Niger Gov Commissions N1.3bn Road in Minna

Laleye Dipo

The Niger State Governor, Abubakar Sani Bello, on Monday commissioned a N1.3 billion dualized 4.8 kilometre road in Minna, the state capital, with a promise to sustain the delivery of projects that have direct bearing on the people of the state.

The fund for the execution of the project, which was completed within eight months, was drawn from the N25 billion Sukuk bond entered into by the government.

Governor Bello disclosed at the commissioning of the project that its execution “is part of our journey in repositioning the state to an economically enviable hub”, stressing that its completion had also brought about an increase in the socio-economic activities along the corridor.

He emphasised that the development of critical infrastructure is cardinal to the state’s economic regeneration, adding that, “to attract investments into the state economy, we need to have good infrastructural system in place that guarantees access to the market and other factors of production”.

Bello therefore said the government had done so much in the area of road rehabilitation and construction with over 40 of civil engineering projects completed across the state, adding that the administration has also completed 80 of mechanical/electrical projects and over 30 projects in the public building sector.

“We have kept our commitment on this, despite the daunting challenges from paucity of funds to heightened insecurity. To me, the development of critical infrastructure is cardinal to our economic regeneration policy as a state,” he said.

The Commissioner for Works, Alhaji Mamman Musa, in an address, said the focus of the government now is the completion of all ongoing projects, adding that a total of 299 projects are to be executed.

Musa disclosed that the ministry, which supervised the project, will carry out similar exercise to ensure all projects are completed within the set time frame and according to specification.