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Court Remands 15 Over Disruption Of PDP Screening Exercise In PH …As Police Nab Farah Dagogo

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A Magistrate Court sitting in Port Harcourt has remanded 15 Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) members in Port Harcourt Correctional Centre for allegedly disrupting the screening exercise for National Assembly and State House of Assembly aspirants at the party’s secretariat.
The 15 suspects, who are standing trial on three-count charge of alleged felony, conspiracy and unlawful gathering to cause breach of peace, pleaded not guilty to all charges after it was read to them.
Counsel to the defendants, Chigozie Baduwa, SB Batubo and O.L. Dogini moved for bail application, and prayed the court to grant the defendants bail relying on Section 169 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Law of Rivers State, number 7 of 2015.
While the Principal State Counsel for the prosecution, Chidi Ekeh, opposed the bail application, and urged the court to remand the suspects in correctional centre as to face proper prosecution.
In his ruling, the Presiding Chief Magistrate, A. O. Amadi-Nna, remanded the suspects to Port Harcourt Correctional Centre, and adjourned the matter to May 26, 2022 for consideration of bail.
Speaking to newsmen, counsel to the defendants, Chigozie Baduwa and SB Batubo, said the alleged charge was a bailable offence but the court used its discretion to oppose the bail application.
Also speaking, Principal State Counsel, Chidi Ekeh, said the suspects have been remanded but may be granted bail in the next adjourned date.
Meanwhile, operatives of the Rivers State Police Command have reportedly arrested the federal lawmaker representing Degema/Bonny Federal Constituency at the House of Representatives, Hon Farah Dagogo.
Dagogo was arrested and whisked away by security operatives at the venue of the PDP governorship screening exercise in Port Harcourt, yesterday.
According to a statement signed by the Special Adviser on Media to the Federal Lawmaker, Mr Ibrahim Lawal, and made available to journalists, confirmed the arrest but, however said, the whereabouts of the lawmaker was still unknown.
The statement reads: “Federal lawmaker representing Degema/Bonny Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives and Governorship hopeful of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Hon. Doctor Farah Dagogo, has been arrested on the directives of Governor Nyesom Wike at the PDP Zonal Office, venue for the screening of Governorship aspirants.
“Hon. Dagogo was arrested in the governorship screening hall by some police officers and taken to an unknown location.”
When contacted on phone, the acting spokesperson, DSP Grace Iringe-Koko, promised to get back to The Tide but never didas at press time last night.
Earlier, last Wednesday, the Rivers StateGovernor, Chief Nyesom Wike, had declared Hon. Farah Dagogo wanted for hiring cultists to attack the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) secretariat in Port Harcourt.
The governor had hereby directed the Rivers State Police Command to arrest Hon. Farah Dagogo for hiring cultists who stormed the PDP secretariat in Port Harcourt, and disrupted the screening of aspirants for various elective positions.
“The police must as a matter of urgency arrest Farah Dagogo, wherever he is, and must be made to face prosecution.”

By: Amadi Akujobi

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FG Awards Lagos-Abuja, Lagos-PH Super, Coastal Highway Contracts To AEC, Hitech

