₦airaland Forum

Gombe-Numan Road


The Gombe-Numan federal road rehabilitation project was awarded afresh by President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration in 2016.

Nearly two years into the life of the multi-billion naira contract, Nigerians plying the road are not elated about the progress of the project.

The federal government awarded the contract for the completion of the rehabilitation of the Gombe-Numan-Yola road to Triacta Nigerian Limited and Chinese Geo-engineering Company (CGC).

While Triacta Nigeria Limited undertakes the Gombe to Kaltungo portion of the road, CGC is to rebuild the road from Kaltungo to Numan.

The phase-II of the project, located in Gombe State, is to cover the road from Gombe to Kaltungo, which covers a distance of 83km. Earlier in March, motorists plying Gombe-Numan-Yola highway were assured that the ongoing construction work on the Gombe-Kaltungo axis would be completed by June.

The Project Manager of the road, Imran Khan, told the Director Federal High Way, North-East at the Ministry of Power, Works and Housing, Rufai Mohammed, that over 45 kilometres out of the 68 kilometres from the Gombe – Kaltungo axis of the road had been completed.

From Gombe, there is a completed road portion which stretches up to Ngadao, a little village located about 30km away from Ngadao, up to the Wuro-Yola village (about 5km further).

Our reporter observed in July that fresh rehabilitation works are being undertaken, with some portion of the two sides yet to be completed. A large portion of the road, which leads to Kumo town (44km away) is, however, yet to be tarred, after the recent removal of the dilapidated tarred road.




All the reconstruction effort from Gombe axis heading to Kaltungo, stops some few kilometers from Kumo town. The rest of the road, which leads beyond Kumo town, up to about 18km away from Kaltungo, is still yet to be rehabilitated.

PREMIUM TIMES, however, observed that a completed portion of the road, about 18km, leads up to Kaltungo town.

Isa Adamu, a petty trader in Wuro-Yola village, informed PREMIUM TIMES that about 2km portion of the excavation and grading part of the road, which passes through their village (about 36km away from Gombe), was only done between the June 10 and 13.

“It was not up to a month that they moved their equipment to where it is now, not far away from our village,” he said. “I think they stopped working due to Ramadan Sallah.

“We are looking forward to having them return immediately so that they can tar the road on time, before the rains turn the graded road into (a) pool of mud and cause problems for travellers,” he said.

Saleh Abdullahi, a vulcaniser who operates along the Gombe-Yola road, said “the completed portion that stretched up to Akko local government was done long ago, but when the minister of works came to visit the road, the contractors came to do some dressing of the road, like painting the middle and so on, and left to Kaltungo area”.

Our reporter also observed the presence of road construction equipment which were parked at the spots where fresh works were being carried out. Vehicles had to dust their way through the freshly graded portion of the road which is awaiting further development.

The remaining stretch of road that goes beyond Kumo town is still dotted with large potholes.

Construction work ongoing along Gombe-Numan road at Wura-Yola village.
Auwal Suleiman, Triacta Nigeria Limited’s quality control manager for the Gombe-Yola project, said “the Gombe-Numan-Yola rehabilitation project was awarded since 2011 but there was no mobilization for contractors to commence (the) work, until 2016, when it was finally funded”.

He said the work commenced in earnest in June 2016; starting from the Gombe town to Kaltungo, in Gombe State.




“And we were able to cover 23km by December of 2016. After that, we received a signal from the federal ministry of works to go to the Kaltungo end of the project which happened to be the worst part of the project.

“And in 2017 we were able to cover about 18km from that axis. After tackling the worse aspect of the road, we now returned to the Gombe side of the project where we left off, to continue the work, with the intention of connecting it with the Kaltungo side.

About 30km long portion of the Gombe-Numan road completed by the contractors.
On the stage of the project’s completion, Mr Suleiman said “so far, about 65 per cent of the project has been completed.

“There are some sections of the road that are difficult, which we have not been able to cover, especially between Kumo and Billiri towns. Even vehicles are not moving on the road. They have to go down the shoulders and so on. We hope to cover the remaining 35 per cent part of the road by December.”

