FG to create special funding for Gombe-Biu road

The federal government will create special funding for the Gombe-Biu road, the permanent secretary, Federal Ministry of Works and Housing, Hassan Musa, has disclosed.

Mr Musa made this known when members of the House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations led by its Chairman Muktar Betara (APC, Borno), paid a working visit to the ministry in Abuja on Monday.

Other members of the committee on the visit were Ahmed Jaha (APC, Borno) and Kabir Tukura (APC, Kebbi).

PREMIUM TIMES had reported that the Chairman of the House Committee on Works, Kabir Abubakar (APC, Kano), during the debate on the 2022 budget, decried the allocation to the construction and rehabilitation of roads.

The federal government has been using the Presidential Infrastructure Development Fund (PIDF) to fund major infrastructure projects across the country.

While speaking on the roads, Mr Musa said the Federal Executive Council would consider Gombe-Biu road and others for special funding.

“On behalf of President Muhammadu Buhari administration and on behalf of the honourable Minister, Babatunde Raji Fashola, I want to confirm that we are creating a new funding for that road and the contractor will be given all necessary enablement for him to be able to deliver on that road,” he said.

He added that “waiting for the rains to abate and hopefully as the rains are abating now we intend to engage all our contractors and make them go to the site to work assiduously, more so that we now have a sustainable funding window which would give them the opportunity to be paid immediately their works are certified.”

Speaking on behalf of the lawmakers, Mr Betara said even though he is the Chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations, there is a limit he can allocate to that road.

He stated that the contract for that road was awarded over five years ago, but there have been challenges with funding.