconstruction and recovery of other affected persons and communities.

    The Director General of National Emergency Agency (NEMA), Muhammad Sani Sidi disclosed this at an African Union Regional Consultative meeting for West Africa for the development of a common African position on the World Humanitarian Summit in Abuja.

    He said the agency was collaborating with State Emergency Management agencies with the support of the UN System and has undertaken damage and loss assessment of the affected communities in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states.

    He added that the agency has also made submissions to the government for appropriate intervention by line Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).

    He noted that the humanitarian outcome of the insurgency has equally impacted the contiguous states of Gombe, Bauchi, Plateau and Taraba and the neighboring Republics of Niger, Chad and Cameroun.

    He said there were about 57,743 Nigerian refugees in Cameroon, Chad and Niger, with Cameroun having 40,366 who were taking refuge in Minawayo, Mora, Fotocol, Limani, Amchide, Douala, Kentzou and Garoua Bouali refugee camps; 15,000 in the Republic of Niger who were taking refuge in Diffa, Bosso, Maine and Kablewa, and 2, 377 in Chad   taking shelter in Ngouboua, Lake Chadi region.

    Responding to questions, the Director General lamented how about 12,000 Nigerian refugees were expelled by the Camerounian authorities and dumped at the border while UNHCR was watching. “I expressed my concern to UNHCR when the Nigerian delegation went to Chad, Niger and Cameroun for assessment of the condition of Nigerian Refugees which was misconstrued as forceful evacuation by UNHCR.”

     

  • Jonathan launches reconstruction of Aba/Port Harcourt road

    President Goodluck Jonathan has kicked off the reconstruction of the Aba-Port Harcourt section of the Enugu/Port Harcourt Expressway.

    The project is worth N34 billion and would be completed in 30 months.

    President Jonathan said work is in progress on sections of the expressway from Lokpanta-Umuahia, with the Umuahia-Aba section also ongoing.

    President Jonathan, who was represented by Minister of Works Mike Onolememen said with the award of the last section, the expressway is now under rehabilitation.

    He said: “This is a demonstration of my commitment to the development of road infrastructure in line with the transformation agenda of this administration”.

    Jonathan noted that the Enugu-Port Harcourt dual carriageway is an important North-South arterial highway connecting Port Harcourt to Enugu.

    The President regretted that the road, constructed in the 70s, went bad due to lack of maintenance by successive administrations.

    He said: “This led to increased transportation, with the attendant negative impact on commercial activities. Therefore, it is in response to the cries of the people that this administration decided to rehabilitate the road.”

    Abia State Governor Theodore Orji, represented by his Commissioner for Environment Chinwe Nwanganga said the reconstruction showed President Jonathan’s love for Ndigbo and Nigerians.

    Orji said the reconstruction would reduce the hours wasted by motorists and the carnage on the road.

    Onolememen, who was represented by the Director, Federal Highways, Bala Danshehu, said the road is important to the people as it links five states in the South East, including Ebonyi and Rivers states.

  • Why I offer free reconstruction surgery for the poor, by Modupe Ozolua

    Why I offer free reconstruction surgery for the poor, by Modupe Ozolua

    Thirteen years ago, when Modupe Ozolua ventured into the world of beauty enhancement therapy, many Nigerians were quick to dismiss her projects. But years after, with many body reconstruction and humanitarian activities, Ozolua is set to move into the next phase. Seun Akioye reports.

    There is something that glows about Modupe Ozolua, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Body Enhancement Limited and Founder, Body Enhancement Foundation.

    It also leaves one with conflicting emotions about her identity and personality. At least that was the consensus in 2001 when she appeared on the social scene and announced that her company would be involved in helping women enhance their bodies, especially the breasts.

    There were as many Nigerians that dismissed the gorgeous Ozolua as there were that embraced her body enhancement therapy. She held on to the belief that women who are not satisfied with their bodies deserve a second chance at looking young and beautiful.

    In the years following the opening of her cosmetic surgery centre, her clientele grew in leaps and bounds, many of them society women and business tycoons who wanted the anti-ageing therapy that Ozolua offers.

    But two years after opening the first cosmetic surgery centre in Nigeria and West Africa, she jolted her critics by doing the unusual: she founded the Body Enhancement Annual Reconstructive Surgery (BEARS), a charity organisation which specialised in helping the indigent in need of life-saving body reconstruction.

    Ozolua’s charity endeared her to many Nigerians who began to see her in another light. Her motive, she said, was to help the poor and the needy regain their lost body features.

    In the 11 years that BEARS existed, the organisation helped many indigent children and adult reconstruct either the face or other body parts. It was like regaining their humanity, pride and life. Using modern day medical technology, technique and skills to safely perform reconstructive surgical procedures to restore the lives of thousands of underprivileged people suffering from various types of physical congenital, developmental deformities, such as Vesico Vagina Fistula (VVF), cleft lip, cleft palate, burns and lacerations, cataract extractions, hernias, removal of tumors, cysts and fibroid.

    BEARS was also engaged in other humanitarian activities outside surgery, such as provision of relief materials and donation of food and clothes.

    This year, Ozolua again changed her strategy by changing the name of her highly successful humanitarian organisation from BEARS to Body Enhancement Foundation to better reflect the connection to her body enhancement company.

