By Grace Alegba

Mr Funsho Adebiyi, Nigeria’s Coordinating Director, Highway Construction and Rehabilitation has said that the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway will be completed and totally opened to traffic in December.

Adebiyi, who spoke against the backdrop of an inspection tour of the ongoing Lagos-Ibadan Expressway rehabilitation and reconstruction project, said the dual carriageway would be completed, but the bridges would be completed in April 2022.

He reaffirmed the completion figures earlier presented by Mr Adedamola Kuti, the Director, Federal Highways, South West who said that by December the entire carriageway would be completed.

Kuti said that the project had reached 49.6 percent completion on the first section being handled by Julius Berger and 56.8 percent on the section handled by RCC.

He said that 32 out of 43.6 kilometres of work had been completed and section two which is 84 kilometers has more than 50 kilometres completed on both carriageways.

“This corridor of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway apart from all the fly overs by the time we are coming to December this year, I think there will be substantial progress.

“Section one is 49.6 per cent completed, section two is 56.8 per cent, so, we are making progress,” he said.

He assured speedy completion of all ongoing works in Lagos and the rest of the South West.

Shedding more light, Adebiyi said that the entire dual carriageway would be completed and opened to traffic while work continues on the bridges.

“Our plan is that by the end of this year, the entire stretch of the road will be available, the pavement, carriageway will be completed but you have the interchanges before the end of April next year,” he said.

He said discussions were on with the Oyo State Government on Right of Way recovery for reconstruction works to continue around the toll gate area.

While inspecting section two of the highway being constructed by RCC, he said that a thickness of 300mm materials were compressed on various layers to make the road strong and durable.

He said 55km of work was completed on the Ibadan bound lane and 44 km on the Lagos bound carriageway.

He said measures were on to ensure that the number of houses to be demolished on the alignment of section one, adding that enumeration of properties on the Right of Way were to pay compensations.

“Compensation issues are sensitive matters, I am extremely careful in talking about it, but no structure can be demolished except if we have evaluated correctly the contents of that structure.

“Again, we confirm the ownership, and we have estate surveyors who have been appointed to go round these houses, evaluate them and report back to us,” he said.

Adebiyi who was accompanied on the trip by the controllers of Lagos, Oyo and Ogun states on the trip listed various alternative funding to fast track the highway linking the nation’s port.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the reconstruction/rehabilitation of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway was flagged-off in 2013 and was awarded to two firms.

Julius Berger is constructing section one which stretches from Ojota in Lagos to Sagamu Interchange, while RCC is working from the Sagamu Interchange to Ibadan. (NAN)

By Tosin Kolade

President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the renewal of tenure for seven managing directors of the River Basin Development Authorities.

The president also approved the appointment of new managing directors for two other River Basin development Authorities.

Mrs Kenechukwu Offie, Director, Press and Public Relations in the Ministry of Water Resources made this known in a statement in Abuja on Thursday evening.

According to the statement, the appointment took effect from Jan. 5.

The managing directors whose appointments were renewed for a second and final term are; Prof. Abdulkarim Muhammad, Upper Niger River Basin Development Authority, and Dr Adeniyi Aremu, Lower Niger River Basin Development Authority, Ilorin.

Others include, Saliu Ahmed, Managing Director, Benin-Owena River Basin Development Authority, and Muhammad Adra, Managing Director, Lower Benue River Basin Development Authority, Makurdi.

The list also include, Mr Olufemi Odumosu, Ogun- Osun River Basin Development Authority, Mr Bassey Nkposong, Cross River Basin Development Authority, and Bature Mohammed, Managing Director, Sokoto Rima River Basin Development Authority, Sokoto.

The managing directors on first term appointments are, Ma’amun Da’u Aliyu, Managing Director, Hadejia Jama’are River Basin Development Authority and Mark Darefaka, Managing Director, Niger Delta Basin Development Authority.

The President also approved the appointment of Mr. Aminu Abba as Executive Director, Agricultural Services, Hadejia Jama’are River Basin Development Authority, Kano. (NAN)

By Gabriel Agbeja

The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) has predicted sunshine and haziness across the country from Thursday to Sunday.

NiMet’s weather outlook released on Wednesday in Abuja predicted sunny and hazy conditions over northern and North Central region throughout the forecast period .

According to it, partly cloudy skies with intervals of sunshine are expected over the inland cities of South throughout the forecast period.

It anticipated coastal cities of the South to be mostly cloudy with chances of a few thunderstorms over coastal parts of Bayelsa, Edo, Delta and Akwa Ibom later in the afternoon and evening period.

“For Friday, dust haze condition is anticipated over the northern region. The North Central region should be in sunny and hazy condition throughout the forecast period.

“Partly cloudy skies with intervals of sunshine are expected over the inland cities throughout the forecast period.

“Partly cloudy skies with intervals of sunshine are expected over the coastal cities with prospects of thunderstorm over parts of Lagos during the morning hours,” it said.

According to NiMet, dust haze condition is anticipated over the North and North Central region throughout the forecast period on Saturday.

The agency forecast inland cities of the South to be in sunny condition with patches of cloud throughout the forecast period.

