From Ahmed Rufai, Dutse
In response to the recent flood disaster that ravaged parts of Jigawa State, the government has allocated N8.3 billion for the rehabilitation of damaged infrastructure.
Managing Director of the Jigawa State Road Maintenance Agency (JIRMA) Eng. Abbas Muhammad Lalai, has indicated that the funds will be used to repair and reconstruct roads, bridges, and culverts washed away by the floods.

Lalai disclosed that tenders for the projects have been opened at the Ministry of Works and Transport, marking a significant step towards restoring the state’s road network.

“Governor Malam Umar Namadi’s administration has prioritized the rehabilitation efforts to ensure the state’s roads are safe and functional, supporting economic and social activities.

“The investment demonstrates the government’s commitment to mitigating the impact of the flood disaster and ensuring the state’s infrastructure is resilient and sustainable.”

Media reports blaming the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd (NNPCL) for the delay in the execution of $2.8billion Ajaokuta – Kaduna – Kano (AKK) Gas Pipeline Project has been debunked by one of the contractors, Brentex CPP Limited (BCL).

The company rather affirmed that it has received substantial support from NNPCL in delivering its segment of the AKK Gas Pipeline Project.
Brentex issued the clarification following its appearance at a Senate Committee on Local Content hearing on Tuesday.

The Senate through the committee had expressed displeasure at the delay in the execution of $2.8billion Ajaokuta – Kaduna – Kano (AKK) Gas Pipeline Project by Brentex CCP Limited.

The Committee Chaired by Senator Natasha Akpoti – Uduaghan (PDP Kogi Central) had taken on the management of Brentex CPP Limited, over $1.27billion stations execution component of the contract during the interactive session with them.

Some reports had claimed that Sani Abubakar, chairman of Brentex CPP Limited, informed the committee of attempts by NNPCL to descope the $1.27 billion station component of the contract.
However, Brentex, in a statement, absolved NNPCL of any wrongdoing mentioned in the reports.
The company clarified that the committee had requested BCL to confirm its commitment to deliver its segment (318 km x 40” Segment 2) of the project by the first quarter of 2025.
Brentex responded by stating that it has completed over 80% of the actual pipeline construction work, including crossings.
The company added that it is collaborating with NNPCL to deliver all the stations by the first quarter of 2025, except for two Terminal Gas Stations (TGS), which are currently under descope discussions between NNPCL and BCL.
The company also clarified that the $1.27 billion mentioned in some reports pertains to the entire value of the Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) Segment 2 contract, not the value of the two TGS.
It also said the two TGS stations represent only about 10% of the contract value.
The statement said, “We are one of the two contractors, and there are two segments of the project. BCL is only the contractor for segment 2 of the AKK project-Sarkin Pawa in Niger State to Tamburawa in Kano State.
“For the purpose of emphasis, BCL wishes to add that it is very proud with the progress of its work.
“The company said that any check will confirm that BCL’s performance is easily the best in the history of government-funded pipeline construction projects in Nigeria.
“Furthermore, BCL has always recognised the support it receives from the leadership of the NNPCL, without which we may have had no magic to deliver on this project.”

The Deputy Governor of Benue State, Samuel Ode has reiterated the determination of the State to embark on digital infrastructure development project with Initial take off cost N10, 8b.
He said the project when fully in place will not only tackle insecurity but enhance the revenue of the state, data protection, traffic management, motor traffic management and other areas.
He spoke at Huawei Technologies Center, Central Business District, Abuja at a Memorandum of Understanding Signing Ceremony for all Service Providers and Benue Digital Infrastructure Company (BDIC) on Tuesday.
According to Ode, “The executive governor of Benue State, Reverend Father Dr. Hyacinth Alia as chairman of the BNSTC Council on the 3rd of May 2024 along with other council members including myself as vice chairman, approved the Benue infrastructure development project.
“Consequently, he nominated me as a chairman of the Implementation Committee.”
He said the signing ceremony of the relationship that is about to commence between Benue State Government and service providers and other stakeholders is a conscious effort to reposition the state to align with the international best practice in the provision of the digital infrastructure projects for the service of the state and beyond.
“One of the charge that I gave to the committee upon inauguration was that we were going to move away from the normal bureaucratic bottlenecks that usually impede the smooth implementation of programs and projects for governments.
“For those of you in the corporate world and the private sector your biggest fear in dealing with government and agencies of government is bureaucratic bottlenecks and the second aspect of it is corruption.
“The Benue government is bold enough to embrace technology because we believe that we have nothing to hide. We want to join the rest of the world and do what is right at all times.
“We have decided that we will move with the speed of light and walk the talk in doing these jobs we have avoided.

“We have avoided the endless meetings that are always associated with government programs. We have tried to be as businesslike as possible. And that’s why today we are here to join all of you to execute this memorandum of understanding.
“I think today marks the watershed for the implementation of this very important project.
The Deputy Governor said the State Government on the journey will abide by all the rules, the laws and the regulations that will govern the relationship as they start today moving forward.
“We are going to keep our books open
and all the implementation strategies at every point in time will be communicated to all stakeholders we intend to do this business as a business and not as another extension of government.
“We’re here to give you this assurance as a form of comfort so that we can all be on the same page. I want to thank our hosts, Huawei, who have given us this platform.
While fielding questions from newsmen at the occasion on whether the project is going to ensure the empowerment of youths and also create job opportunities he indicated that a major core of the investment platform is the training of youths in ICT.
The Deputy Governor pointed out that even before the initiative the Government had embarked on the plan to train about 60,000 youths.
“We have already started with 10,000 and paid fully for that service. So by the time we develop this platform, you can imagine the number that we’ll be dealing with. For us, we, as state, we know that that’s the best way to go. ”
On how specifically the infrastructure will tackle insecurity, he said,
“The details of the security architecture that is going to be covered by this initiative is better not discussed publicly. But I can assure you that when we deploy, the benefits of this infrastructure will cover just beyond security. “We’re talking about data protection, we’re talking about traffic management, motor traffic management, we are talking about enhanced revenue and all of that.
“You know there is a nexus around unemployment and the insecurity you find around this country today. If we are able to lift our youth out of the streets, you know, and lift them out of poverty, most of these things you see today will not happen because they will not be available to be recruited for antisocial activities and syndicated crime.
“You have a moving train moving at a very high speed, and it comes to a station, and you have the opportunity to hop onto that train, and the train moves again. That’s where we are. The digital world is moving at a very fast pace.
“The Benue State government has only identified that we need to jump onto that train for us to be able to move to the next station. And that’s the opportunity that we have. So there is not stopping this project. It’s a global trend. And so we’re just jumping into a train that’s already moving.
“We don’t even have the ability to stop it. So I give you that assurance. It’s just not a pathway. This is a relationship of stakeholders who have carved a niche for themselves in this particular sector.
“So you have my assurance that we have done due diligence to identify the partners that are assembled here in this hall today and for us we believe that there is no stopping us.
“Talking about funding, we need to be very careful about talking about exact figures. The project analysis, the cost analysis, have been done quite all right. But we still need to sit down and develop a plan. So the funding of this project is a continuous exercise.
He gave the finatial projections to include initial take-off of N10.8b while the projected inflow is N158b, gross income is N77.5b and expected expenditure N86.4b
The companies involved included, Benue Digital Infrastructure Company PLC (BDIC), Gamint Corporate Ltd and
Unicloud Africa Limited