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Tag: Umahi

  • Umahi wasn’t locked up in office, says Works Ministry

    Umahi wasn’t locked up in office, says Works Ministry

    The Federal Ministry of Works has said its minister, David Umahi, was neither locked up in his office nor denied access, contrary to speculations on some media platforms.

    The ministry explained that as part of the minister’s efforts to ensure that the workers exhibit discipline in their daily activities, he had directed that work should henceforth start at 9 a.m from Mondays to Fridays for all categories of workers while the closing hour is 4 p.m.

    The Nation reports that some ministry officials protested the minister’s order locking the entrance to the ministry.

    It was learnt that Umahi gave the order to lock the entrance gate to the ministry yesterday to know workers who reported late for work.

    The ministry’s workers complained that although the action of the minister was not totally wrong, they said there was no prior notice before the action was taken.

    A ministry official, who spoke in confidence with our correspondent, explained that aside from the high cost of transportation, he and many other workers living in far places from the Federal secretariat, experienced delays.

    Read Also: UPDATED: Umahi apologises to workers, promises better staff welfare after protests

    Some of the places they stay, according to him, are: Keffi, Kwali, Bwari, Kaduna road, Gwagwalada, among others.

    The Nation gathered that in the effort to avoid a misunderstanding of his action, Umahi addressed the workers and apologised to them.

    The minister promised to improve their welfare and provide more staff buses, particularly as most workers had complained about the high cost of transportation, besides travelling long distances from their places of residence to their offices.

    A statement yesterday by the Director of Press and Public Relations Unit in the ministry, Lere-Adams Blessing, said the ministry’s union leader, Mr. Williams Kuti, held a meeting with the minister, the permanent secretary and top government officials where he acknowledged that the minister had started well by identifying the needs of Nigerians.

    He added that in the quest for good and durable roads and bridges, the minister had inspected most of the roads across the country.

    In his address, Umahi emphasised the need for unity in the efforts to rescue Nigeria from collapse.

  • UPDATED: Umahi apologises to workers, promises better staff welfare after protests

    UPDATED: Umahi apologises to workers, promises better staff welfare after protests

    Normalcy has returned to the federal Ministry of Works, as the minister, David Umahi has apologised to the members of staff and promised to improve their welfare.

    The Nation reported that the minister, at about 8 a.m. on Thursday, September 28, locked the entrance to the ministry against workers who arrived late for work.

    The staff, however, complained that although the actions of the Minister were not totally wrong, they were not given prior notice before the “tyrannical” action.

    Earlier, a staff member who spoke with The Nation, and chose to be anonymous, stated that aside from the high cost of transportation, he and a lot of staff live in areas that are a long distance from the ministry.

    Some of the places they stay, according to him, are Keffi, Kwali, Bwari, Kaduna road, Gwagwalada, among others.

    The Nation reports that during the heat of the protest, the Minister decided to open up the entrance to the Ministry, but the workers chose to remain outside, demanding an apology from the minister.

    They also blocked the entrance to the Ministry with staff buses, and stopped anyone, including the minister, from coming out or going in.

    They insisted that the minister must address them and give his “unreserved” apology.

    It would be recalled that on Tuesday, September 26, Umahi issued a stern warning to the Staff of the Ministry, particularly the Directors during a briefing, stating that most were complicit in the substandard quality of roads by contractors across the country.

    Read Also: Abuja-Lagos highway ready in four years, says Umahi

    He, therefore, stressed that any worker working against the efforts of the government to deliver the Renewed Hope agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, would be shown the way out.

    He also warned the staff members against joining the planned nationwide indefinite strike by Labour.

    Following the protest, Umahi addressed the staff members and promised to improve their welfare, particularly as most complained about the high cost of transportation and the distance of the Ministry from their residence.

    The minister also asked to meet with the staff to better understand their plight and rightly intervene by providing more staff buses, among other interventions.

  • BREAKING: Tension as protesters lock works minister Umahi in his office

    BREAKING: Tension as protesters lock works minister Umahi in his office

    Protesting workers at the Ministry of Works confined the minister of works, Dave Umahi, in his office on Thursday, September 28.

    The staff accused Umahi of being tyrannical, claiming that the minister barred staff who were late for work from entering the ministry.

    The union members in the Housing and Works Ministry decided to lock up the ministry.

