The 700-kilometer coastal expressway that connects Lagos and Calabar was officially started by the Federal Government yesterday.
The contractor, Hitech Construction Nigeria Limited, received 47.47 kilometers of the project site from Works Minister David Umahi.

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Umahi visited the building site to check on the status of work and made the official transfer.

Sections two and three of the project are planned to operate concurrently, according to the minister, and the project should be finished within 36 months.

On February 26, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) gave Hitech Construction permission to begin building the coastal superhighway that will connect Lagos, Port Harcourt, and Calabar.

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It stated that the 47-kilometer first phase would start in Lagos.

At the official handover yesterday, Umahi gave the contractor accolades for arriving on site on time.

Lagos-Calabar

“Within a couple of weeks, we awarded the project to them, they mobilised a lot of dredging equipment, and you can see that they have recovered 1.3 kilometres of Section One of the phase,” he said.

However, the minister emphasized how important it was to finish the job on schedule and forewarned the contractor that there would be no more compensation for delays.

“Let me also say that today is March 7, and I am officially handing over the site to Hitech Construction Company of Nigeria Limited.”

“So, every timetable for the job starts running from today. We’ve already said, as a policy of the Ministry of Works, that we will not pay variation for any delayed projects.

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“Well, we have to say that for the sake of saying, because Hitech is noted for performance and for beating time.

“The time for this Section One is 36 months. It is going to run concurrently with sections Two and Three. But right now, I am handing over Section One to Hitech Construction Nigeria Limited for them to start work. We’ve been to this corridor before, but today is to hand over the site,” he added.

In order to guarantee environmental compliance, Umahi has turned over the site to Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA), promising collaboration between the two businesses.

The proposed Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway will be one of Africa’s largest infrastructural projects ever and a game-changing one for the Nigerian economy when completed.

Here’s everything you need to know about the project 👇 pic.twitter.com/s6LhjLOYTl

— President Bola Ahmed Tinubu Media Centre (@PBATMediaCentre) September 25, 2023

The Lagos State government was praised by the minister for releasing a portion of the gazetted route for the project.

According to him, this proved that the government was in favor of the project being finished on schedule.

Umahi gave the order to carry out the realignment from Kilometre 16, which President Bola Tinubu had permitted.

He urged Hitech to get started on the allocated right of way straight away, noting that the company’s quick work was demonstrated by the 1.3 kilometers of finished dredging that had been accomplished since the project’s grant.

Summary of the link:

The Federal Government initiates the 700-kilometre Lagos-Calabar coastal superhighway, with Works Minister David Umahi handing over the project's first phase to Hitech Construction Nigeria Limited.

Umahi stresses timely completion, warning no extra payments…

— Summarize (@summarizest) March 8, 2024

A management team has been assembled by the Benue State Government to supervise the operations of the recently founded Benue Public Service Institute, (BPSI).

This was made known by the state government in a statement released in Makurdi on Wednesday by Tersoo Kula, the Chief Press Secretary for Governor Hyacinth Alia, CPS.

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The Benue State Executive Council authorized the creation of BPSI on January 10 to function as a training facility for all state civil servants, according to reports.
According to his spokesperson, Alia gave his approval for the appointments of S. I. Shimave as Director of Programs, Cecilia Ohemu as Director of Administration and Finance, and Prof. Terkura Tarnande as Director General.

The institute’s librarian, Mr. Moses Ode, and director of research and documentation, Dr. Mark Nyitse, were among the others.

The statement went on to say that the BPSI’s duty is to support the strategic capacity building programs that enable Benue public workers to grow.

According to Benue State Governor Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Ali, the 14-day deadline for herders who practice open grazing has gone by.

He announced that the state’s security forces should now fully apply the anti-open grazing law.

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The governor made this announcement at a news conference on Wednesday at Government House, Makurdi’s Old Banquet Hall.

Speaking through his deputy, Dr. Sam Ode, Gov. Alia revealed that the State Security Council made the decision in response to the significant herder population that had recently entered the state.

He claimed that during the 14-day ultimatum, the security council had kept an eye on the armed herdsmen’s movements and analyzed the findings of a seven-member committee led by the state’s Force Commander of Operation Whirl Stroke.

In the report, Ode conveyed the council’s satisfaction and emphasized that the bill did not target any specific group of people.

Nonetheless, the administration issued a warning that anyone breaking the law, no matter who they were, would face legal action, revealing that the majority of the state’s herders had left peacefully over the previous two weeks.

Additionally, in his remarks, Barr. Fidelis Mnyim, the Commissioner of Justice and Public Order, clarified that anyone wishing to raise cattle in the state was required to ranch their animals because the state’s 2017 ranch establishment law and prohibition against open grazing remained in effect.

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Anyone found in violation of these laws would be subject to the full force of the law.

Additionally, Major General Sunday Igbinomwanhia, the Force Commander of Operation Whirlstroke (OPWS), revealed that the Benue State Security Council formed a seven-member committee to determine how to carry out the ultimatum for the withdrawal of armed herdsmen from the state. He described this process as a non-kinetic approach to conflict resolution.

Gen. Igbinomwanhia expressed his delight with the high level of compliance shown by the majority of the herders’ withdrawal and gave his word that Operation Whirlstroke and all state-operating security agencies would carry out the state government’s mandate in its entirety.

Additionally, he revealed that the Kwande local government had undergone some clearance operations by Operation Whirlstroke, following an incursion by certain criminals.

Regarding the current situation in the Ukum local government, he clarified that it was not an attack on any of the communities as had been claimed, but rather a conflict between two militia groups in the area over unidentified reasons that claimed the lives of thirty militia members on both sides.