    “There isn’t a better time to draw people’s attention to what BEARS Foundation actually stood for. The acronym BEARS represented Body Enhancement Annual Reconstructive Surgery. Many people didn’t realise it was the charity arm of Body Enhancement Ltd, the company that pioneered cosmetic surgery in Nigeria, 13 years ago,” Ozolua said.

    But she insisted that the group did not change its name but only shortened it. She said: “When you look at what the acronym BEARS stood for, you will realise the name did not actually change, but has been shortened to Body Enhancement Foundation. In addition, as we conduct various types of humanitarian activities outside of surgeries, such as donations of items, exchange of skills, etc., and these are done more than once a year; it makes sense for the change.”

    The organisation has had its hands full in its 11 years of operation, especially from those in need of one body reconstruction or the other who can’t afford to pay for the usually expensive operation. Using volunteer doctors and funds from her other businesses, Ozolua has immersed herself in this life-saving venture, giving hope and life back to the poor and the needy.

    Her foundation is not only involved in free reconstructive surgeries, but also in helping other organisations cater for the poor and the needy. She said: “In the last few years, we have been quietly supporting other non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in their causes by donating money, books, toys and clothing to them. We also send money to different parts of the country to pay the hospital bills of patients who can’t afford to pay them. This year is no different. Our dedication to helping the underprivileged in our society still remains the primary focus of this foundation.”

    The beauty therapist also has a consideration for the victims of bomb blasts and her organisation is open not only to treat them but to feed them. “We come in and identify those who can benefit from us and try to impact their lives as positively as we can. Not just surgical, but means of feeding too. After all, a bed ridden person cannot go to work and earn an income.”

    Ozolua has memories of some of her clients. There was baby Funmi who had a cleft lip, Jude, a young boy with severe burns all over his body and Sulaiman who had a terrible and unusual growth at the back of his head. They all came and were restored. Operations like these, Ozolua said, give her happiness.

    But an experience with a particular patient had stuck with her for a long time. She was only a little girl with cleft palate problems which had been operated on several times.

    ”She must have been about eight years old when we did her surgery. About three years later, her mother brought her to visit me in the office. I will never forget how beautifully dressed she was and how big she had grown. I thought she wouldn’t recognise me as the woman who had been part of the team that restored her body to wholeness and who was in the operating room with her; but as soon as she saw me, she ran straight into my arms and held me tightly,” she recollected.

    Ozolua also held on to her tightly and to confirm she recognised her, the child said: “You are Aunty Modupe who did my surgery.” Such experiences, she said, were clear reminder that though many people may not appreciate her efforts, but for the little girl, for Jude and Sulaiman, ”all effort and sacrifices on our part is worth it”.

    Also in addition to the name change, the Foundation has a new Board of Trustees, which include the Director-General, National Agency for Food Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Dr Paul Orhii; Minister of Special Duties, Kabiru Turaki (SAN); the Adviser, World Bank, Edith Jubunoh and Prince Oluwaseun Ozolua.

    Archbishop Desmond Tutu is the patron of the Foundation. The new website address is: www.b-efoundation.org.

    Ozolua said her foundation is open for business of saving lives and restoring pride to the poor. “We will soon start publicised advertisement of our treatments,” she said.

  • ‘ACN governors didn’t boycott flag-off of Lagos-Ibadan Expressway reconstruction’

    The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) yesterday described as fallacious the claim by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) that the ACN governors in the Southwest shunned last week’s flag-off of the reconstruction of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway by President Goodluck Jonathan.

    In a statement in Abuja by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party also said only the Governors of Lagos, Oyo and Ogun were invited to the ceremony, hence it is inaccurate to give the impression that all the ACN Governors in the Southwest were expected to be there.

    It said while Governor Ibikunle Amosun attended the flag-off, the Governors of Lagos and Oyo sent their deputies to represent them because both of them were out of the country.

    “How then could anyone who believes in the truth, and nothing but the truth, infer in a public statement that the Governors shunned the ceremony because of politics? How difficult is it for a self-respecting party spokesman to check the veracity of the information at his disposal before feeding such to the public?

    “Is it possible that a spokesman for a ruling party does not know that Deputy Governors can stand in for their principals even at statutory meetings like the National Council of State and the National Economic Council? Or does the PDP now believe that peddling outright lies is the way to go to give its flagging image a rebound?’’ ACN queried.

    The party said the PDP’s Acting National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Tony Okeke, has undoubtedly embarrassed his party and its leadership with the level of ignorance and amateurism he has so far exhibited on the job.

    “Mr. Okeke should realise that in his frenzied attempt to impress his masters and hold on to the job, he is actually embarrassing them, and that this may get him out of the job faster than he had imagined. He should know that the first thing he has to learn as a party spokesman is to check his facts before pushing out any statement.

    “If he did not personally attend the flag-off, he could have asked if indeed the invited Governors were represented and at what level. He could also have cross-checked with the presidency to know who and who were invited to the ceremony.

    Apparently he is not in the scheme of things in the PDP. But he must know that no party spokesman can be effective by peddling beer-parlour information as facts,” ACN said.