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TRENDING STATEMENT OF A MAN PURPORTING TO BE ADDRESSING THE HONOURABLE MINISTER OF WORKS MISGUIDED, SELF SERVING AND VICIOUS PROPAGANDA TYPICAL OF A PROXY SPEAKING FOR NONCONFORMING CONTRACTORS.
The attention of the Honourable Minister of Works, *His Excellency, Sen. Engr. Nweze David Umahi, CON* has been drawn to a trending statement of a man purporting to be addressing the Honourable Minister of Works over the state of roads in Nigeria and which was credited to the Chairman, House Committee on FERMA, Hon. Engr. Aderemi Abasi Oseni. The Honourable Minister views this unprovoked attack as an inconceivable embarrassment demeaning to his person and the Federal Ministry of Works as neither he nor his Permanent Secretary was in such a meeting where the said Chairman of House Committee on FERMA was said to be addressing the Honourable Minister of Works.
2. In a news conference dated 28th October 2024, the Honourable Minister stated that it was no doubt akin to darkening counsel without knowledge for the Honourable Chairman, House Committee on FERMA to vilify him over the bad state of Federal roads inherited from previous administrations numbering over 2,604 without deferring to the records of various interventions made by the Renewed Hope administration which have made a great difference in the public transport trajectory of Nigeria. The Honourable Minister has however chosen to refrain from joining issues with the said House Committee Chairman on FERMA because of the respect he has for the hallowed institution of the National Assembly, the Senate President and the Speaker of the Federal House of Representatives. He said, “For the respect of Mr. Speaker, and of course the Senate President and the National Assembly that I belong to, I will refrain myself from joining issues with him. He said, I have failed, and if a blind man is to assess you, your guess is as good as mine because if he has no knowledge of anything, then his knowledge becomes his god so I will not join issues with him.”
3. He views the action of addressing him as if he was before the House Committee on FERMA as deliberate, ill-motivated, misguided, self-serving and nothing but a vicious propaganda typical of a proxy representing the interest of nonconforming contractors who have constituted themselves into adversaries against the Federal Ministry of Works for insisting on best practices in project pricing, variation on price and foreign exchange differentials. There is no doubt that the vituperations of the House Committee Chairman on FERMA were from the abundance of his heart, but to say that all the roads across the country have failed for the failure of the Honourable Minister of Works to address the existing road with the resources approved or for his failure to deploy the N300 billon supplementary fund approved for him or that he is concentrating his energy on the less priority issues shows that the House Committee Chairman on FERMA either has little knowledge of the volume of road infrastructure deficits inherited from successive administrations and cost requirements for road construction or that he deliberately refused, ignored and neglected to appreciate the Renewed Hope administration’s intervention milestones or he is playing to the gallery on the prompting of the nonconforming contractors. He said,” And let me say to him that the projects Mr. President inherited were a total of 2,604 projects. As of May 29, 2023, the total cost was N13 trillion. That’s what the President inherited and a debt to contractors of N1.6 trillion. And when you look at the variation by the reason of the subsidy removal, by the reason of the floating of the dollar, you’ll find out that if you review all these projects, you will see that you will get over N19 trillion for the total ongoing projects. Mr. President did what no other President has done. He manifested all the projects in the 2024 budget with the hope to give him time to look for resources, including loans, to do these projects. I wasn’t in that meeting where the Honourable House member was said to be addressing me, and there is no way I was going to complain of resources to fix our roads because Mr. President has given very special attention to the Federal Ministry of Works. He has paid so much attention to the sufferings of Nigerians vis-a-vis the road situation, and the ministry is not the only ministry in Nigeria. Mr. President has a lot of other challenging situations and competing demands, yet he has given priority attention to the Ministry of Works”
4. He noted that the utterances of the Chairman, House Committee on FERMA were no doubt aimed at inciting the public against the government that brought him on board as it is a common sense that a person of his level and profession ought to know the method statement required of road construction. He said, “There is no way you expect some projects that have lasted 20 years, 18 years, 17 years to be done in one year. And if he says he’s an engineer, he should try and understand the processes that are involved in the Ministry of Works. It’s different from his procurement of fertilizer with his constituency project. They are two different things. You have to go to the field, you have to measure the project, you have to design it, and you have to do in-house procurement to look at it.” He further said, “The method deployed in the construction will require you to do earthwork, to compact etc and if you don’t give it one month and you start to put stone base and asphalt, it will fail. So, those times that you are preparing the sub-grade, the sub-base, the base course before the pavement,what do you call it? It is not valued by people like him as progress made”
