In the aspiration of the Renewed Hope administration of the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to make a great difference in governance trajectories, there has been a deeper emphasis on legislative oversight on the projects implementation processes of the government at all levels.
This has been demonstrated by Mr. President in several executive-legislature engagements, especially in the robust way and dispationate manner, the National Assembly under his administration has so far engaged the executives on matters of budget and project implementation.
The recent oversight visit of the Committtees on Works of the Senate and the Federal House of Representatives to some projects being executed by Federal Government under the Federal Ministry of Works, especially the phase one of the 700km Lagos- Calabar Coastal Highway projects, Third Mainland bridge project (bridge deck overlay), the Eko bridge, the emergency repairers of the substructure and underwater element on the Third Mainland, Carter and Iddo bridges, the Apapa-Oshodi concrete road project, the Lagos Ibadan Expressway project and the Deep Sea Port project, created a fascinating eye-opener to the potency of the rigid pavement technology introduced by the Renewed Hope administration in the nation’s roadmap to economic prosperity.
The members of the two committees of the National Assembly who spent days to assess the performance of the Federal Ministry of Works in selected projects in Lagos State were personally taken round the projects by the Honourable Minister, Engr. Nweze David Umahi as a proven professional in engineering construction and procurement who has great performance track records in large-scale and complex infrastructure projects, the Honourable Minister gave explicit accounts of the projects’ concepts, designs, specifications, delivery milestones and their socio-economic prospects.
Among the most informative highlights that provoked the thoughts of the Distinguished Senators and members of the Federal House of Representatives were the issues of government and contractors agreeing to migrate to concrete road technology, also called cement technology.
This form of road technology as explained by the Hon Minister is a type of Highway surface made by blending cement, sand, coarse, aggregate and water to form a mixture that is poured and compacted to form a durable long lasting surface.
Cement and steel are the two most critical materials in concrete technology, and incidentally, they can be produced 100% in Nigeria.
A mention was also made by the Honourable Minister of the various road projects successfully done in rigid pavement, which he said would be used by Hitech Construction Ltd in sections of the Lagos- Calabar Coastal Highway project.
He said, “I’ve seen the works they did. If you go to Eko Deep Seaport, you will see the concrete work, you go to Apapa-Oshodi that defied all kinds of solutions, rigid pavement solution was adopted, and the problem of road failure was solved.
That was done by Dangote. So we are very confident that this project, the two phases, will be executed successfully under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu Let me say that this was his dream as a Governor of Lagos State.
He continued, “This project has a self-cleansing mechanism in terms of return on investment. So it’s going to pay for itself. So whatever funds that the National Assembly will look for and they give us, it will be effectively utilized, and it will pay for itself.”
When asked about the project dimensions and the significance of the landmarks project, he said: “The first section has been procured in favour of Hitech Construction Limited and is procured for a sum of N1.06 trillion. We have section two that is taking off from phase one and takes us exactly to the deep sea location, and then this section two is taking off from that section and it’s about 55.5km and it’s taking us to the border between Ogun and Ondo States.
And so, the procurement is ongoing at BPP. Section three is being procured at the end of the road, and that is from Cross River, Calabar.”
He continued, “The significance of this project is that it’s a coastal road. And so along this route, apart from the train that will run all through, we are going to have a number of facilities. We’re going to acquire some land along the corridor of this road and we’ll be able to have hotels, tourism facilities, industries, housing estates and so on and so forth. And so we are going to be liaising and cooperating with State Governors to acquire the lands for us to do this.” When he was asked of the environmental impact of the project to the communities it would pass through, the Hon.Minister gave a professional reply,
“At the beginning of every design you check the hydraulic survey and that is flood level. And then you now do deep soil test. Soil test is tested, at a depth of five meters. The reason is that there is what is called dispersal transmission of load, where you put a pin load, and so it takes the transmission down to the subgrade, it transmits into a triangular form so the highest stress is at the top and so as it goes down it reduces. So every case is taken for the engineering design of the project, and so it’s assured.”
Captivated by the thrilling explanations and incisive answers to the questions posed to the Honourable Minister on the various projects, especially the 700 km Coastal Highway project, the Distinguished and Honourable members of the National Assembly spoke of their powers of oversight under the constitution and their impressions, and expressed satisfaction with the performance of the Federal Ministry of Works under Sen. Umahi, describing the projects as legacy projects of landmark importance to national socio-economic advancement. It was a moment of praise to the efforts of the Renewed Hope administration of Mr. President and the uncommon commitment and display of uncommon professionalism by the Honourable Minister of Works.
The Senate Committee Chairman on Works, Sen. Barinada Mpigi responded, “The coastal road is real and is live, and I can testify with my colleagues from both the House of Reps and the Senate that they are doing the right thing. And with the expectant period of 36 months for us to get to this 47 km, seeing it’s achievable.”
On his own part, the Chairman of the Federal House of Representatives Committee on Works, Hon. Akin Alabi stated, “Chief Akin Alabi stated, “It is amazing what we are seeing. These are legacy projects. Renewed Hope administration is making a great history by this concrete road project. On our side, both the Senate and House of Representatives must make sure that every fund released is accounting for it. I have no doubt. But we must do our job. It’s our constitutional mandate.
“With that, Nigerians will smile that, okay, fuel subsidy was removed. FX thing is more challenging, this is the kind of project, a legacy project that will put smiles on the faces of Nigerians”.
There are overwhelming testimonies across Nigeria on the long-lasting comparative advantage and effectiveness in the use of concrete technology in terms of costs, durability, zero maintenance, skill development, employment, and local content. It’s now a signature initiative of the Renewed Hope administration of the President of Nigeria, who is seen as the most strong-willed, private sector-driven, and resolute President Nigeria has ever produced. To God be the glory.
Hon. Barr. Orji Uchenna Orji
Special Adviser ( Media) to the Honourable Minister of Works