On the issue of funding, Mr Suleiman said the government has not been defaulting in payment.

A portion of the awarded Gombe-Numan road where work is yet to be commenced by the contractors.
“This government is really trying because they have not been defaulting in terms of payment. Each time we raise certificate for part completion, they pay promptly. That is why you see us working on the road.”

Traffic Challenge
The challenge being faced by Triacta Nigeria Limited, according to Mr Suleiman, is the issue of traffic on the highway.

Gombe-Yola road is one of the busiest roads in North-east Nigeria. Contractors have to constantly pay attention and make provision for easy flow of traffic while the work is still ongoing.

This slows down the work, he said.

Another major challenge for the contractors is the rainy season, he said, which also slows down the speed of the road construction – though a common phenomenon in civil engineering.

The contractors said they have engaged over 500 unskilled labourers who are mostly from Gombe, Yola, Kaltungo and other smaller villages which the road passes through.

Most of the residents have not made any major complaints on how the construction efforts has made life difficult for them because the road is an existing one. Hence no one has asked for any kind of compensation due to encroachment.



“There is enough space to work on, so there has never been any cause to pay compensation whatsoever,” said Triacta’s quality control manager.

He added that “even if there is any private structure that is close to the highway, we see it as an encroachment and the federal government has the right of way. And that happen only when we are taking the project through the town.

PREMIUM TIMES observed that there is only one bridge between Gombe and Kaltungo which is yet to be built. The management of Triacta explained that work could not start on the bridge due to some technical issues.

“There is only one bridge at kilometer -44, between Gombe and Kaltungo. It is a 90 meters long bridge. We have not commenced construction of the bridge due to some issues concerning the discrepancies in the estimation and what it would actually require to build it.

Project Manager Triacta Construction Company Mr Walid with Premium Times Correspondent at Shagari Quarry Sokoto State on Monday
“We came to realise that the expected depth written in the design is not going to be workable. The piling depth that was prescribed for the bridge was too small to carry the bridge. So we invited the foundation technician to come and carryout some investigation to know the exact depth of the piling foundation.

“We are still waiting for that to be carried out, even though we believe it is going to be more than what they are going to specify in the bill.”

The road from Gombe to Kaltungo is being built with a wearing course (which is the outlook layer) of about 4cm; with a binder course of about 10cm; then a stone base of about 20cm, and then the sub-base (laterite base) which is 15cm.

There was not much filling on the road because it is an existing road, except where the contractors say they find the road level to be low.

Meanwhile, the other portion of the Gombe – Numan road rehabilitation is being handled by a Chinese company, CGC (Chinese Geo-Engineering Company). It is a 113km road distance which has been in a very bad shape for a long time.

PREMIUM TIMES’ visit along the road noticed work being done but at a very slow pace.

None of the portion of the road which has been excavated from Cham, a village on the border of Gombe and Adamawa state in Numan Local Government Area, has been completed.

Motorists are still seen pounding their ways through thick dusts of the excavated road as they ply to and from Gombe and Yola. A small number of construction workers, seen on the road, would not speak to PREMIUM TIMES or give contact details of their employers.

The excavation and partial laying of stone asphalt did not go beyond Savanah Sugar Company which is less than 20km. All the remaining portion of the road, from Savanah Sugar Company through Lamurde, up to Kaltungo (about 95km) where Triacta Company started its construction to Gombe town, has been in very bad shape.

A motorist, Sani Buba, seen changing a burst tyre near Lamurde town, said the bad road has so much toll on their vehicles.

A portion of the awarded Gombe-Numan road where work is yet to be commenced by the contractors.
“We have never seen such kind of road contract in this country,” he said.

“Unlike what we have in the ahead in Kaltungo up to Gombe, these contractors are just punishing us here, especially in the area that they have graded”.

Efforts to get the management of CGC to comment on why the project was being executed at a very slow pace were unsuccessful.

Sokoto –Tambuwal-Jega Road project
The Sokoto-Tambuwal Jega- Birnin Yauri road transverses Sokoto and Kebbi states.

