. Assembly receives medium term expenditure framework for 2017-201
Niger State government has suspended work on the N400 million Minna-Suleja-Abuja road rehabilitation.
The suspension was caused by heavy rains and the activities of heavy duty and articulated vehicles, which ply the road.
State Governor, Alhaji Sani Bello, disclosed this when he inspected the damaged portion of the road, recently.
He, therefore, directed the immediate suspension of work, ‘‘until those vested with the responsibilities of controlling movements of some heavy duty trucks do their jobs.”
Motorists have been spending several hours on the road because of the extent of its dilapidation, a development which prompted the governor’s unscheduled visit to have an on-the-spot assessment of the situation.
Governor Bello said his administration could no longer continue to invest resources on the project only for some vehicles to damage it even before the projects were yet to be completed.
Bello attributed the quick dilapidation of roads across the country to the refusal of the relevant authorities to enforce the law that provides the weight of haulages allowed to plying certain categories of road networks in Nigeria.
“The federal Ministry of Works should enforce weighing bridges law if the life span of the roads are to be sustained”, Bello said as he lamented that whereas the lawful weight of vehicles on the roads should be between 30,000 tonnes to 35,000 tonnes most of the vehicles now plying the roads weigh between 40,000 tonnes and 70,000 thereby putting too much pressure on the roads.
Bello explained that the state government was rehabilitating the federal roads to reduce the hardship faced by the motorists and other road users in the state.
Bello however explained that negotiations had begun with members of the State House of Assembly on the introduction of a weighing bridge bill which will provide for the arrest and prosecution of any over loaded vehicle plying state roads to ensure sustainability of the roads.
He however appealed to the federal government to, “As matters of urgency mobilize the contractor handling the dualization of the Minna-Suleja road project so that the contractor can return to site and complete the job”.
The governor however urged motorists and other road users plying the ever busy Minna-Suleja-Abuja road to be patient and obey the traffic regulations while the government on its part finds solution to the deplorable condition of the road.
Meanwhile, Niger State House of Assembly on Wednesday gave its committees on Appropriation and Finance two weeks to study and report back to the House the Medium Term Expenditure Frame (MTEF) work for the, 2017-2019 presented to it by the executive.
The legislature in giving the directive to the committee had argued that the law provided that the MTEF must be passed at least three months before the presentation of the budget by the executive arm of government.
House leader, Alhaji Isah Ibrahim, representing, Rijau who presented the report to the House at its 69th sitting however did not give details of the MTEF but the Speaker, Ahmed Marafa, said that it was necessary that the legislature acted fast to respect the provisions of the law.
When the issue was put to the members, it was unanimously agreed that the committees on Appropriation and Finance should report to the committee of the whole House on the 26th of this month for further actions.
The House also referred the bill for the establishment of the Niger State Bureau on Religious Affairs to the committee on religious affairs when it passed through the second reading.
The House Committee on Religious Affairs, according to the Speaker, Alhaji Ahmed Marafa, should submit its report to the house in plenary on November 10th, this year.
