News
FG Recommits To Road Infrastructure Dev
The Federal Government has listed road infrastructural development in the South-West zone and other zones in the country as its topmost priority.
The South-West Director of Highways, Federal Ministry of Works and Housing, Mr. Adedamola Kuti, made the disclosure while addressing newsmen at the end of a two-day inspection tour of ongoing Federal Government road projects in Oyo State on Monday.
The director, who was accompanied by the Oyo State Controller of Works, in the ministry, Mr. Kayode Ibrahim, said it was the policy of the Federal Government to complete all the road projects soonest.
He said completion of the road projects would link up the various sections of the country and make vehicular movement smooth, adding that the present administration is much committed to infrastructure development He noted that there were infrastructural projects going on everywhere across the nation, stressing that virtually every where in the country has one ongoing project or the other.
Kuti said Nigerians were happy with the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari’s giant strides in massive road construction/rehabilitation projects across the length and breathe of the country.
The director admitted scarcity of funds, saying: “every project has funding challenge but government is trying its best to ensure that all its projects are funded, to encourage contractors that are committed.
“Government is trying to raise money here and there, for some of its projects, result of part of the money raising is what we are seeing.
“Is not for government to borrow money and people won’t see what they have used it for, this is part of what they are using it for.”
He urged the media to do more in letting Nigerians at large know about the infastructural development projects being carried out by the present administration.
The director and his team, inspected the 52-kilometer Oyo-Ogbomosho Highway, Liberty Stadium Road Ibadan, construction of bridge across Ogun river at Km 37 Maya – Iseyin Road and 28.65km Okeho -Iseyin Road.
Kuti, who said the tour was a continuation of an inspection of projects in South-West zone, expressed satisfaction with the performance of the contractors handling the respective projects.
“So far so good we are happy with what we have seen. The Liberty Road project is special repairs in the township, no serious work has started there, they’re just working on the drainage structures.
“At Maya- Iseyin Road, the bridge is already in place, though the contractor – Preconsmith Construction Limited, was not on site, but we are impressed with the ongoing work there.
“On Iseyin-Okeho 28.65km road, handling by indigenous contractor, HMF Construction Ltd, the project is barely six months old and we have seen the level of completion within this short time.
“I’m very impressed that within six months, he has worked to appreciable level, unlike some contractors that would still be struggling to mobilise to site.
“The people of Oke-Ogun in Oyo State are seeing the impact of government, by these projects, nobody will complain of abandonment, here is a border town – Nigeria share a boundary with the Republic of Benin, so the people have not been forgotten.
“Despite the fact that people of this area are further off from city, presence of government is still felt in this place.
“And we have a lot of agriculture products that come out from this environment so by the time this road is completed agriculture products can move out of this axis with ease; that is the essence of this project.
“We do hope that the nation economy would be better, to be able to secure more funds to execute some of these projects,” he stated.
On the Oyo – Ogbomoso road, the director recalled that the Federal Executive Council, recently approved augmentation of the road initial contract sum from N47.50billion to N105.04billion, as a result of adjustment in the scope of work; such as increase in the bearing strength on the road pavement and volume of thickness of the road.
He said the work done so far on the road was of high quality and could stand the test of time, adding that the approval for the increase contract sum would enhance speedy completion of the project.
The dual carriageway which is being handled by the Reynoids Construction Company (RCC) is the second section of Ibadan – Ilorin Road and a subsection of a major trunk A1 road which originated from Apapa Wharf in Lagos and terminate at Sokoto State.
The road is very vital in the socio-economic important of the country, since the country basically depended on roads as the major means of transportation, thus the road links the Southern part of the country to the North.
In their separate remarks, the RCC Project Manager and Managing Director of HMF Construction Ltd, Mr. Yuri Visman and Mr. Ayedesi Adeoye, respectively, promised to delivered quality jobs.
The duo said fund was the major challenge being faced in the course of executing their respective contracts.
According to Adeoye, the contract sum for Iseyin-Okeho road project that was awarded in April is N6billion “and we are working to ensure that the project is delivered on time.
“Our completion time is 18 months and our mission is to be at 60 per cent of completion stage by April next year provided government make funds available for the project.”
Visman, who expressed satisfaction with the augmentation approval by the Federal Executive Council, urged Federal Government to promptly release fund for the project to fastrack timely completion of the project.
Rivers State Deputy Governor, Dr. Ipalibo Harry Banigo, has assured the people of Abua/Odual Local Government Area that she would provide undivided representation if voted into the Senate in 2023.
Banigo gave this assurance when leaders and critical stakeholders of the Peoples Democratic Party had a meeting with her, at the Government House in Port Harcourt to map out campaign strategies, yesterday.
The deputy governor said, she was excited that the meeting was held for the stakeholders to understand themselves, to ensure the party wins at the elections in 2023, adding that by the grace of God the local government area would be better than what it is now, if she emerges as the Rivers West senator.
In a related development, the Deputy Governor, Dr. Ipalibo Harry Banigo, who is the Rivers West Senatorial District Candidate of the PDP in the upcoming polls, has also met with leaders of the PDP in Ahoada East Local Government Area, where she urged them to reach out to their constituents and encourage the collection of PVCs.
