Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister Barrister Nyesom Wike has announced that President Bola Tinubu has directed him to complete ongoing road construction projects in the coming year without excuses to mark the first-year anniversary in office.
Wike made this statement during an inspection of the ongoing construction on the Outer Southern Expressway, beginning from AA Rano behind the Villa through Deeper Life Junction, SARS, Apo Roundabout to Wassa; under construction by Messrs CGC Construction Limited, and the Northern N20 Expressway beginning from AA Rano and stretching to Zuba; being constructed by Gilmor Construction.
The Minister, expressing satisfaction with the quality of work so far, noted that construction work had been suspended on both roads before his assumption of office due to challenges with sourcing funds for the construction.
He said, “When I came on board, these roads were abandoned, and I had to invite the contractors. We sat down, and we agreed on a way of funding. I am happy that it has worked out very well, and the contractors have assured us that these roads will be constructed on time. We believe that by the special grace of God, it is one of those projects earmarked for one year in office for Mr. President.
“The contractors have done very well; very quality jobs. I commend them, and I still appeal to them not to lower standards because, at the end of the day, they will still come back to repeat and ensure that things are done well. I believe in them and the other jobs they are doing; they have also assured us that they are going to complete them.
“For me, we have made arrangements for funding. Mr. President has said severally that he doesn’t want to hear excuses. He has given that directive, and they have approved the Supplementary budget. We believe that any moment from now, we will receive further funding, which will be channelled to most of these projects, so we won’t hear complaints about no funding.
“I am not going to embark on any project where we know we have no funding; it does not make any sense. No project will be awarded where we know we have no funds. And even when there are funds, and it is not enough, I will not embark on such projects so that we don’t need to suffer the people.”
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