It further forecast cloudy skies with intervals of sunshine over coastal cities of South with chances of isolated thunderstorms over parts of Benin and Akwa-Ibom later in the afternoon and evening hours. (NAN)

By Olukayode Babalola

Nasarawa State Fire Service is looking for female firefighters.

Alhaji Dalhatu Dogara, its Chief Fire Officer said on Wednesday in Lafia that there were only four female fire fighters in the state.

Dogara observed that the need for more women to join the fire service became imperative because some residents hold the belief that if their houses went on fire, male firefighters should be prohibited from accessing the scene.

“We live in an area where some do not want males to fight fire in their houses because of their women. With more women in the service, we can use them to access the households and lecture them on how to prevent fire outbreaks,’’ he said.

He said the four female firefighters in the state “have been participating gallantly in fire fighting and their performances make us call for more to join the service’’.

Dogara said the service received 172 distress calls in 2020, out of which 155 were on fire incidents, eight for rescue operations and nine false calls.

He said eight lives were lost to fire in the state in 2020, but that the service saved four other lives.

“The estimated value of property lost as a result of the fire outbreaks was about N201 million, while the estimated value of property saved was N2.7 billion. Most of the fire incidents occurred in residences,’’ he said. (NAN)

By Ezra Musa

Seventy-six persons died in 615 fire incidents recorded in Kaduna State in 2020, the Director of the state Fire Service, Mr Paul Aboi, has said.

The director said this in Kaduna on Tuesday during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

He said 139 others were injured in the fire incidents, while 85 people were rescued.

The director said the state lost more than N2.5 billion to the fire outbreaks, while properties worth N5 billion were salvaged.

According to him, the number of fire incidents increased from 523 in 2019 to 615 in 2020 due to negligence of residents in spite of series of enlightenment.

He said electricity was the major cause of the outbreaks and advised the people to be vigilant as any object could trigger a fire.

“ When there is fire, we want the people to call us in good time and motorists should give way for our fire engines to get to those emergencies in good time, “ he said.

Aboi attributed the delay in responding to distress calls on time to distance and inadequate manpower.

“Distance is a challenge as some roads are not friendly and fire will not wait till the firemen get there.”

The director urged the state government to recruit more firemen to replace those that died or retired so as to bridge the manpower gap in the service.

“I have 74 staff across the state and will need more to meet up to the challenges in the years .

The director also stressed the need for residents to switch off all electrical appliances when not in use and to keep inflammable materials away from their homes.

He said the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) was also working on a plan to sensitise the public on the importance of cooperating and supporting fire fighters to carry out their duties without molestation. (NAN)

By Gabriel Agbeja

The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) has predicted sunshine and haziness across the nation from Saturday to Monday.

NiMet`s weather outlook released on Friday in Abuja predicted sunny and hazy conditions over the northern region on Saturday.

According to it, the North Central region should be in sunny condition with partly cloudy skies over some parts of the region throughout the forecast period.

“Partly cloudy skies with intervals of sunshine are expected over the inland cities with prospect of few thunderstorms over parts of Edo, Delta and Ogun in the afternoon and evening period.

“The coastal cities of the South should be mostly cloudy with chances of few thunderstorms over the coastal parts of Rivers, Bayelsa and Cross Rivers in the morning hours.

“Later in the day, few thunderstorms are expected over parts of Akwa Ibom, Rivers and Cross Rivers, ” it said.

The agency forecast sunny and hazy conditions over the region in the morning hours of Sunday.

It further forecast dust haze over the northern region later in the day.

NiMet envisaged the North Central region to be in sunny condition in the morning and partly cloudy skies with intervals of sunshine in the afternoon and evening period.

According to it, partly cloudy skies with intervals of sunshine are expected over inland and coastal cities with prospects of few thunderstorms over parts of Cross river and Akwa Ibom state during the afternoon and evening period.

The agency anticipated dust haze conditions over the northern regions on Monday.

“The North Central region should be in sunny condition in the morning, while partly cloudy skies with intervals of sunshine are expected in the afternoon and evening period.

“Partly cloudy skies with intervals of sunshine are expected over the inland cities throughout the forecast period.

“ Partly cloudy skies with intervals of sunshine are expected over the coastal cities with prospects of few thunderstorms over parts of Cross River, Akwa Ibom and River during the afternoon and evening hours, “ it said. (NAN)

By Bosede Olufunmi

The Kano State Fire Service says 134 lives and property worth N635million were lost to fire incidents in the state from Jan.1 to Dec.31, 2020.

Alhaji Saidu Muhammad, the Public Relations Officer of the Service said this while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), in Kano on Tuesday.

Muhammad said that the service also saved 1,077 lives and property worth N2. 56 billion in 786 fire incidents during the period.

“Most of the fire outbreaks were caused by carelessness in handling cooking gas, use of inferior electrical appliances and poor wiring in homes.

“About 134 lives and property worth N635 million were lost to fire in the period under review,” he said.

Muhammad said that the service recorded 693 rescue calls and 184 false alarms during the period.

He said that the service plans to retrain its 350 staff in 2021 for effective performance.

Muhammed advised residents to always handle fire with care to prevent fire outbreaks.

“Parents should desist from sending under aged children to fetch water from wells, rivers or ponds alone.(NAN)