The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved N15 billion for the building of an access road that will link the Second Niger Bridge to the Benin-Asaba highway.
At a briefing to State House reporters on the results of the council meeting, which was presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday in Abuja, Lai Mohammed, the minister of information and culture, made the announcement.
The Minister expressed the expectation that the inauguration of the bridge on May 29 will be aided by the completion of the road.
The Minister of Works issued a memo asking for authority to award a contract for the building of an access road from the current Benin-Asaba highway to approach the connection road to the Second Niger Bridge in Delta State.
You are aware that the government is committed to opening the Second Niger Bridge before this administration ends. Although the work has already begun, we can tell you that the bridge itself is largely finished. Nevertheless, the contract that was just granted today is actually to connect the Asaba-Benin end to the new bridge. Julius Berge received the job after being paid N15 billion. Although they had already begun, they insisted that a contract is only proper.
He promised that the road will be ready in time for the Second Niger Bridge’s inauguration.
Mohammed added that the Suleja-Minna road in Niger State has been dualized with a variation approved by the council for N16 billion.
Abubakar Aliyu, the minister of power, spoke to the media and announced that the council had accepted a contract variation for the Transition Company of Nigeria for €3.7 million (TCN).
The cash, according to the minister, is intended for the purchase of some equipment and the completion of the construction of two sub-stations that will enable the nation’s power supply to grow.
“Today I presented a document to the council on behalf of the Transition Corporation of Nigeria, and it approved the variation,” he claimed.
This was brought on by the rise in equipment supply costs as well as the building of 132 33KV substations in Nnewi and a 132 KV line extension in Onitsha, all in the state of Anambra. The variation’s approved price is 3.7 million euros plus N1.137 billion, inclusive of 7.5 percent VAT, with an 18-month completion window.
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