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Breaking : Second Niger Bridge will open to traffic from December 15, 2022, Says Fashola
..says adjoining roads still under construction
….sit at home order in S/East delaying completion
The Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola (SAN), has said the second Niger Bridge will only be open to traffic from December 15, 2022, to January 15, 2023, as part of measures being taken by the Federal Government to ease the movement of goods and services for the Christmas festivities.
He explained that while the construction of the bridge has been completed, work is still ongoing on the road linking the bridge to the major highway.
Fashola said this while answering questions from journalists, after the Ember Months meeting with stakeholders and contractors handling various road projects across the country, in Abuja, on Thursday.
He noted that government had received the commitment of contractors as well as the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency to carry out remedial work on various critical roads to ease movements during this season where a lot of movement is recorded on our roads.
The Minister said, “We have completed work on the bridge, so if you go there now you can walk from one end of the bridge to the other or drive from one end of the bridge to the other, but the connecting road that links that bridge to the main highway, is what we want to finish.
“What delayed us is the stop work orders on Mondays, the flood also delayed us but it was a blessing in disguise because the original level of the flood resistance was based on the 2012 flood report.
“So, we have to raise the height of that road, happily and thankfully it didn’t affect the bridge.
“The president approved that since the bridge is finished that we should create a access road so that during Christmas you can begin to experience what it would feel like plying the bridge.
“It would be open for traffic going from the west to the east from the 15th Dec, 2022- 15th January 2023.
“Let me be clear again we haven’t finished construction work but we would open it for people to use to relive the pressure from the one bridge, it wouldn’t be available for heavy duty trucks, it would only be small vehicles for now until we finish our work.
“On the 15th January we would reverse that movement for those coming from the east to the west. We have told all the contractors that they shouldn’t open anymore sections for construction i.e. there shouldn’t be any barrier on the roads this season.”
Fashola also gave assurances that the filing of potholes along some road corridors will continue as has been done over the years.
He appealed to Nigerian road users to appreciate the fact that roads are a depreciating asset as such even as some parts are being rehabilitated, other parts could be failing.
Fashola equally appealed to Nigerians to take ownership of roads in their areas by ensuring that activities which weaken the asphalt such as: burning of tires, use of corrosive materials like engine oil and other lubricants on the roads are discouraged.
The meeting was attended by representatives of the Federal Road Safety Corps, FERMA, National Union of Road Transport Owners and Directors of Roads and Bridges in the Ministry among others.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved major changes in the leadership of the Armed Forces, appointing new Service Chiefs in a decisive move aimed at strengthening national security architecture.
According to a statement on Friday by his Special Adviser on Media and Public Communication, Chief Sunday Dare, the President named former Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Olufemi Oluyede as the new Chief of Defence Staff, replacing General Christopher Musa.
Major-General W. Shaibu has been appointed Chief of Army Staff, Air Vice Marshal S.K. Aneke takes over as Chief of Air Staff, while Rear Admiral I. Abbas is the new Chief of Naval Staff.
The Chief of Defence Intelligence, Major-General E.A.P. Undiendeye, retains his position.
All appointments, the statement said, take immediate effect.
President Tinubu, who is also the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, expressed deep appreciation to the outgoing Chief of Defence Staff, General Musa, and other retired Service Chiefs for their “patriotic service and dedicated leadership” during their tenure.
He charged the newly appointed military heads to justify the confidence reposed in them by demonstrating “enhanced professionalism, vigilance, and comradeship” in the discharge of their duties.
The shake-up in the military hierarchy comes as part of ongoing efforts by the Tinubu administration to reposition the security sector, improve coordination among the services, and sustain momentum in the fight against terrorism, banditry, and other security challenges across the country.
A Federal High Court in Abuja has rejected a fresh application for bail filed by detained alleged terrorists negotiator, Tukur Mohammed Mamu.
Justice Mohammed Umar, in a ruling on Wednesday, noted the health complaint by Mamu and held that the detaining authority, the Department of State Services (DSS) should not release him but take him to an appropriate health facility where he would be adequately attended to.
Justice Umar noted that, by the history of the case so far, the prosecution has exhibited diligence in it handling of the case and exhibited diligence in prosecuting the case.
The judge said one of the reasons for granting bail is where the prosecution is not diligent, noting that since the prosecution in this case is diligent, the application for bail cannot be granted.
He subsequently ordered that the defence lawyer should choose the health facility comfortable to the defendant, to which he should be promptly taken.
He also asked the DSS to allow the defendant access to members of his family.
The ruling on Wednesday is the third time the court will reject his application for bail since his was arraigned on March 21, 2023 by the Federal Government on a 10-count charge bordering on terrorism financing, among others.
Mamu was arrested on September 7, 2022 by Egyptian security officials at the Cairo International Airport, on reasonable suspicion of financing Boko Haram terrorism activities.
He was alleged to have convinced the terrorists to discuss ransom payments with individual families of the hostages of the train attack instead of the Chief of Defense Staff Committee set up by the Federal Government for his personal financial gain.
He was said to have been nominated by the terrorists that attacked the Abuja-Kaduna bound train sometime in March 2022 which took scores of persons hostage.
Mamu was alleged to have collected ransoms on behalf of the Boko Haram terrorists from families of hostages, confirmed the amount and facilitated the delivery of same to the terrorists.
The Academic Staff Union of Universities has announced the suspension of its ongoing two-week warning strike.
The National President of ASUU, Prof. Chris Piwuna, made this known in an ongoing press briefing in Abuja on Wednesday.
According to Piwuna, the decision stemmed from the meeting of the National Executive Council meeting which was held overnight and ended by 4:00 am on Wednesday.
Piwuna noted that the union decided to embark on the strike due to the failure of the government to meet its demands on time.
“We’ve had useful engagements with representatives of the government to consider the response to the draft renegotiation of the 2009 agreements. However, we are definitely not where we were prior to the commencement of the strike.
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