THE Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd (NNPC) has announced that it is ready to implement the N1.9 trillion project to repair 44 highways, after considerably exceeding expectations with the N621 billion repair of 21 roads under a tax credit system.
This was stated yesterday by Mele Kyari, Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of NNPC Ltd, at the 23rd Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO) in Abuja.
The Group Executive Director, Downstream, Engr. Adeyemi Adetunji spoke on behalf of Kyari while tasking road users on the importance of safety.
He said, “NNPC has supported the federal government to fix roads and for the first phase of over 1,800km roads that are valued at N621bn, we have made good progress on that.”
The NNPC boss said phase 2 of N1.9tr was approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) last week to cover 44 roads.
He also said NNPC has established a build-and-operate scheme to rehabilitate all the pipelines and depots nationwide. “That process is on and before the end of this year, we will award those contracts to the operators.”
On petrol scarcity, he said: “Up to last weekend, we had a series of meetings even into the night and very soon Nigerians will begin to see the results.”
The national president of the Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners, Alhaji Yusuf Lawal Othman, said, “Bad roads have continued to be the major threats to the smooth and safe transportation of goods and people throughout the country. However, there seems to be a light at the end of the tunnel,” he said, referring to the NNPC road repair funds.
Othman was especially concerned about the brutal attacks by security personnel on drivers.
According to Minister of Works and Housing Babatunde Fashola, over 13,000 kilometers of roads and bridges are being repaired under President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.
“We have finished 8,000 kilometres of roads and drivers will tell you that the roads are now better. The real beneficiaries of the increase in funding on roads are NARTO.
“I appeal for safety on our roads. In one month, in October last year, we lost 449 people and over 2,000 injured. I appeal to your leadership to show more interest in safety,” Fashola said.
