From Godwin Okeh, Abakaliki

The Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, has declared that President Bola Tinubu will win the 2027 presidential election, saying the victory would come “spiritually and physically.”

Umahi made the declaration at the weekend while speaking with journalists during an inspection of ongoing construction works on the Benue axis of the Calabar-Ebonyi-Benue-Kogi-Nasarawa-Abuja Superhighway.

The Minister, however, used the inspection to direct contractors handling the strategic highway to open multiple work fronts and intensify construction activities, particularly on Section Two of the project.

He ordered contractors to deploy adequate manpower, equipment and other resources to accelerate the pace of construction while ensuring that existing buildings along the alignment were adequately protected.

Umahi said the directive became necessary because of engineering challenges encountered along the route, including rivers, swampy areas and other difficult terrain.

According to him, contractors must devise engineering solutions to overcome the difficult portions without compromising the quality, durability and standard of the highway.

“I do not believe in engineering that anything is impossible. We’ve sat this morning and we’ve agreed how to cross the bridge,” the Minister said, directing the contractor handling Section Two to open at least three work fronts.

He also directed that no building should be demolished simply because it falls within the proposed alignment, insisting that proper technical assessment must first be carried out.

“My directive is that no building should be touched. Even if it’s within the alignment, I have to come and realign it,” he said.

Umahi explained that the Ministry would continue to make necessary technical adjustments to the alignment, particularly around sharp curves and built-up areas,

He stressed that such modifications would be made without imposing additional costs on the Federal Government under the project’s financing arrangement.

The Minister further directed the contractor to intensify work around river crossings and other difficult portions of Section Two, adding that temporary motability would be achieved where necessary to facilitate movement while permanent construction works continue.

He commended the project team for the progress recorded since his previous inspection and urged the contractors to sustain the momentum.

At Section One of the project, the Controller of the Calabar-Ebonyi-Benue-Nasarawa-Abuja Federal Superhighway, Maxwell Oko, disclosed that the section, being handled by Infiouest, covers about 123 kilometres and had attained 39.33 per cent completion.

Oko said construction was progressing with rigid pavement technology from the Ndibe Beach axis through Timber Junction, Akpoha, Amudo and Onueke, among other communities.

He disclosed that Continuously Reinforced Concrete Pavement (CRCP) had progressed to about kilometre 43 on both sides of the alignment, with further construction planned towards Onueke Junction and subsequent sections.

The Project Manager of Section One, Mohammed Moustapha, said the contractor was intensifying work on the rigid pavement and would extend the current work front around kilometre 43 towards Onueke Junction before advancing through the succeeding kilometres.

From Sylvia Udegbunam, Enugu

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has won all chairmanship and Councillorship seats contested in the Sept. 26 Local Government Election in Enugu State.

It would be recalled that the Enugu State Independent Electoral Commission (ENSIEC) conducted elections into the 17 Chairmanship and 260 Ward Councillorship positions in the state on Saturday.

Declaring the election results at the ENSIEC headquarters in Enugu on Sunday, the Chairman of the Commission, Prof Christian Ngwu, said that the election was free and fair.

Ngwu said that the election was conducted according to rules guiding the Commission, and “subsequently, we are issuing the winners with certificates of returns.”

Speaking after collecting his certificate of return, Chairman of Enugu South Local Government Area, Chief Caleb Ani, attributed the landslide victory of the candidates of APC to the massive developmental works of Gov. Peter Mbah.

Ani urged the residents of the state to vote for Mbah en masse in the forthcoming 2027 General Election to continue the good works.

“Gov. Mbah has done well in all ramifications, this is partly while the APC candidates won overwhelmingly.

“I urge the people to vote for him, come 2027 General Elections so that he will continue with his good works and do more,” he said.

Reacting, the APC Chairman in Enugu State, Dr Martin Chukwunweike, said that the resounding victory at the polls indicated the dominance of the national ruling party, APC, in the state.