5. Furthermore, the Honourable Minister views it as a gross violation of parliamentary procedure for the Chairman of the House Committee on FERMA to invade the legislative powers of the Senate and House Committees on Works which have been carrying out oversight functions on the Ministry and are conversant with the achievements and challenges of the Ministry. He carpeted the Chairman of House Committee on FERMA for acting outside the legislative competence of his committee. Highlighting the modest achievements of the ministry across the six Geo-Political zones, the Honourable Minister thanked the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,*His Excellency, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR* for the unprecedented attention he has given in bridging the funding gap on the inherited projects. He said, “What we did is that we used over 90% of these funds to keep all the inherited projects alive as directed by Mr. President because a project has to be alive and in the budget before you can look for funds to assist it to be completed. That’s what we’ve done, and so for those who are bitter that we have no projects to award to them, this is the reality.” He further said, “ Over 2,600 projects plus 330 supplementary projects plus the new projects in 2024 is not a tea party. It requires commitment, and it requires dedication, which we are doing. We work on Saturday, Sundays, and Public Holidays, and somebody will say we are giving attention to less priority issues without mentioning those less priority issues that we are giving attention to.”
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Araraume Felicitates President Tinubu on his birthday. Hails his Reform Agenda and National Milestones
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Senator Ifeanyi Araraume has congratulated President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on the occasion of his birthday, praising the President’s leadership style and the series of reforms that have shaped the direction of the country since he assumed office.
In a statement issued on Saturday, Araraume described President Tinubu as “a courageous reformer whose decisions continue to redefine Nigeria’s economic and governance landscape.” He noted that the President’s first year in office has been marked by bold policy choices aimed at stabilizing the economy and laying the groundwork for long term national development.
Araraume highlighted the removal of the petrol subsidy as one of the most significant economic decisions in recent decades, saying it demonstrated the President’s willingness to confront long‑standing structural challenges. According to him, the policy, though demanding, has redirected national resources toward infrastructure, social investment, and other critical sectors.
He also commended the administration’s unification of the foreign exchange market, describing it as a major step toward restoring investor confidence and strengthening Nigeria’s global competitiveness. The senator noted that the reforms have attracted renewed interest from international partners and signaled a commitment to transparent economic management.
Beyond economic restructuring, Araraume pointed to ongoing infrastructure expansion as evidence of the administration’s focus on national development. He cited the acceleration of key road projects, renewed efforts to expand rail connectivity, and the push to improve power generation and distribution as initiatives that reflect the President’s long term vision for a more productive Nigeria.
The senator further acknowledged the government’s interventions in agriculture, including support for mechanization and targeted programs aimed at boosting food security. He said these efforts are essential to reducing dependence on imports and strengthening local production.
On the diplomatic front, Araraume praised President Tinubu’s engagements across Africa and beyond, noting his role in strengthening regional cooperation within ECOWAS and advancing Nigeria’s interests on the global stage.
“As we celebrate this milestone, it is important to recognize the resilience and determination with which President Tinubu has approached the task of nation building,” Araraume said. “His commitment to reforms, economic stability, and democratic governance continues to inspire confidence in Nigeria’s future.”
He wished the President good health, renewed strength, and continued wisdom as he leads the country through what he described as “a defining period in Nigeria’s history.”
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Araraume Salutes Tinubu’s Vision, Lists Key Achievements on Birthday
Senator Ifeanyi Araraume has congratulated President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on the occasion of his birthday, praising his leadership style and the series of reforms that have shaped the country’s direction since he assumed office.
