In keeping with the commitment of the Renewed Hope administration of the President of Nigeria, His Excellency, President Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR in revolutionizing road infrastructure development for holistic economic regeneration in Nigeria, the Honourable Minister of Works, His Excellency, Sen Engr Nweze David Umahi CON, together with the Chairman Senate Committee on Works, Distinguished Senator Dr. Barinada Mpigi has paid inspection visits to some ongoing projects of the Federal Government and other federal roads in Ekiti State, including the Ado Ekiti-Afe Babalola University Road, the Akure-Itagbolu-Iju- Ekiti State Border-Ikere Ado Ekiti Road.. The visiting team, which was also made up of the Deputy Chief Whip of the 10th Senate and member Senate Committee on Works, Distinguished Senator. Barr. Onyekachi Peter Nwaebonyi, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Community Engagement South East, Barr. (Mrs) Chioma Nweze, the Director Highways Bridges and Designs, Engr. B U Obioha, the Director Highways, Construction and Rehabilitation Engr. O.U Bakare, the Director Highways South West Engr K. O Koya, the Director Highways Road Designs, Engr Musa Seidu, the Federal Controller Ekiti State Engr Akpalowo J.K, the Federal Controller of Works Ondo State, Engr. Hussein O.O, contractors and consultants handling Federal Government’s projects, also paid a courtesy call to the Governor of Ekiti State, His Excellency, Dr. Abiodun Oyebanji Abayomi, at the Government House, Ado- Ekiti, and also to the Founder, Afe Babalola University, Prof. Afe Babalola, SAN at the University Campus, Ado- Ekiti.
Speaking during the visit, the Honourable Minister of Works called on the contractors handling the projects to embrace the ideals of the Renewed Hope administration in the execution of the contracts given to them. The Honourable Minister, who condemned the slow and shaddy pace of work by the contractor handling the Akure-Itagbolu-Iju- Ekiti Border-Ikere Ado Ekiti road, summoned a meeting of the contractor and her consultants to his office to discuss the way forward in ensuring the timely delivery of the project and in line with standard and specification required of the job.
The Honourable Minister also promised to take up further conversations on the request of the Governor and other stakeholders of the State on the Ado Ekiti- Afe Babalola University Road. He said, ” I didn’t know that this road is a major corridor that evacuates a lot of commercial produce from Benin, Lokoja, all the way to the Southern and Northern Parts of the country. The Governor is very desirous that this road be done, and of course, the learned SAN. So we have looked at the roads and we are coming back. My team will be there on Saturday, and I will be back in the next seven days. So we want to give it all the attention. That’s what the Governor wants. That’s what the learned SAN wants.” He also thanked the Founder of Afe Babalola University for investing in humanity.
He said, “So we thank you. We thank you for the investment you’ve made; you have invested in God. Investing in humanity is to invest in God. It was Solomon who said, vanity upon vanity, all is vanity. So you have invested a lot of treasures on mankind. God will invest in you”.
In their separate remarks, the Governor of the State, and the Founder of Afe Babalola University thanked the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria for the unprecedented commitment to road infrastructure development under his administration. He stated, “I commend His Excellency, tomorrow is Easter, ideally, he should be at home with his family but he has chosen to come, that shows the commitment of the Asiwaju Tinubu administration to the cause of development at the sub nationals. Your Excellency, I’m extremely grateful, and I look forward to a further collaboration between the State Government and Federal Government. Whatever we have to do to ensure that we pay the very part of our people, definitely we will do that, I’m just full of appreciation to the Honourable Minister, His Excellency. It takes a man of courage, a man of purpose, a man of vision to come to Ekiti on a day like this when everybody is resting at home”. The Founder of Afe Babalola University also said “Hon. Minister, we appreciate you, we have pleaded a number of times about the dualization of the road or single road. As a matter of fact, I admitted the proposition before, that please,let me do the road from this end to the gate. Let me allow people to pay toll gate. if the government has no funds, I’m ready to do it myself, provided that we will arrange that people will pay toll, it is only a fool that will not appreciate that Nigeria is financially in trouble. I know the amount we are owing in dollars. Those who said they gave us money, I don’t know what the money was spent on.”.
The Honourable Minister with the Senate Commitee Chairman on Works later moved to Enugu Stste, the same day, to inspect some ongoing Federal projects.
Hon. Barr. Orji Uchenna Orji
Special Adviser ( Media) to the Honourable Minister of Works
