By Princess Simon (Bureau Chief North Central, in Minna)
Niger State Governor, Hon. Mohammed Umar Bago, has said that his administration will not wait at the pace of federal government to rehabilitate federal roads in the state.
Bago who made this declaration on Thursday, September 14, 2023, at the ground breaking ceremony for the rehabilitation/construction of Minna township roads, said Niger state has the highest number of federal roads which are in deplorable conditions at the detriment of the people and rural dwellers of the state.
According to the governor, that is why his administration has resolved to rehabilitate the bad federal roads and then ask for a refund of such of such expenditure from the federal government.
Bago said, "Niger state is the largest state in terms of landmass and because of that, has the highest number of federal roads. We will no longer wait for the federal government to do the roads at their own pace because we are the ones suffering the consequences".
The Governor who kick-started the urban renewal project with the flag-off of 202 km Minna township roads phase 1 and 2, said his administration is also targeting N1 trillion as revenues in the next two years from the opening up of new business opportunities for foreign and indigenous investors and industrialists.
He commended the development partners, Islamic Development Bank (IDB) for their support towards actualizing the administration's development agenda. The governor said he is in a hurry to see the evolution of a 'New Niger state'.
He stated that his government has resolved not to wait at the pace of the federal government in the rehabilitation of federal roads. He enumerated derivable benefits of his resolve to include local contents that would benefit hundreds of unemployed Nigerlites while the entire projects lasted.
"The contractor handling the projects has graciously agreed that all materials to be used will be sourced locally except where such is not available here in Niger state. We are also considering the number of skilled and unskilled labours that would be empowered".
"Within the next four years, the state would rehabilitate and construct 1, 500 km of roads across the 25 LGCs, including the extension of the Minna city gates with 22 kms to expand the Minna Emirate Council to 100 square kms".
Governor Bago therefore encouraged both educated and uneducated jobless youths in the state to take advantage of investment opportunities in the urban renewal programs to better their living conditions through micro, small, and medium scale businesses.
The Niger State Commissioner for Works, Alhaji Suleiman Umar, had earlier said that the 202 km Minna township roads would comprise of the; rehabilitation of 14 existing roads, construction of eight new roads, and five fly-overs, while the existing single lane roads would be dualized.
Although this is the most ambitious urban renewal project in the history of Niger state, Suleiman said, 'it is realizable and achievable'. NNL.