    The workers also prevented entry and exit into the building thereby preventing the minister from leaving the office.

    Read Also: Abuja-Lagos highway ready in four years, says Umahi

    They also claimed that Umahi, “stopped engineers and directors from doing their work, and has been breaking public service rules since his appointment, by bringing in consultants to run the affairs of the ministry”

    A union representative, Williams Kudi, told AIT that the minister has refused to give them an audience to explain their concerns.

  • Umahi challenges indigenous contractors on quality of work

    Umahi challenges indigenous contractors on quality of work

    Works Minister David Umahi has challenged indigenous contractors to always ensure they deliver the best quality on any contract they handle.

    Umahi gave the advice when he visited the project site for the dualization of the Calabar-Itu Highway . The highway  covers the power plant section, Odukpani in Cross River to Oku Iboku, in Akwa Ibom.

    The  dualisation which will include four bridges is handled by Sermatech, a local contractor.

    Umahi hailed Sermatech for doing a good job and encouraged other indigenous contractors to emulate the company.

    The Minister said:  “The work is fantastic. It is done by an indigenous contractor and we are proud of what they are doing. We want more indigenous contractors to come up and they can come and learn from Sermatech, what they are doing.’’

    Read Also: Abuja-Lagos highway ready in four years, says Umahi

    He promised that money owed to the company would be paid.

    “We would ask my people if they are owing you, we have to pay you immediately. I have visited, I have heard, I have come, I have seen. I am very proud of what you have done,” he said.

    Umahi said the remaining part of the work would be done with concrete, adding:”This consolidation method now and the concrete is known as renewed hope enforced concrete agenda. The President is the captain. This is his idea and for me is just to propagate his idea. The concrete road is the idea of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and I am just here to enforce it.”

     At the inspection were the Managing Director of Sermatech, Mr Isioma Ezi-ashi; the Project Manager, Dr Joe Ukpata; and the Site Engineer, Iheanacho Chibieze.

  • Umahi announces contractor for Lagos-Calabar coastal highway

    Umahi announces contractor for Lagos-Calabar coastal highway

    The minister of works, David Umahi, on Sunday, September 24, opened discussions with Hitech Construction Company Ltd on the proposed Lagos-Calabar coastal highway.

    Umahi, during a meeting with engineers from the Federal Ministry of Works and the contractor’s team in Lagos, said the project would boost interconnectivity to link the entire nation.

    He said the project was huge, ambitious and showed the commitment of President Bola Tinubu to the restoration and rapid development of the Nigerian state.

    He said the president was in a hurry to fix Nigeria and begin the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project.

    The minister noted that the meeting with the contractor was the first and that another meeting to be held in a fortnight would be to close deals for commencement of construction.

    He said the project was a Public Private Partnership to be tolled upon completion, adding that the contractor had already sourced the money to execute the project.

    Umahi explained that the project would be constructed in phases and the completed portions would be put to use and tolled.

    He stated that the proposed highway would link Lagos-Badagry Expressway super highway, connect the proposed Fourth Mainland Bridge, Lekki Deep Sea Port Road, link Ogoja-Ikom to connect five points in Northern Nigeria.

    He stressed that the road had an initial design length of about 650 to 700kms and rail lines  components which would run in the middle of the main carriageways.

    He said the project would promote tourism, have industrial clusters including hotels, factories, housing estates and several other facilities.

    The minister added: “It is quite innovative and the giant of Africa is beginning to show her prowess and this is being revitalised by the captain of the ship, his excellency President Bola Tinubu.

    “So, this is beautiful. Another good news is that this is going to be built on concrete road of 11 inches thick with 20 millimeter reinforcement,” he said.

    Read Also: North Central APC warns Wike against actions harmful to party, region

    He said concrete construction would give opportunity for local cement manufacturers, boost steel production from Ajaokuta, as well as exploration of Nigeria’s huge bitumen.

    Umahi, who is a civil engineer, said the project would have challenges because it would pass through mangroves, mashy areas, flood plains and all kinds of land and soil types.

    He further stated: “And so, there will be a combination of all kinds of construction methods, the deck on pile would be there, the sand filling will be there, the retaining walls will be there.

    “So, it’s a very ambitious project, quite technical and highly rewarding.