The project was awarded by the Goodluck Jonathan administration in December 2014. Its cost was increased from N10.6 billion to N30.5 billion then. The project was to have been completed in 36 months, which means it should have been completed in 2017.

“The rehabilitation of Sokoto-Tambuwal-Jega-Birni Yauri Road: Jega-Birni Yauri (186km) in Kebbi State was awarded in favour of Messrs Triacta Nigeria Limited in the sum of N19.8bn, thereby revising the contract sum from N10.5bn to N30.4bn with a completion period of 36 months,” the then information minister, Nurudeen Mohammed, said.

However, inadequate release of funds, insecurity and slow disbursement of funds are however delaying the ongoing construction of Sokoto-Tambuwal-Jega road project, according to the project manager, Triacta Construction Company, Walid Aboujaoudi.

Completed Road Project from Sokoto to Jega
Like for other road projects covered in this investigation, the works ministry refused to provide details of released funds.

Slow disbursement of cash
“Part of our challenges is slow disbursement of cash,” Mr Aboujaoudi said.

“If the government is willing, we could have finished phase one and two of the projects but the little payment installment is holding the project back.

“The project from Sokoto, Jega and Yawuri is 311 kilometre by length. One bypass at Tambuwal is eight kilometre. Now 180 kilometre is completed. Put together, the phase one and two of the project is at 65 per cent completion stage.

“The completion period depends on how much the government budgeted for the project in a year. If the government can put a budget of N7 billion in a year, we can finish the project in less than two years. But they budgeted only N2 billion. That’s what makes the project to be uncompleted.

Ongoing road construction at Tambuwal Sokoto State
“If the government can’t increase the budget for the project, it will take several years before completion.

“The more they increase the budget, the more we move fast and our rate is five-year-old. Prices of diesel, gadgets, cement are going up. It’s better for us to finish quickly because of the increasing rate.”

Insecurity
Mr Aboujaoudi explained further that the issue of security is a major concern, as there are issues with workers’ safety.

“They are kidnapping us. They came here to the quarry in the month of Ramadan. They killed three police officers on guard and kidnapped our colleague.”

When asked how much ransom they paid before their colleagues were released, he said he was not part of the negotiation because they did everything from Abuja before the staff was released.

He said, “Because of the security situation, we are scared of staying longer in the site. We are forced to leave site early in the day because of the fear of the unknown.

“The host communities do complain about the slow movement of the project. We tried to explain to them our willingness to complete the project on time but the slow disbursement of funds and even the budget, is delaying the project.”

The remains of police officers killed by kidnappers at Shagari Quarry Sokoto State during Ramadan
On the project impact on the host community, he said over three hundred locals were employed.

“We have three quarries. One in Zamfara, one at Sokoto and also in Kebbi State. We employed over three hundred locals in the host community.”

The village head of Marake in Shagari Local Government Area of Sokoto, Abubakar Magaji, commended the federal government over the ongoing road project.

Mr Magaji called on the construction company to provide speed breaks in specific locations because of the high speed with which motorists now ply the highway.

“We have little kids and our livestock are moving around. Only the speed breaker can notify some drivers to understand that they are approaching a village,” Mr Magaji said.

For three months, efforts to get the details of the money disbursed to the contractors have been unsuccessful.

When PREMIUM TIMES contacted Hakeem Bello, spokesperson to the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, in July, he promised to get back to our reporters on details of the payments made to the affected contractors.



https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/292745-special-report-amidst-inadequate-funding-insecurity-buhari-administrations-road-projects-continue-across-nigeria-2.html

sureheaven:
This guy called Reno has no brain whatsoever. He can only deceive his gullible followers who can’t think with their senses.

How can u a retired major general shld produce his waec result, are some Nigerians who listen and follow this guys stupid.
Getting to the level of major general in the army is equal to being a professor academically.

If u are sure Buhari has no result and can’t contest why not approach a competent court of law.
Yeye Reno

tesppidd:
The minimum qualification to run for president is waec.

BABA has the qualification of a Major General.

Which is higher numb skull?

