The Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, on Sunday said that Nigeria’s North-East Geopolitical Zone had a legacy project of President Bola Tinubu administration.
Umahi, said in Lagos the fourth legacy project of the administration stretched from Akwanga to Jos, Bauchi, and Gombe.
Umahi gave the assurance at a stakeholder engagement on the Phase One and Phase Two of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project, on Sunday in Lagos, noting that the fourth legacy project was partly funded by the China Exim Bank.
The minister emphasised that the four legacy projects were spread across the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria, revealing that the legacy projects included a train track.
He said: “ Let me first start by discussing the fourth legacy project of Mr President. “We have a fourth legacy project of Mr President that is running from Akwanga. It goes to Jos and from Jos, it goes to Bauchi and to Gombe.
“I watched a motion on the floor of the Senate where the motion was alluding that out of the four legacy projects of the President, none is for the North-East.
“It is being funded partly by the China Exim bank, but we came to a point of conflict because the president directed that the road should be redesigned on concrete and it should also be six lanes. That is, three lanes per carriageway.
Umahi expressed that the Badagry-Sokoto Highway was originally conceived by the Shehu Shagari administration to run from Badagry to Sokoto.
He stated that Tinubu decided that it should begin in Sokoto and go down to Badagry, adding that the road was approximately 1,050km, adding that construction had begun with the first 120km section in Gilela, Sokoto State, using three lanes on each carriageway.
The minister said that the second section, a 258km stretch in Kebbi, was being planned to be expanded into six lanes (three per carriageway).
Umahi said that procurement for the second carriageway of the Badagry-Sokoto Highway was expected to begin in March, noting that the Trans-Saharan Highway was progressing from Ebonyi toward Sokoto.
9News Nigeria reports that the minister therefore noted that efforts were being made to complete 10km of concrete road in both Sokoto and Kebbi states by mid-May for inauguration, as he highlighted the environmental benefits of using concrete, saying that it emitted less heat and allowed Nigeria to earn carbon credits.
The minister said that the use of solar energy further contributed to earning carbon credits by reducing reliance on diesel.
“They said we cannot do three lanes per carriage way; so, we intend to do a public engagement with stakeholders in the North East to discuss.
“It is either we convince the bank to agree to the directive of Mr President or we agree on four lanes for the two carriageways.’’