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The Federal Government has unveiled plans to embark on a 460km superhighway project that would cut travel hours from Lagos to Abuja from about 14 hours to four-and-a-half hours and the Lagos-Port Harcourt Coastal Highway.
While the Abuja-Lagos Superhighway project was awarded to Advanced Engineering Consultants (AEC), the Lagos-Port Harcourt Coastal Highway was given to Hitech Construction Company Limited.
According to the Minister of Works, Engr. Dave Umahi, who addressed a press conference at Eko Signature Suites in Lagos on Saturday, September 23, the road would be built with concrete, not asphalt, and the construction through a Public Private Partnership (PPP) would be on a Build Operate and Transfer (BoT) arrangement with a consortium led by Advanced Engineering Consultants (AEC) under the chairmanship of Chief Kenny Martins.
Umahi announced that the highway running from Abuja through eight states to kiss the Fourth Mainland Bridge in Lagos will be completed in four years.
He said, “The President has approved that I should FastTrack this project.”
The minister said that at completion, an average vehicle traveling at 100km/hr could get to Lagos from Abuja in four and half hours.
“This is a journey that is more than 14 hours presently, so people found it hard to believe when this idea was introduced, but that is the Renewed Hope agenda of our divine President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. That is what God has brought him to do. He is the last hope for Nigeria, no matter what people say… Things that couldn’t have been done are being done under this administration… Nobody can fix Nigeria like Tinubu.
“This project is going to be two lanes, but the two lanes will be two carriageways – 14 meters; the only carriageway that is equivalent to this is the Third Mainland Bridge where each carriageway is 14 meters. It’s going to be built on 275-millimeter thick concrete… The lifespan will be 100 years. Bridges will be built and there will be tolling points.”
Umahi, who was accompanied by top officials from the Federal Ministry of Works and contractors, said, “We are here to FastTrack the development of the Greenfield of the PPP development under a new program of the Federal Ministry of Works which is the HDMI Programme (Highway Development and Management Initiative).
“Under this programme, there are two kinds, we have the Greenfield, and we have the Brown Field. The Greenfield is the one we are doing with the Advanced Engineering Company. They identified the project; they came up to discuss it with us; we threw the idea to the market; we invited investors; they made proposals… They won the bid to further engage us.”
The superhighway will pass through the FCT, Niger, Kogi, Kwara, Ekiti, Oyo, Ogun, and Lagos – Abuja, North-Central, and South-West.
Umahi said that the government would not put money into the project but would give the bid winners every support.
He commended the promoters of AEC, who he described as brilliant people.
“I’m very satisfied with their concept and what they have put in place. The next stage is to bring their business proposal so that we can negotiate on what the cost of the project will be. And then, they’ll go to the Ministry of Finance to negotiate the cost.
“We are building on concrete, so we can predict the cost; with asphalt, you cannot predict the cost. The cost of asphalt roads changes every month. Today, the dollar is almost a thousand naira. The oil price is almost $100 per barrel.
“Concrete roads are more durable and cheaper than asphalt. I’ve directed that the remaining jobs on all the ongoing projects that have not advanced up to 80percent must change to concrete.”
The minister also spoke on failed roads across the country putting the blame on civil servants.
He warned that any controller that allowed trucks to fall on the road under his supervision would go on indefinite suspension, and the director in that region would be recalled.
He said, “Hold civil servants responsible for failure of road projects. Civil servants in other parts of the country apart from Lagos stay in the office and issue certificates to contractors.
“I’ve inspected roads in South-West and South-East. I spent 14 hours traveling from Abuja to Benin. I had pains, and I was so happy having the pains because Nigerians are going through the pains on a daily basis.”
Umahi also blamed the failed road projects across the country on lack of supervision; “contractors took money and didn’t do the work. They constructed failed roads. Roads that could not stand three years. They could not even maintain the roads. Trucks are falling. Travelers pass through communities. People are being kidnapped. I went to Warri. I went to Bayelsa, the story is the same.
“In every contract, there’s provision to maintain the roads. If a contractor is greedy to take a project of 150km that should go to three contractors, he should be prepared to maintain it. I’ve created a platform where I have all the contractors and the directors inside. Everybody is back to work. It’s the directive of Mr. President. He said that he must not see vehicles falling on highways again. I will get whoever flouts the directive out of the way.
“I have just informed Mr President that in 30 days if no urgent attention is given to the road, nobody will pass from Bayelsa or Port Harcourt to Warri. And that is very dangerous. So, he directed that I should go and inspect the roads and bring comprehensive information on what should be done immediately.
“He is a man who listens. He’s in a hurry to solve people’s problems in this country. He’s very much in a hurry to change the story. From Bayelsa, I went to Port Harcourt, to Akwa Ibom, to Cross River, and from there I flew to Enugu yesterday evening by 6 o’clock to discuss this road matter with the governor of Enugu State.
“I’m also to reinspect the Third Mainland Bridge and start work on it immediately, and then discuss with the Ogun State governor on the HDMI.”
Fielding questions from reporters on challenges that PPP projects have been facing in Nigeria, Umahi said that things would be different this time.
“We will tie ourselves very well with irrevocable agreement. On the issue of Right of Way, they own the entire land until they recover the money invested. If the Federal Government reneges, they have to pluck their investment directly from the Federation Account.
“If the investment must work, it must not be subjected to political dynamism. It has to be a business venture. That’s why I like President Bola Tinubu. He inherited 18,000 km of roads, and 2,640 projects; there are still constituency projects that are over another 2,000 in number. So, you have over 64,664 Federal Government projects that are ongoing.
“He has not stopped any contractor. He wants to complete all those things. Certain leaders will say we want to do our own, that is gross irresponsibility.
“They (bid winners) are going to give me a letter of comfort; if they back out, they must pay us $10million. My coming here is at a cost, and nobody should waste our time.”
In his response, Chief Kenny Martins assured that the road would be the first of its kind with communication cyber cable, rail lines, and coastal areas.
“The road will be ICT complaint so that electronic vehicles can operate on the road; there will be all kinds of security and there will be solar lights, the whole 460kilometres of the road,” he said.
The minister also mentioned that the Federal Government is working to actualise another project, the Lagos-Port Harcourt Coastal Highway.
He said that Hitech Construction would fund the project under the PPP model.
Hitech is a division of the Chagoury Group, a business conglomerate in Lagos that oversaw the construction of the Lekki-Epe expressway and the Ajah flyover.
Umahi added that upon completion, the highway would have multiple spurs connecting major towns and cities, including a spur connecting Ogoja-Ikom-Cameroon Road.
“There will be a spur that will connect the proposed fourth mainland bridge in Lagos,” he said.
“It is also connected to the deep seaport road being constructed by Hitech, under the concrete technology and it is also connected at Lagos-Badagry to the proposed Lagos-Abidjan superhighway.”
He said there would also be multiple connections with roads leading to the northern parts of the country.
“There is a proposal for connection to Sokoto. I think about four to five connections to northern Nigeria,” he said.
Umahi described the project as a brainchild of President Tinubu, who asked him to also “fast track this project because it is going to be a catalyst towards the economic development of this country.
“Let me announce that it is under PPP. The Hitech Group is going to look for the money. They have already found the money and that is the good news because we don’t waste our time talking and holding meetings and wasting resources,” he said.
“We are engaging seriously because we have seen the financial capacity and capability of Hitech and this project is going to be delivered in phases.
“Any section that we complete, we will toll it, and then business and transportation will start.
“The right of way of this project is about a 100-meter corridor. There is provision for a rail line in the middle of the road which is about 20 meters.
“The road has four carriageways. Each of the service lanes is 10 meters wide. The main carriageway is 14 meters.”