In a statement issued on Saturday, Araraume described the President as “a courageous reformer whose decisions continue to redefine Nigeria’s economic and governance landscape.” He noted that Tinubu’s first year in office has been marked by bold policy choices aimed at stabilizing the economy and laying the groundwork for long-term national development.
Araraume highlighted the removal of the petrol subsidy as one of the most significant economic decisions in recent decades, saying it demonstrated the President’s willingness to confront long-standing structural challenges. According to him, the policy, though demanding, has redirected national resources toward infrastructure, social investment, and other critical sectors.
He also commended the administration’s unification of the foreign exchange market, describing it as a major step toward restoring investor confidence and strengthening Nigeria’s global competitiveness. The senator noted that the reforms have attracted renewed interest from international partners and signaled a commitment to transparent economic management.
Beyond economic restructuring, Araraume pointed to ongoing infrastructure expansion as evidence of the administration’s focus on national development. He cited the acceleration of key road projects, renewed efforts to expand rail connectivity, and the push to improve power generation and distribution as initiatives that reflect the President’s long-term vision for a more productive Nigeria.
The senator further acknowledged the government’s interventions in agriculture, including support for mechanization and targeted programmes aimed at boosting food security. He said these efforts are essential to reducing dependence on imports and strengthening local production.
On the diplomatic front, Araraume praised Tinubu’s engagements across Africa and beyond, noting his role in strengthening regional cooperation within ECOWAS and advancing Nigeria’s interests on the global stage.
“As we celebrate this milestone, it is important to recognise the resilience and determination with which President Tinubu has approached the task of nation-building,” Araraume said. “His commitment to reforms, economic stability, and democratic governance continues to inspire confidence in Nigeria’s future.”
He wished the President good health, renewed strength, and continued wisdom as he leads the country through what he described as “a defining period in Nigeria’s history.”
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APC Convention: Party Eyes Consensus for National Leadership Selection
The All Progressives Congress has confirmed that it plans to adopt a consensus approach for selecting its national leadership during the party’s convention scheduled for March 27–28, 2026, in Abuja.
The Assistant Secretary for Media and Publicity for the APC National Convention 2026, Mary Ikoku, disclosed the plan during an interview on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Wednesday.
On the issue of elective positions during primaries, Ikoku said the party had not yet decided how these would be handled, noting that decisions may vary depending on local political dynamics.
She explained, “APC, for this convention, I am aware and can say that the party is adopting consensus for this convention. As to whether they are adopting consensus for elective positions, I do not have an answer to that because politics is local.
“So, I believe that, at the end of the day, when it comes to the issue of elective positions, the persons who would emerge aren’t often what you would want to make consensus in every space.”
Ikoku also addressed the Electoral Act’s provisions, which require political parties to register members online within a specified timeframe and outline acceptable methods for candidate selection.
She said these requirements posed challenges for some parties but reflected preparedness—or the lack thereof.
“We have an electoral law that defines the models for these elections. Direct primaries and consensus have been allowed, while indirect primaries have been taken out.
“That is the current law of the nation, passed and assented to. Now, why do you think other political parties will have issues with that?” she asked.
“That would be to say there are levels of unpreparedness of these political parties. Any political party that is worth its salt should not wait till election season to start preparing for the run for office and all of these congresses.
“It is something they would have planned ahead of time. So, when you are not proactive as a party, these kinds of situations can challenge you deeply,” she added.
Ahead of the convention, the party began screening aspirants for key positions in its National Working Committee , including National Chairman aspirant Nentawe Yilwatda and National Secretary hopeful Ajibola Basiru.
Other NWC members seeking to retain their posts include National Youth Leader Dayo Israel, Deputy National Chairman (North) Ali Bukar Dalori, National Legal Adviser Abdulkarim Abubakar Kana, National Woman Leader Mary Alile Idele, and National Publicity Secretary Felix Morka, among others.
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