Ruddyman:
Hope Osibanjo have Atikulated

Nigeria Takes Delivery of 12 Tucano Warplanes in 2020


The United States Government will deliver 12 Tucano A-29 ground attack aircraft to Nigeria in 2020 after the Federal Government concluded payment of about N153 billion ($500 million) in January this year.

A top U.S. government official confirmed this in a chat with The Guardian and a few others in Lagos at the weekend, saying that “the conversation began during the previous administration’ but that the “planes have not been fully built.” According to the official, the warplanes are being assembled and will be delivered from Florida before the end of 2020.

https://allafrica.com/stories/201804230065.html

front4line:
Sad news for Igbos n their unborn generation

annnikky:
When I said we I didn't call deomelo, the people I called know themselves whether u like it or not Atikulate is going there and there's nuffing u can do about it

A team of online sleuths claim to have exposed an attempt to smear the former governor of Nigeria's central bank.

Lamido Sanusi - who is widely respected in the international community - was suspended from the bank last month after accusing the government of corruption.

A few days later, a number of journalists were surprised to receive an email from an unknown man, Wendell Simlin, which linked Sanusi with the militant Islamist group Boko Haram. The group is believed to have killed thousands of people in a string of brutal attacks since 2009. But a handful of digital activists who obtained the email say it was actually written by one of the president's aides, after they found his name in a Word document attached. Reno Omokri - social media advisor to President Goodluck Jonathan - is listed as its author in the document properties.

https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-26481508

KingOfAmebo:
Have you ever had the word "educated-illiterate"? going to school doesn't make you smart, being learned doesn't make you wise and having a Phd in human phycology doesn't prevent you from being stupid. So, next time don't believe everything you hear from the supposedly "Learned" people cuz they could easily be motivated by money or ego to defend mediocrity.

The question you should be asking is why did BUHARI hire over a dozen SANs to defend his credentials if it doesn't matter? Refer back to the constitution, read it slowly, it is written in simple English...we don't need a crook to interpret the obvious.

Finally, have you ever heard of the phrase " Lawyers are liars"?

InvertedHammer:
/
Of course.

Some of us have lives to live.

/

annnikky:
At least we have tasted buari and see that he is no good to Nigeria so it will not be bad if we do same with Atiku and then we will know who is better among the two.

mekaboy:
Apart from failing to make 1naira = $1 dollar, or reducing fuel to 40 or providing steady power in 6months as APC made Nigerians to believe, there are 3 major areas that Buhari failed.

Every other thing we see going wrong in Nigeria today is as a result of these 3 areas.

1) Buhari failed to unite Nigerians. No matter how good the intentions of a leader is, if the people are not United it won't work . He started off with the 97% and 5% . Then his appointments . The started off with the " We against them mentality". It's our turn now let them say what they like.

Once you start that, you empower terrorists. Herdsmen become emboldened. BOKOHARAM is then empowered to the extent that the security agencies have to give way for them to abduct girls, and also give way for them to return the girls while people hail them. The we against them mentality is the reason why the federal government will negotiate the release of Muslim girls and let terrorists keep the Christian girl .

2) Failed to strengthen institutions.

I expected that buhari would provide covering to enable security agencies and financial crime institutions to be independent. That he will allow them to work and prosecute anyone found wanting. But unfortunately the situation worsened and they became remote controlled. Where the presidency now decides who the Efcc should investigate and prosecute or not . Even the police began to take sides with the herdsmen and blame the governor of benue for killings. Even called him a drowning man, if that is not totally remote control of agencies I wonder what is.

In developed countries these agencies are guided by the constitution and rule of law, irrespective of who is president. Here the president has become above the law and decides for the nation what is national interest.

It is when these institutions and systems are weakened that corruption, insecurity etc thrive. NO wonder there is more corruption under buhari that others.

3) failed the cut cost of governance.

When can call a government that squandered resources in abundance corrupt, but what do we call one that squander in lack? Borrowing to feed and Nigerians are getting poorer. Minimum wage is hard to increase but the legislators and the presidency must use the latest cars, computers etc. Did you not see the budget? Who will pay for all the money borrowed in this administration? The youths of course.

