Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved significant funding for various road projects across the country.
Gatekeepers News reports that during a meeting held on Monday, Minister of Works David Umahi announced that these initiatives aim to improve connectivity and stimulate economic growth.
Among the key approvals is the allocation of N55 billion for the dualization of the Odukpani-Itu-Ikot Ekpene road, which spans Cross River and Akwa Ibom states.
The contract for this project has been awarded to Decon Construction Nigeria Limited.
Additionally, funding has been approved for other important projects, including the dualization of section two of the Ibadan-Ilorin Road in Oyo State, for which an allocation of NN147 billion has been designated.
The completion of the Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano Road section two has also been approved, with a funding amount of NN507 billion. InfoWest Nigeria Limited has been contracted for the Abuja Road project, having previously worked on sections one and three.
Furthermore, a flyover project at Abakpa in Enugu has been awarded to China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) for a total of N24 billion.
Minister Umahi addressed concerns regarding the distribution of projects, asserting that the approvals made by the FEC are based on submitted memos from ministries and are not intended to favor any specific region, including the southern part of the country.
“Let me use one minute to correct an impression created in the senate. There was a time we awarded some projects, and we came here to say the projects that FEC approved, and a senator raised a motion in the house, alluding that more projects were approved in the south than in the north,” the minister said.
“Let me correct that impression because I’m not qualified to write to the senate president to correct it. But the fact remains that it is the memo that comes to FEC that is approved.
“Sometimes a memo can be in favour of a particular region or a particular zone, and so forth. So our briefing here should not be taken as if we are bringing projects in an equitable form.
“The President is committed to completing all the inherited projects. Most of the projects we come here to announce are inherited projects, and the president is committed to continuing them.”