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FG Awards Lagos-Abuja, Lagos-PH Super, Coastal Highway Contracts To AEC, Hitech

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The Federal Government has unveiled plans to embark on a 460km superhighway project that would cut travel hours from Lagos to Abuja from about 14 hours to four-and-a-half hours and the Lagos-Port Harcourt Coastal Highway.
While the Abuja-Lagos Superhighway project was awarded to Advanced Engineering Consultants (AEC), the Lagos-Port Harcourt Coastal Highway was given to Hitech Construction Company Limited.
According to the Minister of Works, Engr. Dave Umahi, who addressed a press conference at Eko Signature Suites in Lagos on Saturday, September 23, the road would be built with concrete, not asphalt, and the construction through a Public Private Partnership (PPP) would be on a Build Operate and Transfer (BoT) arrangement with a consortium led by Advanced Engineering Consultants (AEC) under the chairmanship of Chief Kenny Martins.
Umahi announced that the highway running from Abuja through eight states to kiss the Fourth Mainland Bridge in Lagos will be completed in four years.
He said, “The President has approved that I should FastTrack this project.”
The minister said that at completion, an average vehicle traveling at 100km/hr could get to Lagos from Abuja in four and half hours.
“This is a journey that is more than 14 hours presently, so people found it hard to believe when this idea was introduced, but that is the Renewed Hope agenda of our divine President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. That is what God has brought him to do. He is the last hope for Nigeria, no matter what people say… Things that couldn’t have been done are being done under this administration… Nobody can fix Nigeria like Tinubu.
“This project is going to be two lanes, but the two lanes will be two carriageways – 14 meters; the only carriageway that is equivalent to this is the Third Mainland Bridge where each carriageway is 14 meters. It’s going to be built on 275-millimeter thick concrete… The lifespan will be 100 years. Bridges will be built and there will be tolling points.”
Umahi, who was accompanied by top officials from the Federal Ministry of Works and contractors, said, “We are here to FastTrack the development of the Greenfield of the PPP development under a new program of the Federal Ministry of Works which is the HDMI Programme (Highway Development and Management Initiative).
“Under this programme, there are two kinds, we have the Greenfield, and we have the Brown Field. The Greenfield is the one we are doing with the Advanced Engineering Company. They identified the project; they came up to discuss it with us; we threw the idea to the market; we invited investors; they made proposals… They won the bid to further engage us.”
The superhighway will pass through the FCT, Niger, Kogi, Kwara, Ekiti, Oyo, Ogun, and Lagos – Abuja, North-Central, and South-West.
Umahi said that the government would not put money into the project but would give the bid winners every support.
He commended the promoters of AEC, who he described as brilliant people.
“I’m very satisfied with their concept and what they have put in place. The next stage is to bring their business proposal so that we can negotiate on what the cost of the project will be. And then, they’ll go to the Ministry of Finance to negotiate the cost.
“We are building on concrete, so we can predict the cost; with asphalt, you cannot predict the cost. The cost of asphalt roads changes every month. Today, the dollar is almost a thousand naira. The oil price is almost $100 per barrel.
“Concrete roads are more durable and cheaper than asphalt. I’ve directed that the remaining jobs on all the ongoing projects that have not advanced up to 80percent must change to concrete.”
The minister also spoke on failed roads across the country putting the blame on civil servants.
He warned that any controller that allowed trucks to fall on the road under his supervision would go on indefinite suspension, and the director in that region would be recalled.
He said, “Hold civil servants responsible for failure of road projects. Civil servants in other parts of the country apart from Lagos stay in the office and issue certificates to contractors.
“I’ve inspected roads in South-West and South-East. I spent 14 hours traveling from Abuja to Benin. I had pains, and I was so happy having the pains because Nigerians are going through the pains on a daily basis.”
Umahi also blamed the failed road projects across the country on lack of supervision; “contractors took money and didn’t do the work. They constructed failed roads. Roads that could not stand three years. They could not even maintain the roads. Trucks are falling. Travelers pass through communities. People are being kidnapped. I went to Warri. I went to Bayelsa, the story is the same.