So the negative situation we find ourselves in Nigeria today, is as a result of Buharis failure in these 3 areas. Wether it is insecurity, unemployment, poverty etc, they are all link to these 3.

At his age, I expected him to get it right in these 3 areas. Once he gets it right, Nigerians will see the impact and effect of working systems. Everything will fall in line. He just needs 1 tenure to get things working then handover
and nobody can tamper with it without Nigerians revolting.
But like African never do well leaders. They fail and want to die in power. What is Buhari contesting for? What Will he promise this time? What did he do with the opportunity given to him?

But also like the Never do well Africans, we have to vote him because he is a Muslim or because he is from the North .

InvertedHammer:
/
If Buhari has a degree from War College, let him show it. Simple. The only person that the people need to hear from is Buhari and Buhari only. Why are all these other people making unnecessary noise?

/

Toketimt:
Fool, ur posts are legendary foolish its obvious u know very little or nothing about the case in question going around aimlessly like an headless chicken.
what u fools dont know is how he pursues his case is his obligation and not bound to abide by what u feel is appropriate.
His certificate was forcefully taken by the military and never returned it. he went to katsina to pick up his statement of result, u fools says its forged. even when cambride Uk corraborated the Katsina result as authentic, u fools still talking rubbish. check below and tutor ur hopeless self. if u arent happy, go to court and be sure for another beating. Oponu.

Toketimt:
Cambridge University provides more details on Buhari’s WASC results

https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/175777-cambridge-university-provides-details-buharis-wasc-results.html

The University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate, UCLES, now Cambridge Assessment, has provided further details on the West African School Certificate, WASC, results presented by Muhammadu Buhari, the candidate of the All Progressives Candidate in the February 14 presidential election.

In a new post on its website, the university confirmed result grades for the examination in 1961 were issued in numbers, not letters, as suggested by critics of Mr. Buhari who have dismissed the results he presented as fabricated.

According to Cambridge, “Examination results were classed in grades from 1 to 9”.

“1, 2,3,4,5 & 6 indicate a Pass with Credit; 7 & 8 indicate a Pass; 9 indicate a Failure,” the school said.

Results tendered by Mr. Buhari shows he had credits in English Language, Geography, Health Science, Hausa Language; failed in Mathematics and Woodwork, and had a pass in Literature in English.

In its post, Cambridge said for candidates to qualify for its certificate in 1961, they needed to pass English, and not necessarily Mathematics.

“To pass the School Certificate, candidates had to pass examinations in a variety of groups. It was compulsory to pass English Language, but not Maths, in order to gain the Certificate,” the university said.

The details followed intense controversy over whether Mr. Buhari, a former Head of State and retired Army General, completed his secondary education.

The Nigerian constitution requires any candidate running for the office of the President to have at least the Senior Secondary School Certificate or its equivalent.

The ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and the campaign office of President Goodluck Jonathan accuse Mr. Buhari of lacking the requisite qualification for the office of the president.

Mr. Buhari, who ran for president in 2003, 2007 and 2011, repeatedly declared that copies of his academic records were with the military.

The former head of state also said original copies of his credentials were lost when his house was raided when he was in detention during the administration of Ibrahim Babangida who toppled his regime.



The Army at first said it had copies of Mr. Buhari’s results, but backtracked later, saying it had only a letter of recommendation from his principal at Katsina Provincial College, result grades without either the statement or certificate.

Responding, Mr. Buhari expressed surprise that the military could claim not to have his results, and insisted that he indeed completed high school and passed at Division Two level.

PREMIUM TIMES later exclusively published copies of Mr. Buhari’s WASC results as well as a master list containing the results of some of his classmates, obtained from his former secondary school, now Government College, Katsina.

But after the publication of the Statement of Results, some Nigerians, including President Jonathan and the PDP, dismissed the results as forged.

One of the allegations said Hausa language was not part of the Cambridge exams in 1961.

Another said Mr. Buhari’s results that year were recorded in alphabets, not in letters as Mr. Buhari claimed.