    “So, the second meeting will come up in two weeks where the business case study will be exposed to us and we will give them a letter to own the project and then to engage in the design.

    “The Lagos-Port Harcourt-Calabar Coastal Highway is the first of its kind in the whole of Africa.”

    The consultant to Hitech, Nicholas Rizk, said the construction methods chosen were suitable for countries with large landmass like Nigeria.

    Rizk said the project corridor transversed various topographical areas, hence the need to capture all economic and social peculiarities of people along the project alignment.

    He said the road would take off from Victoria Island near Eko Atlantic City through the Lekki Coastal Road, then Lekki Free Trade Zone and the Dangote Refinery to link Ogun, Ondo, Delta, Edo up till Calabar.

    He noted: “We are connecting nine states and this road. In addition to the integration at the national level for South West and South East, South South and Niger Delta, it connects with the Federal Roads going from Lagos to Sokoto.

    “From Warri to Kaduna, from Port Harcourt to Kano-Maiduguri and from Calabar to Maiduguri. So, basically, as the Minister mentioned, we have this coastal highway that is more or less 10 to 12 kilometres away from the shorelines to consider the issue of erosion and the sensitive environmental areas.”

    He explained how health, safety and environmental factors were considered in the project as it passed oil producing areas through Brass, Calabar to connect East West corridor through Lagos to Abidjan and also the North.

    He also explained the rail components of the project, the measurements and other dimensions of the major carriageways as well as links to major ports in the nation.

  • Umahi knocks East-West Road project contractor

    Umahi knocks East-West Road project contractor

    The contractor handling the East-West Road project yesterday got a knock from Works Minister Dave Umahi.

    Umahi, who decried the condition of the road despite the N71 billion pumped into its rehabilitation by the Federal Government, passed a vote of no confidence on the constractors – Messrs SETRACO Construction Company.

    The minister, according to a statement by the ministry’s Director of Press/Public Relations, Blessing Lere-Adams, gave the remarks after traveling by road from Abuja, through Kogi, Edo, Delta, Bayelsa to Port Harcourt,  Rivers State.

    His trip to Port-Harcourt through the East-West Road yesterday was to inspect the progress of work on the highway.

    Berating the company, Umahi said: “The gimmicks the contractors are using is an excuse of overloading. I am passing a vote of no confidence on the construction of this road. I won’t certify anything on this road; the road has failed and it is not acceptable to us.

    Read Also: Fed Govt has N6tr funding gap for 2,604 road projects, says Umahi

    “The road is full of potholes. We have paid over N71b, and the road has completely gone down. Also, the road has been further reviewed from N44 billion to N144 billion. Apart from the beautiful bridge you have built, the road has completely gone down.”

    Facing the company’s representatives, the minister said: “Project manager, tell your team to meet me in Abuja on Monday to tell me what has caused the failure on the road. I do not accept that it is because of overloading trucks.

    “Our roads are not properly being constructed, and I demand that these roads must be properly constructed. It is a fight that Nigerians must win, and Mr. President must win this fight for the sake of the Nigerian people to truly enjoy the dividends of a democratic government.

  • Fed Govt has N6tr funding gap for 2,604 road projects, says Umahi

    Fed Govt has N6tr funding gap for 2,604 road projects, says Umahi

    • Minister gets President’s blessings to adopt concrete reinforced pavements 

    Works Minister Dave Umahi has said the Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration has a N6 trillion funding gap on its road projects across the country.

    The minister, who said the current administration inherited 2,604 road projects, explained that the projects cover 18,000 kilometres and will cost N14 trillion.

    Addressing reporters at the weekend at the Presidential Villa in Abuja after a meeting with President Bola Tinubu, Umahi said the Tinubu administration had paid N4 trillion out of the N14 trillion owed to contractors.

    “The ministry inherited a total of 2,604 projects worth N14 trillion for 18,000 kilometres of roads. That’s what we had. Between when we came on board and now, about N4 trillion has been paid. So, that is a balance of N10 trillion remaining.

    “Now, in this N10 trillion, we have defined sources that could fund up to N4 trillion. So, we have a funding gap of about N6 ttrillion. That is what is there now.

    “We had a number of programmes for road development under the previous administration. We inherited all the projects; we have not dropped any of them. But it’s curious to know that some of these projects have lasted 20 years, some 10 years. In fact, in most cases, they were never appropriated throughout every tenure.