“In every contract, there’s provision to maintain the roads. If a contractor is greedy to take a project of 150km that should go to three contractors, he should be prepared to maintain it. I’ve created a platform where I have all the contractors and the directors inside. Everybody is back to work. It’s the directive of Mr. President. He said that he must not see vehicles falling on highways again. I will get whoever flouts the directive out of the way.
“I have just informed Mr President that in 30 days if no urgent attention is given to the road, nobody will pass from Bayelsa or Port Harcourt to Warri. And that is very dangerous. So, he directed that I should go and inspect the roads and bring comprehensive information on what should be done immediately.
“He is a man who listens. He’s in a hurry to solve people’s problems in this country. He’s very much in a hurry to change the story. From Bayelsa, I went to Port Harcourt, to Akwa Ibom, to Cross River, and from there I flew to Enugu yesterday evening by 6 o’clock to discuss this road matter with the governor of Enugu State.
“I’m also to reinspect the Third Mainland Bridge and start work on it immediately, and then discuss with the Ogun State governor on the HDMI.”
Fielding questions from reporters on challenges that PPP projects have been facing in Nigeria, Umahi said that things would be different this time.
“We will tie ourselves very well with irrevocable agreement. On the issue of Right of Way, they own the entire land until they recover the money invested. If the Federal Government reneges, they have to pluck their investment directly from the Federation Account.
“If the investment must work, it must not be subjected to political dynamism. It has to be a business venture. That’s why I like President Bola Tinubu. He inherited 18,000 km of roads, and 2,640 projects; there are still constituency projects that are over another 2,000 in number. So, you have over 64,664 Federal Government projects that are ongoing.
“He has not stopped any contractor. He wants to complete all those things. Certain leaders will say we want to do our own, that is gross irresponsibility.
“They (bid winners) are going to give me a letter of comfort; if they back out, they must pay us $10million. My coming here is at a cost, and nobody should waste our time.”
In his response, Chief Kenny Martins assured that the road would be the first of its kind with communication cyber cable, rail lines, and coastal areas.
“The road will be ICT complaint so that electronic vehicles can operate on the road; there will be all kinds of security and there will be solar lights, the whole 460kilometres of the road,” he said.
The minister also mentioned that the Federal Government is working to actualise another project, the Lagos-Port Harcourt Coastal Highway.
He said that Hitech Construction would fund the project under the PPP model.
Hitech is a division of the Chagoury Group, a business conglomerate in Lagos that oversaw the construction of the Lekki-Epe expressway and the Ajah flyover.
Umahi added that upon completion, the highway would have multiple spurs connecting major towns and cities, including a spur connecting Ogoja-Ikom-Cameroon Road.
“There will be a spur that will connect the proposed fourth mainland bridge in Lagos,” he said.
“It is also connected to the deep seaport road being constructed by Hitech, under the concrete technology and it is also connected at Lagos-Badagry to the proposed Lagos-Abidjan superhighway.”
He said there would also be multiple connections with roads leading to the northern parts of the country.
“There is a proposal for connection to Sokoto. I think about four to five connections to northern Nigeria,” he said.
Umahi described the project as a brainchild of President Tinubu, who asked him to also “fast track this project because it is going to be a catalyst towards the economic development of this country.
“Let me announce that it is under PPP. The Hitech Group is going to look for the money. They have already found the money and that is the good news because we don’t waste our time talking and holding meetings and wasting resources,” he said.
“We are engaging seriously because we have seen the financial capacity and capability of Hitech and this project is going to be delivered in phases.
“Any section that we complete, we will toll it, and then business and transportation will start.
“The right of way of this project is about a 100-meter corridor. There is provision for a rail line in the middle of the road which is about 20 meters.
“The road has four carriageways. Each of the service lanes is 10 meters wide. The main carriageway is 14 meters.”

