President Muhammadu Buhari will on Tuesday, commission the 2nd Niger Bridge and six other legacy projects completed by the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing across the country.

According to a statement issued on Monday by presidential spokesman, Femi Adesina, the move is a follow-through on his administration’s determination to upgrade and expand the nation’s stock of infrastructure.

The projects to be commissioned comprise three major bridges, three Federal Secretariats and a road.

The statement affirmed that the event will be headlined by the 2nd Niger Bridge which was conceptualized in 2005.

It added that: “In 2014, there was an attempt to begin the project through Public Private Partnership (PPP) but this was not successful. The construction began in 2016 with the Presidential Infrastructure Development Fund (PIDF).”

Other projects slated for commissioning are the Loko-Oweto Bridge across River Benue to link Benue to Nasarawa State and the Ikom Bridge in Cross River State while the Road project is the completed Section of the over 200 kilometres of Kano-Kaduna Dual Carriage Expressway and three new Federal Secretariats.

The first of the Federal Secretariats at Awka is located at Executive Business District Layout, Awka South Local Government Area, Anambra State and is situated on 5.106 Hectares of land.

The presidency informed that the project was first awarded on 9th December 2011 but was practically completed and taken over by the Ministry of Works and Housing on 14th July 2022.

The Secretariat has a total of 498 Office Space, a Conference Hall, four Committee Rooms, an Exhibition Hall, a Banking Hall, a Post Office and befitting Reception. In addition, the Secretariat has lift facilities, well-laid-out parking spaces and drainages, a staff canteen, a fire hydrant and other vital facilities.

The second, Federal Secretariat Gusau, Zamfara State is located at Unguwan Dan Lawan, off Sokoto By-Pass Road, Gusau, Zamfara State. The project is situated on 7.5 Hectares of land and was awarded also on the 9th but was practically completed and taken over by the Ministry on 30th November 2022.

The third to be commissioned is the Federal Secretariat Yenagoa, which is located at Alamieyeseigha Road, in Bayelsa State. It is situated on a 7.5 Hectares of land and was awarded on 9th December, 2011 but was practically completed and taken over by the Ministry on 30th November, 2022.

The statement recalled that President Buhari commissioned a fourth one, the Federal Secretariat Lafia, located at Bukar Sidi along Jos Road, Lafia, Nasarawa State in February this year.

(Nigerian Tribune)