    Read Also: Why I won’t sit in my office expecting quality projects, by Momoh

    “So, I went to seek Mr. President’s nod so that I will be able to terminate some of the projects that have stayed up to 10 years without any defined source of funding,” Umahi said.

    The minister decried the current appropriation system for federal road projects, saying the piecemeal disbursement of funds to contractors was frustrating delivery.

    Umahi said he appealed to the President to engage with the National Assembly to prioritise some projects.

    “Just look at over 2,600 projects, 18,000 kilometers of roads, and N14 trillion. That is huge! And the worrisome part of this is that even the ones that are being funded properly, the roads hardly last up to five years,” he said.

    The minister noted that the short lifespan of roads necessitated his recent proposal to the President to redesign and construct future roads with reinforced concrete.

    “So, I briefed Mr. President on what we are doing by introducing reinforced concrete technology for our road pavements,” Umahi said.

    The minister threatened to “fight” entities poised to frustrate his plan, stressing: “I know that there are a lot of fights from contractors. But I’m David; I’m known for fights. I will fight this because I’ve reported myself to Mr. President.”

    Also, the minister said he had received the President’s blessings to adopt the concrete reinforced pavements for roads across the country.

    He said: “Incidentally, Mr. President is also an infrastructure guru and he fully supports that we should use reinforced concrete for our road pavements.

    “So, there is no other place you can report me to other than to God. So, Mr. President is supporting me that way. We will redesign our roads with reinforced concrete pavement.

    “I’m aware that the contractors have been quarreling and arguing. So, I want to declare that I’m open to any kind of blackmail. But my eyes are on the ball. And my eyes are on how we can get Nigerians to have value for the money. That is the assignment President Bola Tinubu gave to me and I’m going to do that with the fear of God,” he said.

    The minister also revealed that he had written the NNPC to release money for the East-West Road.

    He said: “I know that’s what the Rivers State people mentioned when they came to see Mr. President. So, that road is going to be on concrete.”  

    Having toured the Southeast and parts of the Northwest and the Northcentral, Umahi said he would focus on the Southwest, particularly Lagos State, where works are ongoing on the Third Mainland Bridge, Carter Bridge, Liverpool Bridge, the Eko Bridge and Marine Bridge.

    “I want to see things for myself and appraise the ongoing projects. I want to see who is doing a good job and who is doing a bad job. So, I briefed Mr. President about that,” he said.

  • We inherited over 2,600 road projects worth N14tn, says Umahi

    We inherited over 2,600 road projects worth N14tn, says Umahi

    The minister of works, Dave Umahi, has put the the budget for road projects inherited from past administration at around N14 trillion, covering 18,000 kilometers.

    The minister disclosed this while addressing journalists at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, after a meeting with President Bola Tinubu over the weekend.

    Umahi, who said the roads included are 2,604 in number, further disclosed that the administration had paid N4 trillion out of the N14 trillion owed in contracts, adding that government had already identified funding sources to offset N4 trillion more of its outstanding debts, leaving N6 trillion funding gap.

    However, some road projects that have lingered for about two decades were never appropriated and will, therefore, be terminated.

    He said: “The ministry inherited a total of 2,604 projects, worth N14 trillion and for 18,000 kilometers of road, that’s what we had. Between when we came on board and now, about N4 trillion has been paid and so that is a balance of N10 trillion remaining.

    “Now, in this N10tn, we have defined sources that could fund up to N4tn. So, we have a funding gap of about N6tn. That is what is there now.

    “We have a number of programs for road development under the previous administration. We inherited all the projects; we have not dropped any of them. But curious to know that some of these projects have lasted for 20 years, some 10 years. In fact, in most cases, they were never appropriated throughout every tenure.

    “So I went to seek Mr. President’s nod so that I will be able to terminate some of the projects that have stayed up to 10 years without any defined source of funding.”

    Read Also: Why I won’t sit in my office expecting quality projects, by Momoh

    He, however, lamented the current appropriation system for federal road projects, saying the piecemeal disbursement of funds to contractors is frustrating delivery, adding that he had already appealed to the President to engage with the National Assembly to prioritise projects.

    “Just look at over 2600 projects, 18,000 kilometers of roads, and N14tn. That is huge! And the worrisome part of this is that even the ones that are being funded properly, the roads hardly last up to five years,” Umahi complained.