“We must realize that with this new Electoral Act, the votes will surly count, as this 2023 election is not going to be like the previous elections, there will be a difference, people should not be afraid to pick up their cards and vote, they should not be lackadaisical about it, they should keep their cards safe and on the day of election they should come up and cast their vote, because this time every vote will count”.
She said the campaigns would be unit based and urged them to reach out to those in their units.
“Make sure you have unit executives in each of the wards, so we can have a door to door campaign”, Banigo said.
In his remarks at the meetings, the Vice Chairman of the Rivers West Senatorial District of the PDP, Dr. Nname Robinson Ewor, said there is a need for members of the PDP to go out and establish their presence in all units’ wards and constituencies, stressing that the nature of this upcoming election would be different from previous elections.
Chairman of Obio/Akpor Local Government Council, Barrister George Ariolu, has led other party faithful, including Chairman of PDP, Ward 6, Kingsley Nna; Chairman of PDP, Ward 9, Collins Wobo Chukwu; and Obio/Akpor PDP Secretary, Kingman Ogbonna; to receive a bigwig and stakeholder of the All Progressives Congress (APC) from Rumuogba in Ward 6, Chief Williams Igwe, into the PDP.
Receiving the former Deputy Governorship Candidate of the then Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) at the Obio/Akpor PDP Secretariat, Rumueme, Ariolu expressed delight over his decampment from the APC to the PDP, describing it as an indication that the party was waxing stronger.
Ariolu, who was greeted with euphoria by the LGA PDP Chairman, Chidi Amadi, who also welcomed the former deputy governorship candidate at the secretariat, promised to work closely with Igwe to build the party ahead of the forthcoming election.
He pointed out that the foundation of the PDP was built on togetherness, stating that collectively, the party would achieve more.
Ariolu thanked Igwe for wholeheartedly accepting to come back to the party.
According to him, Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike, has separated governance from politics following his relentless battle to promote the interest of Rivers people.
Also speaking, Chairman of the PDP in Obio/Akpor, Chidi Amadi, said the reception of Igwewas a fulfilment of an age-long dream, and a welcome development for members of the party, expressing joy over the event.
He further commended Ariolu for his strong support and leadership towards the sustenance and growth of the party.
In his remark, Chief Williams Igwe affirmed his loyalty and commitment to the PDP in its quest to oust the APC and fix the broken state of the country’s socio-economic and political fabrics.
He described the reception as a homecoming for himself and his supporters who would be formally received at a formal event which would be organised by the state party chairman, adding that PDP remains a major political party which will unite the nation.
He added that his decision to defect to the party was well-thought-out, and called on others to join hands with the Rivers State Government to rebuild the socio-economic fortunes of the state.
According to him, he believed that it was time for him to cross over to join hands with the Rivers State governor in moving the state forward.
The former Deputy Governorship Candidate was also received by PDP Chieftain, Barrister Temple Ejekwu; Obio/Akpor PDP Woman Leader,Gloria Wonodi; Barrister Kelvin Akani; and members of Obio/Akpor PDP Executive.
By: Nelson Chukwudi
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) has declared a profit after tax of N674billion for the financial year ended December 31, 2021.
The profit represented a growth of 134.84per cent when compared with N287billion profit in 2020 which was recorded under the old Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
The Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO), NNPC Ltd, Malam Mele Kyari, said this at a news conference, yesterday, in Abuja.
“NNPC progressed to a new performance level, from N287billion profit in 2020 to a N674billion profit after tax in 2021 climbing higher by 134.8per cent year on year profit growth,’’ he said.
Kyari also said that it recorded an increase in total assets from N15.86trillion in 2020 to N16.27trillion in 2021.
Speaking on the group’s financial position, Kyari said the corporation’s total liabilities decreased by 8.3per cent to N13.46trillion during the review period from N14.68trillion in 2020.
The GCEO said its shareholders funds position rose N2.81trillion representing 144per cent year-on-year.
“The performance would have been greater if the operations in the year under review were free from incessant vandalism, crude oil and products theft, among others.
“Details of the performance of NNPC and the respective subsidiaries as well as that of National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS) will be published on our website www.nnpcgroup.com for stakeholder’s perusal.
“We look forward to achieving greater performance to support our growth aspirations and to create more value for our stakeholders as we drive full commercial operations under NNPC Ltd.,’’ he said.
He recalled that in September 2021, President Muhammadu Buhari approved the publication of the 2020 NNPC Group Audited Financial Statement, in which NNPC declared a profit after tax of N287billion for the first time in 44 years.
Kyari said that in spite of the challenging operating environment, it strongly believed that the corporation had the potential to sustainably deliver better value to it esteemed shareholders.
He said it sought to become a dynamic global energy company of choice to its customers, partners and over 200million shareholders comprising of all Nigerians.
Kyari noted that the corporation in 2019 rolled out deliberate policies and initiatives aimed at reducing costs and eliminating losses while adopting technology to entrench transparency, accountability and performance excellence (TAPE) across its various functions.
He said the NNPC had recorded significant improvement over the past three years, turning up the curve from losses to profits.
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