The Senate has mandated its Committee on Works to interact with the Minister of Works, toward the completion of the Wudil-Gaya-Dutse Dual Carriageway on Kano Maiduguri Expressway.

This followed the adoption of a motion on Urgent Need to Expedite Completion of Wudil-Gaya-Duste Dual Carriageway on Kano Maiduguri Road by Sen.

Kawu, Suleiman (NNPP- Kano) at Tuesday’s plenary.
Presenting the motion, Suleiman said the expressway was a critical artery for transporting people and agricultural goods in the northern corridor.

He said contract for the construction of the road was awarded by the Federal Government 17 years ago,  by the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

He said that successive administrations had failed to complete the road.

“Also notes that in 2018, the former president Muhammadu Buhari-led administration’s commitment to improving road transportation led to the award of so many road contracts to restore many  dilapidated roads in the country.

” Among these projects was the renewed contract for the dualisation of the Kano-Maiduguri road.

“Aware that a major transportation upgrade is on the horizon,  a brand new two-lane highway will be built, along with improvements to the existing road.

“To tackle this ambitious project, it has  been divided into five manageable sections,” he said.
Suleiman added:“The first section focuses on the Kano-Wudil-Shuarin road, while subsequent sections cover progressively connect Shuarin to Azare, Azare to Potiskum, Potiskum to Maiduguri, and finally, Maiduguri to Benishek.”

He said one of the sections was the most extensive, spanning roughly 202.73 kilometres.

He said as an international route linking Nigeria to Chad, Niger, and Cameroon, the Kano-Maiduguri Road facilitated cross-border trade.

” The Dantata and Sawoe Construction Company Nigeria Lld.,  was awarded the contract for section one of the road, but despite initial work, the project appears to be behind schedule.

“Worried that the unfinished section between Wudil and Gaya in Kano state is particularly dangerous.

“One lane of the planned dual carriageway is complete, forcing drivers to navigate a single lane in both directions,this significantly increases the risk of accidents,” he said.

He expressed worry that the unfinished section from Wudil to Gaya in Kano State posed grave danger to commuters.

He said the only one lane completed on a planned two-lane road, forced vehicles traveling in both directions to navigate a single lane.

” This is a recipe for disaster, and immediate action is required to finish construction and ensure driver safety,”he said.(NAN)

A bill seeking to establish the Federal University of Applied Sciences, Manchok, Kaduna State on Tuesday scaled second reading at the senate.
This followed the presentation of the general principles of the bill by the sponsor Sen. Sunday Katung (PDP-Kaduna) at plenary.
Presenting the bill, Katung said it was read for the first time on July 27, 2023.

“My distinguished colleagues,  science has been an integral part of mankind and existence from the time immemorial.

“The knowledge that science gives us is what we classify as “Basic Science’’ whilst the application of this knowledge for practical purposes is called “applied sciences,” he said.

Katung said the bill was designed to provide a highly specialised institution of learning that would provide a holistic view of science as a broad area and how elements of different applied sciences worked with each other.

“The objectives of the university amongst others is to provide courses of instruction and training and research in applied sciences,” he said.

He said the university would produce technicians and skilled personnel required for related industries.

Katung said the skilled personnel would act as agents and catalyst through post-graduate training, research and innovation for effective and economic utilisation, exploitation and conservation of Nigeria’s natural, economic and human resources.

He also said the trained skilled personnel would identify technological problems and needs of the society and find solutions to them within the context of overall national development.

“The institution will also provide and promote sound basic scientific training as a foundation for development of technology and applied sciences,” he said.

He said the potential of the Nigerian economy was very high and to achieve the potentials, high-level technical and scientific expertise was needed.

“The establishment of the university proposed in the instant bill will advance knowledge through research and nurturing of unique innovations in applied sciences by  transformation of  scientific knowledge of Nigerian graduates.

“This, will in turn, stimulate Nigeria’s technological advancements,” he said.

He said the university of applied sciences, although located on an existing institution, would attract some financial implications for its operational and physical structures.

These, he said, were necessary for smooth takeoff at the existing Federal College of Statistics, Manchok in Kaduna state.

He urged lawmakers to support the bill.

The bill was referred to Senate Committee on Education for further legislative inputs by President of Senate, Godswill Akpiabio to return back to plenary in three weeks.

The Senate also passed for second reading the establishment bill of the National Institute for Educational Planning and Administration, sponsored by Sen. Suleiman Sadiq (APC-Kwara).

It was referred to the Senate Committee on Education for further legislative inputs to report back in two weeks among others.(NAN)

The Speaker, Edo House of Assembly, Blessing Agbebaku, on Tuesday tendered an unreserved apology for the altercation and rowdiness that arose during the suspension of three lawmakers at Monday’s plenary.

The speaker had on Monday suspended three lawmakers for allegedly plotting to impeach him and other members of the Principal Officers Council (POC).

The suspended lawmakers are Okogbe  Donald Okogbe (PDP-Akoko-Edo II); Addeh Isibor (APC-Esan North-East I), and Iyamu Bright (PDP-Orhionnwon II).

Agbebaku said: “I wish to apologise to members of staff of this assembly for what happened on Monday at plenary. It was not our intention to create tension in the house.

“We promise that it will not happen again. This apology is because we hold you in high esteem.”

Meanwhile, a bill for a law to establish the Edo State Tourism Agency to facilitate the development and regulation of tourism in the state, passed through a second reading.

Leading the debate for the bill’s passage, the majority leader, Charity Aiguobarueghian (PDP-Ovia North East I), said the bill, when passed, would create job opportunities for youths in the state.

The Deputy Speaker, Maria Edeko (PDP-Esan North East II), who also supported the bill, noted the state governor’s effort at creating cultural hubs across the state.

Edeko added that the cultural hubs being built and other tourist sites in the state, however, needed a legal and institutional framework to coordinate and harness tourism potential.

Other lawmakers who spoke in favour of the bill maintained that tourism remained very essential in revenue generation, hospitality, and job creation.

The speaker, thereafter, referred the bill to the House Standing Committee on Culture and Tourism for fine-tuning.

The house also adopted a business calendar of 37 sitting days for the fourth quarter of the first session of the eighth assembly.

Reports the presence of armed security personnel at the assembly to forestall any breakdown of law and order following the suspension of the three lawmakers. (NAN)