The Federal Executive Council (FEC), presided over by President Bola Tinubu has approved the demolition of Carter Bridge in Lagos and its reconstruction with over N5billion.

Minister of Works, David Umahi disclosed this on Wednesday, March 4.

Umahi confirmed that the President also approved several major road projects across the country.

Umahi noted that six major projects received approval.

Among those approved by the council includes the completion of the Suleja-Minna Road, which had earlier been awarded to Salini Construction Company but later terminated due to poor performance.

According to him, only about 10 kilometres of the project had been executed before the contract was cancelled.

Umahi explained that after reviewing the project, the government resolved to complete the remaining 71 kilometres dual carriageway, adding that one carriageway has now been awarded to China Geo-Engineering Corporation (CGC) at a cost of N91 billion, while the second carriageway has also received Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) clearance.

He said President Tinubu directed that the road be constructed using reinforced concrete to ensure durability.

The minister further announced that FEC approved N5.6 billion for the design and costing of a new Carter Bridge project in Lagos, explaining that the existing bridge can no longer be rehabilitated.

He confirmed that government would demolish the current structure and construct a new one based on recommendations from technical assessments.

“The stakeholders’ engagement and technical reviews showed that the Carter Bridge can no longer be rehabilitated. It has to be demolished and a completely new bridge constructed,” Umahi said.

He added that Advanced Engineering Consultants was engaged to carry out the full design and cost evaluation ahead of the procurement process for construction.

On another project, Umahi said FEC approved the review and rescoping of the Kano-Kongolam Road, a tax credit project originally awarded in 2022.

The project, which covers 132 kilometres across Kano, Jigawa and Katsina states, was initially planned as an asphalt road but has now been redesigned.

Yobe State Governor, Mai Mala Buni, has made a powerful declaration, saying he would rather die than to betray his political godfather and current Minister of Police Affairs, Alhaji Ibrahim Gaidam.

Buni made the declaration on Tuesday while addressing delegates shortly after the conclusion of All Progressives Congress, (APC), congress held in Damaturu, the Yobe State capital.

“I would rather die than betray our mentor, Alhaji Ibrahim Gaidam. I remain deeply grateful to him for the role he played in my political journey.

“I will never forget where I am coming from, and I will never turn my back on the man who trusted and supported me,” he said.

He told the gathering that noted political career are built on trust, noting that he is a product of trust.

“I always want to be remembered as someone who never betrays anybody,” he declared.

The governor charged the newly elected party officials in the state to remain steadfast, urging them to uphold trust and integrity in the discharge of their responsibilities.

Amid the ongoing tension in Iran, former Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Political Matters, Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, has said that Nigeria too is in trouble.

Baba-Ahmed stated this on Tuesday during an interview on Trust TV monitored by Ekwutosblog.

He was speaking about the attack on Iran by the United States and its ally, Israel.

Ekwutosblog had reported that the US and Israeli launched air strikes on Iran on Saturday resulting in the death of its Supreme Leader and other top political office holders.

Airing his own opinion, Baba-Ahmed said, “Nigeria too is in trouble. We are not safe with what is going on in Iran.

“The world is by now aware of the fact that two days ago, the United States of America and Israel attacked the State of Iran, killed its leader and a number of very senior political and military officers, as well as a number of other citizens.

“Clearly, the United States had decided to affect regime change, meaning removal of the entire leadership of Iran and maybe installing a different one, or giving a chance to the citizens of Iran to choose who will next govern them.

“Unfortunately, it doesn’t work as neatly as leaders like President Donald Trump think. What we are likely to have is what we are beginning to see now, a lot of chaos, prolonged crisis, both within Iran and around it, and a lot of uproar around the world.”