While Cambridge has declined to categorically confirm Mr. Buhari’s results, saying only the APC candidate could request or authorize such disclosure, the school posted a response to enquiries on the matter on their website authenticating some of the claims in Mr. Buhari’s result.

The University confirmed that according to the Regulations for 1961, African Language papers, including those for Hausa, were set for the West African School Certificate.

It also put the number of candidates who sat for the WASC Hausa examination in 1961 at 152.

“Our records show that Hausa was set in the Northern Region in 1961,” Cambridge said.

The university also confirmed result grades in 1961 were issued in numbers, not letters,

contigiency:
Some of you are just unteacheable. he said its only a matter of moral burden for him to produce it, so that you people can find another work to do instead of dwelling on trivialities. But as for the election, he is dully qualified based on the trainings and the level of education he has received so far.

Tecno66:
I am not an iPob and I feel if pmb has qualifications higher than waec all he needs to do is attach them. I don't get this idea of result being with military. First, even if they trained you, you are entitled to the originals of your certificate and if the original is with them you should have the photocopies to present. To say the results are with the military instead of attaching them seems awkward to me. As the president of Nigeria, if he tells waec the year he finished, I am sure they will print his result out within a day instead of all this it is with the military stuff.

PaChukwudi44:
The PDP presidential candidate in 2023 will be a northerner

olajide8:
Instead of trying to fight, why not focus your disappointment on the constitution that allows people contest election with school testimonial and requires people that are to be appointed to man agencies and departments to have 30yrs experience and membership of all the professional bodies, you are contesting what is obvious in section 318 subsection 1 article b

Maxymilliano:
Ebun Adegboruwa is entitled to his opinion, as well as his interpretation of the law. As a lawyer you cannot practice without being called to Bar.

Every candidate seeking for election into the office of the President of Nigeria must not only possessed at least a secondary school cert, but must also submit same to INEC. Failure to produce your certificate on demand by INEC means automatic disqualification.

That's the crux of the hues and cries ...

Iblad0994:
You are the one trying to be clever by half. All I did was just to go on Wikipedia and show you his name on the graduating list of the army war college in 1980 and also his name as part of the notable alumni.

So it’s none of my business if you are asking me to tell you about his result the army took. I based my fact on the info I got from Wikipedia and also the affidavit sworn by PMB.

And as for my age and educational qualifications, I am someone far above your intellectual capacity, irrespective of your age

Thanks

yerokunphilips:
This man is the most active,most outstanding ,most knowledgeable ,most educated ,most handworking and and most efficient VP since 1999 . He's in the class of Gen Tunde idiagbon ,in the history of Nigeria VP .
Osibanjo is too intelligent to be PMB vice
1 Stop naira from falling and forced it down to 360 when it was going close to 600 to a dollars
2 ) Talk to both the youth and elders of Niger Delta and the bombing of pipeline stopped
3 ) Sack DSS boss
4) Order the restructuring of SARS
5)In charge of N Power ,the only program that is working fine in this administration .
6) He have interacted more with all tribes than any VP in Nigeria history .
7) Very loyal to his boss
How I wish is the one contesting for the one seat .
God Bless PYO .God bless Nigeria

Iblad0994:
Perfect. This is exactly what Buhari did. They requested for his certificate, he said it was misplaced when the Army raided his house during the coup. He went back to his secondary school to collect statement of result and that result is in the public domain if you want to see. He even sworn an affidavit to that effect

The result has his picture on it which seems to be an old picture and people are trying to say it’s fake.

Let’s take your case for example, did you have to snap a new pics to put on your result or does your school still have your young pics in their database.

Leave this man alone for God sake. What happened to him can happen to anybody. As a president he can choose to even try to manipulate the process to collect one waec but he ain’t doing that , so what else do you want him to do.

nijabazaar:
Buhari should just show his certs na. Its a very simple task, even simpler than fvcking.

1shortblackboy:
oga if ur supposed to have a WAEC certificate before u gain admission into the university and u foreged a WAEC certificate and with that gained admission into the university and then graduated with a BSC is ur BSC valid?...………...honest answer please im waiting