President Ahmed Bola Tinubu has been advised to assign ex-Governor of Ebonyi State, and now a ministerial nominee, Dave Umahi, with Ministry of Works portfolio to re-enact his fix-it-model in Ebonyi to change the fortune of deplorable roads across the country.
The Publisher and Editor in Chief of The Nigerian Post, Abu Michael, made the appeal over the weekend, in Lokoja, Kogi State capital.
The Publisher, while fielding questions from newsmen in Lokoja shortly after returning from Ebonyi State where he attended the burial of Senator Anyim Ude, who represented Ebonyi South Senatorial zone at the National Assembly between 2007 and 2011.
Abu stated that the need to borrow a leaf from the Operation fix it model of road construction using concrete materials under Dave Umahi in Ebonyi State, where a lot of interstate and intercity roads were constructed through direct labour remains the way out to tackle the challenges of road infrastructure in the country.
Abu lamented that the major problem the country is facing in the last three decades is the issue of road infrastructure, saying with the Operation fix it model, even if it is 5000km of roads that can be fixed yearly, so much would have been achieved in four years by the Tinubu administration.
The Publisher said with the recent release of the Ministerial list by President Tinubu, former Governor Dave Umahi, stands a better place to fix Nigerian roads through his model which he used to fix deplorable roads across Ebonyi State.
Abu called on President Tinubu to pay more emphasis on construction and rehabilitation of roads across the country
He lamented that roads all over the country are in abysmal conditions, and appealed to the present administration to make the construction and rehabilitation of roads using concreting as a priority, which he said is less expensive and durable.
Abu expressed worries with the former administration which budgeted huge amounts of money for the sector, but no significant improvement on the status of roads across the country.
The Publisher listed the Lokoja-Abuja road as one of the roads that was awarded in 2006, but remained the same after 18 years.
While pointing out that despite yearly budgetary allocation to fix the road, the cost of fixing the road has risen to 500 % higher than when it was first awarded, with trillions already spent on the road, yet remains uncompleted.
Similarly, the Publisher mentioned the Ilorin-Ogbomosho road that was started 25 years ago, but still remains uncompleted, same as East West road as another uncompleted road alongside several other uncompleted roads. He lamented that the problem of road infrastructure and construction in Nigeria is lack of continuous funding, as it has become a drain pipe to fleece the country’s scarce resources.
While pointing out that the problem of road infrastructure remains the same all over the country, Abu said the time to do things differently, if the country must make headway is to adopt Ebonyi model which used concrete to repair the roads
Abu expressed worries that despite the introduction of SUKUK, NNPC, CBN in funding road construction by the former administrations, the situation of Nigerian roads has remained a nightmare across the state.
He, however, appealed to President Tinubu to saddle Senator Umahi with the Works and Housing Ministry, to reciprocate his prodigy in Ebonyi state to change the ugly narrative of the roads.
He described the concrete road approach in Ebonyi as similar to what was done by Dangote in fixing Obajana-Kabba road, stressing that it is not only cheaper, but uses direct labour providing employment opportunities for teeming youths.
The Direct labour approach, Abu disclosed, uses local masons, artisans, supervised by experts in the built industry, and has made those in the industry experts in road construction.
The Publisher said he was impressed with the 20cm thickness of the concrete roads constructed by technicians and others in the built industry in Ebonyi State, saying that if giving a chance at the works and Housing ministry, Umahi would be able to replicate the Ebonyi model in the country as a whole.
“All that would be required from the Ebonyi model would be to train bricklayers all over the country on road construction, give them the materials, concrete mixers, train on the process of levelling, provided with chippings, and if we’ll supervised by Engineers the state of the roads would be transformed.
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