Article summary
- The projects to be commissioned by President Buhari includes the Second Niger Bridge, 3 Federal Secretariats, 2 other bridges and a road project.
- The Federal Secretariats to be commissioned are in Awka, Anambra State, Gusau, Zamfara State, and Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.
- Other projects are the Loko-Oweto Bridge across River Benue to link Benue to Nasarawa State, the Ikom Bridge in Cross River State and the completed section of the over 200 kilometres of Kano-Kaduna Dual Carriage Expressway.
President Muhammadu Buhari will on today (May 23), commission the Second Niger Bridge and 6 other legacy projects completed by the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing across the country.
The projects which consist of 3 major bridges. 3 Federal Secretariats and a road is part of the current administration’s determination to upgrade and expand the nation’s stock of infrastructure.
This disclosure is contained in a press statement signed by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, on May 22, 2023, where he stated that the historic event will be headlined by the Second Niger Bridge, which was conceptualized in 2005.
Adesina said there was an attempt to commence the Second Niger Bridge project in 2014 through Public Private Partnership (PPP) but was not successful. The construction later began in 2016 with the Presidential Infrastructure Development Fund (PIDF).
Bridges and other projects to be commissioned
The presidential media aide listed the other bridges, the Federal Secretariat complexes and road project to be commissioned by the president.
- Adesina in the statement said, ‘’Others are the Loko-Oweto Bridge across River Benue to link Benue to Nasarawa State and the Ikom Bridge in Cross River State while the Road project is the completed Section of the over 200 kilometres of Kano-Kaduna Dual Carriage Expressway and three new Federal Secretariats.”
Adesina explained that the first Federal Secretariat in Awka, Anambra State, was awarded in December 2011 and completed in July 2022. It occupies 5.106 hectares of land and includes various facilities such as offices, conference and committee rooms, exhibition and banking halls, a post office, and reception area.
The second Federal Secretariat in Gusau, Zamfara State, was awarded on the same date and taken over by the Ministry in November 2022. It is situated on a 7.5-hectare land and is located at Unguwan Dan Lawan, off Sokoto By-Pass Road, Gusau, Zamfara State.
The third Federal Secretariat to be commissioned is located in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State. It was awarded in December 2011 and completed in November 2022. The secretariat occupies 7.5 hectares of land and is situated at Alamieyeseigha Road, Bayelsa State.
He also added that President Buhari had earlier commissioned a fourth Federal Secretariat, Lafia, located at Bukar Sidi along Jos Road, Lafia, Nasarawa State in February this year.
He also urged all the nation’s media stations to stay tuned for the historic commissioning.
What you should know
The Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, had earlier in April said that the Second Niger Bridge, one of the legacy projects of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration will be fully open to traffic in May.
The Second Niger bridge is a Nigerian Federal Government project that is 1.6 km (0.99 mi) long and furnished with other ancillary infrastructure including a 10.3km highway, Owerri interchange and a toll station all at Obosi city, expected to be completed in the year 2022.
The bridge was conceived under the administration of Olusegun Obasanjo but was embarked upon by President Muhammadu Buhari.
The bridge is being constructed across Nigeria’s Niger River and it will span from Asaba to Onitsha.