    He noted that the short lifespan of roads necessitated his recent proposal to the President to redesign and construct yet-to-be-completed federal roads using reinforced concrete.

    Umahi noted: “So I briefed Mr. President on what we are doing by introducing reinforced concrete technology for our road pavements.

    However, Umahi vowed to “fight” entities poised to frustrate this plan, saying, “I know that there are a lot of fights from contractors, but I’m David, I’m known for fight and I will fight this because I’ve reported myself to Mr. President.”

    Meanwhile, the minister said he had received the president’s blessings to adopt the concrete reinforced pavements for roads across the country.

    He said: “Incidentally, Mr. President is also an infrastructure guru and he fully supports that we should use reinforced concrete for our road pavements.

    “So there is no other place you can report me other than to report me to God. So Mr. President is supporting me that way. We’ll redesign our roads in reinforced concrete pavement.

    “I’m aware that the contractors have been quarreling and arguing. So, I want to declare that I’m open to any kind of blackmail, but my eyes are on the ball. And my eyes are on how we can get Nigerians to have value for the money. That is the assignment President Bola Tinubu gave to me and I’m going to do that with the fear of God”, he said.

    The minister also revealed that he had written the NNPC to release monies for the East-West Road, saying, “I know that’s what the Rivers people mentioned when they came to see Mr. President. So that road is going to be on concrete.” 

    Having toured the southeast and parts of the Northwest and Northcentral, he said he would now focus on the Southwest, particularly Lagos State, where works are ongoing on the Third Mainland Bridge, Carter Bridge, Liverpool Bridge, the Eko Bridge and Marine Bridge.

    He stated: “I want to see things for myself and appraise the ongoing projects. I want to see who is doing a good job and who is doing a bad job. So I briefed Mr. President about that.”

  • Tinubu supports concrete roads, says Umahi

    Tinubu supports concrete roads, says Umahi

    Minister of Works, Engr. David Umahi has disclosed that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu supports and is interested in concrete road technology, which is more durable and cost effective.

     Umahi, according to a statement by the Director (Information) of the Press and Public Relations unit at the Ministry, Lere-Adams Blessing, disclosed this  during  a meeting with contractors handling projects in the North East geo-political zone.

     He said, “I had recently met with contractors handling road dualization projects, and my position on the issue is to take one lane and complete it because of paucity of funds. But with the availability of money, they could start the second lane. We can manage with one lane instead of not having anything at all.”

     Stating that the government has N14 trillion on-going projects for 18,000 km roads, the Minister frowned at  situations where some contracts have been on-going for 20 years.

    Read Also: FG to give Southeast roads attention, says Umahi

     He said, “We are introducing concrete road technology and some of you are not happy about it. Some are saying it is too expensive, but we have to try both and see which is better.

     “In any case, any contractor with an on- going project that is not willing to cooperate with us for a redesign with concrete road technology with a 50-year period free of maintenance, we’ll demand for a performance bond. The situation and time when roads are built on asphalt and within two to three years the project is back to square one is gone.

     “We don’t witness this kind of construction pattern in developed countries. We are going to respect Engineering Best Practices in Nigeria. We will build a road that is going to last.

     “He (President Tinubu) has given teeth to bite and to bite Nigerians into good roads so that they can enjoy. This will be one of the greatest legacies of Mr. President and other legacies he is bringing so that the world will know we are not here for business but for an assignment,” he said.

  • Group backs Obirija to replace Umahi

    Group backs Obirija to replace Umahi

    A sociopolitical group, Asiwaju Project Beyond 2023, has presented its Southeast Zonal Director, Nwaji Obirija, to fill the vacant seat of the Ebonyi South Senatorial District.

    The group said the decision to push Obirija forward came on the heel of the numerous calls by his kinsmen and entire people of Ebonyi South Senatorial District.

    The Senate seat became vacant when the former occupant, Senator David Umahi, was appointed the minister of works by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

    The foremost Tinubu’s support group, while unveiling its candidate for the vacant Senate seat for Ebonyi South Senatorial District, in a statement signed by the National Director, Media & Publicity, Comrade Adeboye Adebayo, described Obirija as a man to beat and eminently qualified to represent them at the Senate.