“We will not rest as we push the developmental efforts of President Bola Tinubu and our amiable governor, His Excellency Dr Peter Ndubuisi Mbah, for the world to see.

“Tinubu, Mbah and all the APC candidates will be reelected in 2027 as they have performed exceptionally well in the past three years,” he said.

In the numerical figures of the results pronounced, APC chairmanship candidates won with margins while the opposition parties trailed behind with minimal votes.

For instance, in Udenu, Igbo-Eze North and Igbo-Eze South local Government Areas respectively, the APC chairmen elect secured virtually the whole votes cast.

By David Torough, Abuja

Former Vice President and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has urged President Bola Tinubu to raise the N70,000 national minimum wage, arguing that rising living costs have significantly eroded workers’ purchasing power.

Atiku, in a statement issued on Sunday by the Director of Strategic Communications of the ADC Presidential Campaign Council, Phrank Shaibu, said the current wage was no longer sufficient to cushion workers from soaring costs of petrol, food, transportation and housing.

He challenged the Federal Government to agree to what he described as a substantial wage increase that reflects prevailing economic realities.

The Federal Government increased the minimum wage from N30,000 to N70,000 in July 2024 following negotiations with organised labour. President Tinubu had said the new wage would be reviewed after three years.

But Atiku argued that the increase had failed to keep pace with inflation and rising prices.

“At N1,400 a litre, the entire N70,000 monthly minimum wage buys just 50 litres of petrol. What does the worker take home to feed the children? What pays the rent? What gets that worker back to work on Monday?” he asked.

He compared the purchasing power of the old and current wage, noting that N30,000 could buy about 118 litres of petrol when the national average price stood at N254.06 per litre in April 2023. At N1,400 per litre, he said, N70,000 would buy only about 50 litres.

“The payslip has grown, but the fuel it can buy has more than halved,” Atiku said, describing the situation as hardship disguised as a wage increase.

His comments come amid renewed concerns over petrol prices and the broader cost-of-living crisis. Petrol prices have risen sharply in recent years following the removal of the fuel subsidy, with prices varying across different parts of the country.

Atiku also criticised the subsidy removal, arguing that the policy was implemented without sufficient protection for working families.

He said the effect of higher petrol prices went beyond the filling station, as increased transportation and energy costs also raise the prices of food and other essential goods.

“Petrol does not stay at the pump. Its price follows the farmer to market, enters the baker’s oven and appears in the fare a parent pays to take a child to school,” he said.

The former vice president also compared Nigeria’s minimum wage with those of some other African oil-producing countries, while acknowledging that differences in wage structures, exchange rates and living costs must be taken into account.

Atiku urged the President to make his position on another wage increase clear, saying workers should not be subjected to prolonged negotiations without a definite outcome.

He promised that, if elected president in 2027, his administration would begin work on raising the minimum wage from its first day in office.

“I will begin the work of raising the wage floor from my first day in office,” he said.

Atiku also pledged measures aimed at reducing the cost of living, including support for domestic production, targeted social protection and interventions in the petroleum sector.

Under his proposed targeted production subsidy, petroleum products refined in Nigeria and sold to Nigerians would receive government support, subject to spending limits, public accounting and independent auditing.

“Government support must produce measurable relief at the pump,” he said.

He further called for measures to stabilise the prices of essential goods and energy, arguing that higher wages alone would not solve the pressures confronting households if the cost of living continued to rise.

The Tinubu administration has defended the N70,000 minimum wage, noting that it was agreed after consultations with organised labour and other stakeholders. The presidency had said the new wage was designed to provide immediate relief while providing for a review after three years.

Atiku, however, maintained that the key issue was the purchasing power of workers.

“Nigerians do not eat FAAC figures. A full treasury is no answer to an empty kitchen. The test of this government is whether the men and women who work all month can live on what they earn,” he said.

He added: “A living wage must buy a living. It is not a privilege; it is a basic right.”

“Tinubu has made life painfully expensive. I will make life affordable again,” Atiku said.