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Reps Resume Plenary On Tuesday

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The House of Representatives has said it would resume from its annual recess on Tuesday to continue the first legislative year of the 10th Assembly.
The Clerk of the House, Dr Yahaha Danzaria, said this in a statement in Abuja on Saturday.
The 10th Assembly proceeded on its annual recess on July 27.
This followed a plenary session during which Speaker, Hon Tajudeen Abbas, announced the leadership of the standing committees of the house.
Commenting on the resumption, the Spokesperson of the House and House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Hon Akin Rotimi, said the 10th Assembly had been prolific.
He said since its inauguration, the house had recorded 470 bills, with all passing first reading, while four passed second reading.
He added that there had been 175 motions considered by the parliament.
He said in spite of the recess, it had continued to function, as various ad hoc committees continued to carry out their crucial mandates.
He said this had generated significant positive public interest.
Rotimi said some of the key early developments expected on resumption was the conclusion of the work of all ad-hoc committees and the submission of their reports.
He said this was for the consideration of the House in line with the directive of the speaker.
He said the house would get the final draft of its Legislative Agenda developed by the ad hoc committee, led by the Majority Leader, Hon Julius Inhonvbere.
He said it would be considered and adopted by the house, adding that the draft agenda was developed following extensive consultations with critical stakeholders.
He also said that the membership of the standing committees would be announced and fully constituted.

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