The second Niger bridge initiated by former President Goodluck Jonathan cannot go ahead in its present format, the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) has said.
ICRC, the regulator of government concessions, has withheld the certificate of compliance for the project because of issues of integrity and cost.
Aminu Diko, the ICRC director-general, said on Wednesday after briefing President Muhammadu Buhari: “The issue of the second Niger Bridge is one of the projects that we discussed with the president.
“We did say that the project is in the commission for regulatory oversight. We have been discussing the transaction with the ministry of works.
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“But before it can be finalised, the commission has to give a certificate of compliance, but we have not done that because we have seen a lot of issues that we are uncomfortable with.
“We are talking with the ministry of works for them to correct it. The communities around that area are clamouring that their lands have been taken and that they have not been compensated adequately.
“As a matter of fact, we got a letter from Onitsha Traditional Council complaining that they have not been adequately represented in this transaction.
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“With this kind of issues, we are not saying that something has not been done properly but we need to be convinced that these few problems are sorted out properly.
“We will also talked about the actual cost of the bridge, eventually we have asked the ministry of works to review it and justify how much the project should cost.”
Diko said he had no idea of the present state of the project, but that it was normal for projects under public private partnership (PPP) to take time.
He said there would be a lot of studies, including integrity test, that will be done in the bridge.
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3 comments
USE THAT MONEY TO DEVELOP THE NORTH INSTEAD.
There is nothing unusual about the challenges the project is said to be facing. What will be unsual is if the project is stalled because of those challenges.
Well, The Igbos should first help themselves. There is a saying and I quote”HEAVEN HELPS THOSE WHO HELP THEMSELVES”. Good people of God no matter how powerful anyone may be, he can NEVER break a bunch of brooms. The Igbo people are not interested in affairs of Nigeria. They are busy fighting one another. They keep flexing muscles everywhere they going, seeking cheap popularity. You haven’t seen nothing yet. Not until we are united we are united nothing good will come our way. It is not a curse, it’s what happens where there is power tussle and power drunk egotistic vagabonds. Who because they are wealthy turned themselves to gods. President Buhari carry on, but please note that Ogbonnaya Onu is a very knowledgable gentle man that will contribute positively to your administration among other few good natured Igbo men and women. God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.