Cement Price Won’t Hit N9000; Road Contractors Always Inflating Contracts, Says Umahi

The Minister of Works, Senator Dave Umahi has debunked claims by Cement manufacturers that the price would hit N9,000 if the government starts constructing concrete roads. According to the minister, the claims were all campaigned against him by the cabals in the construction industry. Umahi, who made the remarks during a meeting with contractors handling federal roads, expressed dismay at how contractors cheat Nigerians in the materials they use to construct roads in the country. He lamented that roads that are currently constructed in the country would not last for seven years after they are completed. The minister said the contractors have been in the habit of increasing the cost of their projects to swindle the country through contract variation and the use of asphalt materials, which are subject to the international price of crude oil. He added that he has stopped the signing of the funds to be released to contracts who are seeking price variation of their contracts, and bemoaned the pains Nigerians face while traveling on federal roads saying he had to feel their pains when he traveled to Edo state from Abuja. “There is no project being constructed right now in Nigeria that is going to last for seven years. The question is, are we going to be maintaining or reconstructing our roads every 10 years? That is what we have been doing. I traveled from Abuja to Benin City through Lokoja, all the stretches of the road are on contract, ongoing; this is through the policy of the last administration but how much of the roads are motorable? “I traveled through the roads myself and I shed tears for the kind of pain our people are going through. I spent 14 hours on the road having started my journey from 10am and got to Benin City at 2 pm the next day. I was very happy I experienced the pain. “President Tinubu said I must travel through all the projects so that I will brief him on my experience and tell him the truth.” He added that he is doing his work with the fear of God as he is representing the people and I receive instructions from the President.

Don’t disrupt economy, OPSN urges FG, labour unions

The Organised Private Sector of Nigeria (OPSN) has called on the Federal Government and labour unions to work assiduously to avert disruption of socio-economic activities. Mr Segun Ajayi-Kadir, Head, Secretariat, OPSN, gave the advice in a statement in Lagos. The OPSN comprises five business membership organisations, namely: the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, and the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture. Others are the Nigeria Employers Consultative Association; the Nigerian Association of Small and Medium Enterprises and the Nigerian Association of Small-Scale Industrialists. Ajayi-Kadir noted that the OPSN had followed keenly, the developments following the recent call by the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria for a nationwide peaceful protest. The protest is scheduled for August 2, 2023, as consultations between the Federal Government and labour unions have not yielded positive results. He urged the government to employ its best endeavours to reengage the leadership of the unions and find an amicable ground to avert the imminent disruption in business activities. “We opine that adequate consideration should be given to the dire state of the economy and the possible unintended social unrest that may result from the protests. “We call on our members to be circumspective in their business operations, as we await the outcome of ongoing consultations between government and unions,” he said.