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Contractors using asphalt must sign 30 years indemnity agreement – Umahi
The Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, says contractors using asphalt in road construction must sign an indemnity agreement of 30 years duration of the roads with the ministry.
Umahi stated this on Monday in Abuja at a news conference to unfold the general direction of the ministry during his tenure, NANA reports.
He said contractors using asphalt would not be stopped but must sign the durability agreement.
The minister, however, said that the construction of concrete roads would not be enforced on projects already awarded.
He added that contractors would need to give assurance that roads built with asphalt would last up to 30 years, though concrete roads would last longer.
“We are not stopping asphalt works but it is not possible to be paying the job that we know will not stand for five years.
”Contractors hide under the funny excuse of overloading because the road is not standing long.
“Nigeria must get value for their money paid as tax, enough of contractors doing shady work and getting paid for it.
“The concrete road, when properly done, will last for 50 years, and we have had success where we have done that, apart from the one I did in Ebonyi.
”In fact, before I left office, we delivered Abakaliki Ridgeway Road, which was funded by the African Development Bank,” he said.
Speaking on funding for roads, Umahi, however, noted with concern that the way Nigeria’s budgetary allocation was designed was not encouraging for contractors to timely complete federal road projects.
“When you give a contractor N150 millions a year for a N600 millions road project, he will pocket it while mobilising to site without doing anything on ground.
“When confronted, he will say he is yet to get the material he requested for outside the country as the money was not enough,” he said.
He appealed to the National Assembly to release the over N650 billion it withheld for some projects across the country, which he said were almost complete, but the lack of the fund is still keeping the contractors on site.
Umahi said if these funds were not returned, the roads would not be completed, and this, according to him, would have a negative economic impact.
The minister advised that members of the National Assembly who were representatives of different Senatorial districts should meet with their state governors and determine priority projects that could be completed in time.
He advocated that to curb the instances of kidnapping of citizens along the highways, economic trees and cash crops need to be planted on road corridors to prevent the menace.
“Nigerians must get value for their taxes, roads are everything, where we are having kidnapping is on the spot where roads are bad, we should remove the bushes and plant cash crops.
“It is ideal and acceptable, and we should replicate it in all parts of the country. It will remove the kidnappings,” he said.
He added that the ministry would review the operations of the Federal Road Management Agency (FERMA) to ensure that any intervention in states would be done with the input of the state government.
According to him, this would determine the priority areas of the state governments.
The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Resources Authority says it has commenced a clampdown on illegal LPG retail outlets in Akwa Ibom State.
The state Coordinator, Ikechukwu Eseka, disclosed this on Thursday while receiving the state commandant of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps, Bakshar Hussaini, in his office on a courtesy visit.
He said, “We have started enforcement of LPG retailers embarking on illegal decanting of LPG, filling stations, LPG refilling plants and other illegal downstream operations in the state.
“We are currently working on the illegal proliferation of decanting of LPG in the state, Eseka stated, adding that gas is very volatile, and some of them are using gas that is not meant for the purpose.”
He said he has directed that gas plant owners should not load gas on people who don’t have licenses NMDPRA in the state, warning that “decanting of gas from cylinder to cylinder is an illegal activity which is punishable by law.”
He also called on marketers to register and renew their licenses before operating LPG in the state.
“We used the opportunity to talk on the aspects of the downstream which has to do with our enforcement, sealing of filling stations and those who are using diesel for industrial purposes that are yet to register with NMDPRA.
“We have also commenced engagement with individuals and organisations using storage tanks that are over 500 litres, to come and register with the Authority in the state,” he added.
Eseka thanked the Commandant for coming to re-strategise and collaborate with the Authority in the state.
Earlier, the State Commandant of NSCDC, Hussaini, explained that the purpose of coming was to collaborate with NMDPRA on how to checkmate indiscriminate decanting of LPG in the state.
“I know with the present situation in the country, a lot of them are going to cry and you have to use human face to handle their cases so that we don’t injure the government and the public themselves,” he said.
He lamented that some people used their houses to sell cooking gas which can cause environmental hazards to the public.
The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has announced plans to phase out the Permanent Voter Cards, PVC.
INEC Chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, made this known at a meeting with the Resident Electoral Commissioners RECs, held at the INEC Conference Room, Abuja on Thursday.
This was part of the identified 142 recommendations released by the Commission which deals with the general state of preparedness, voter management, voter education and public communication, political parties and candidate management.
Other areas of recommendation include electoral operations and logistics management, election officials and personnel, partnership and collaboration, monitoring and supervision, election technology, voting and result management, election security, electoral offences and the electoral legal framework.
The Chairman said there are eight recommendations among the 142 which require legislative action by the National Assembly.
“The Commission also believes that with the introduction of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, BVAS, the use of the Permanent Voters’ Cards, PVC, as the sole means of identification for voter accreditation on Election Day should be reviewed.
He, however, said that those who already have the Permanent Voter Cards can still use them to vote.
He added, “But going forward, computer-generated slips issued to the voter or even downloaded from the Commission’s website will suffice for voter accreditation. ”
Yakubu said this new development will save costs and further eliminate the issues around the collection of Permanent Voter Cards.
He also said the practice of buying up the Permanent Voter Cards from voters to disenfranchise them, would be reduced.
President Bola Tinubu is scheduled to present the 2025 proposed budget to a joint session of the National Assembly on Tuesday, December 17, 2024.
The announcement was made by Senate President Godswill Akpabio during a plenary session, revealing that the President has sent a communication to that effect.
“The president has made his intention known to the National Assembly to present the 2025m budget to the joint session of the National Assembly on the 17th of December, 2024,” he said.
The proposed budget, totalling N47.9 trillion, was earlier announced by the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning Atiku Bagudu.
NMDPRA begins clampdown on illegal LPG retail outlets in Akwa Ibom
Elections in Nigeria: There’ll be no more need for voter cards – INEC
BREAKING: Tinubu to present 2025 budget proposal to National Assembly Tuesday
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