Following the flood that occurred along Lafia-Makurdi Road, which disrupted traffic flow early in the week, Minister of Works, Engineer Nweze David Umahi has directed the immediate deployment of the ministry’s personnel and the maintenance team of China Harbour Operations and Maintenance Company, concessionaire for Abuja-Keffi-Akwanga-Lafia-Makurdi Road, to bring an effective and permanent solution to flood disturbances along the road.

In a statement, the minister condemned the unfortunate negligence by the concessionaire whose duty under the Highways Development Management Initiative (HDMI) of the Federal Government is to operate and maintain the road.

“We have got information on the unfortunate flooding of a section of Keffi-Makurdi Road which is under HDMI. That is, a Public Private Partnership (PPP) with China Harbour. We know that the project has been completed and it is tolled, but unfortunately yesterday there was a lot of debris that covered an existing culvert there, and that led to flooding, but in the midst of that rain, we deployed our Ministry of Works personnel in Makurdi State and also the China Harbour personnel, and they had to go to the inlet of the culvert and remove all the debris, and the flood has been totally evacuated. That section of the road has been reinstated,” he noted

He also directed the concessionaire to critically assess the primary cause, provide a permanent solution to flooding along the carriageway, and take all steps necessary to prevent future occurrence.

“We apologise very profusely to Mr. President and Nigerians, for the embarrassment, this unfortunate incident caused him and Nigerians” he said, while commending the president for his fatherly intervention in the unfortunate incident in Benue State.

“We also commend Mr. President very highly for his fatherly role in Benue State. His visit there has made a lot of impact on the lives of the people of Benue State and everyone living in that place. With God on his side, Benue people shall see sustainable peace and progress,” Umahi said

In another development, during the courtesy visit of the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Citibank Nigeria Limited, Nneka Enwereji, the minister highlighted some of the initiatives of the Federal Government under the present administration to improve the quantity and quality of the road assets in Nigeria, especially the initiative to construct the four Renewed Hope Legacy Projects, which are critical road infrastructure necessary for the economic advancement of the nation.

He sought for the partnership of the bank by investing on any of the Renewed Hope Legacy Projects.

“I’m happy to have Citibank executives here in my office today to discuss how they can partner with us over the four legacy projects of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and also other infrastructural developments in the country. We have had a very fruitful meeting, and I am very happy that the efforts of Mr President on external inflow is yielding a desired result and that the international community has commended him very highly on his transformative reforms. This project shall be realised by the courage and commitment of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu” he said.

In her statement, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Citibank Nigeria Limited, expressed the willingness of the bank to partner with the Federal Government of Nigeria through sustainable investment and funding in the development of those projects that would make a positive impact on the progress of the country.

She expressed pleasure over the impressive strides of the Renewed Hope administration, which are necessary to build investor’s confidence.

“We are here as Citibank to discuss how we can effectively partner with you, to know the project you are undertaking, and see how we can leverage the access that we have to support some of those projects and make a positive impact to the progress of the country. We want to discuss some of the specifics and some of the projects that we are already looking at in the country. We are very impressed with the big strides that you are making. And we want to support that as much as we can,” she said. (Daily Sun)