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Battle for Edo (Update) :Full text of works ministry's statement
on Benin road project
Gov Oshiomhole
On Friday night we published a story
titled
:Battle for
Edo:Works Minister sheds light on Benin Road Project
based on a statement by SMS from an aide to the minister
of works.This morning, we serve you a comprehensive
statement emailed to Newsdiaryonline from the federal ministry
of works.
What we did in the earlier story was to put the statement in a
proper perspective for our readers to understand.The intrigue is
all part of the battle for the hearts and minds of Edo people as
we go into a gubernatorial election year in which
the PDP is seeking to regain its lost diadem .
Read the statement from the federal ministry of works below:
CLARIFICATION
ON: OSHIOMHOLE PULLS DOWN WORKS MINISTRY’S SIGN BOARD
The attention of the Federal Ministry of
Works has been drawn to the controversy surrounding the
ownership of the on-going road project along Dawson Road in
Benin City as published on page 11 of the Vanguard of 16th
December 2011, captioned “Oshiomhole pulls down Works Ministry’s
sign board”.
For the avoidance of doubt, the Federal
Ministry of Works states categorically that the road belongs to
the Federal Government and is captured in the Federal Highway
Act (Cap 135) as Route A. 121 (Benin-Ore-Ijebu Ode-Shagamu). It
is currently being reconstructed by the Federal Ministry of
Works as part of the on-going contract for the reconstruction of
Benin-Ofosu Section of Benin-Shagamu Dual carriageway which
starts from the Junction of Dawson /Akpakpava Roads (Km 0+000)
and goes all the way through Uselu and Ugbowo up to Ofosu (km
75+000).
This section of the Road was awarded to
Messrs. RCC Nigeria Limited in the sum of about N24 Billion and
has recorded appreciable progress.
The Federal Ministry of Works had equally awarded two
other contracts for the rehabilitation/reconstruction of the
remaining portions of the Dual carriageway in Ondo and Ogun
States.
The success of the Ministry’s efforts has
been applauded by the motoring public who ply this route on
daily basis and has enjoyed substantial reduction in travel time
from Benin-Shagamu by as much as five (5) hours.
The Edo State Government only used part of
the Federal Ministry of
Work’s Right-Of-Way in Benin City for its on-going
construction of parking lane, walkway and drainage, using the
same contractor, Messrs RCC Ltd, which was earlier engaged by
the Federal Ministry of Works, on behalf of the Federal
Government. This cannot equal the reconstruction of a 75km Dual
Carriageway.
This same explanation was given to the World
Bank Country Director, Marie Francoise Marie-Nelly last week
when she visited the Honourable Minister of Works in Abuja and
sought for clarification on the ownership of the road, having
been told by Edo State Government officials during her working
visit to Benin City on inspection of World Bank assisted urban
projects, that the road which was then in a state of disrepair
belonged to the Federal Government.
This clarification has become necessary
in order to put the record straight and to let the good people
of Edo State know the involvement of both the Federal and Edo
State Governments in the on-going construction works on the
road.
Tony Ikpasaja
Special Assistant (Media) to the Honourable
Minister of Works
Th
This is the document referred to in the Witness
Statement on Oath of Clifford O. Kokogho as
“Exhibit
COK.2”
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