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FG Begins Maintenance Of 32-kilometre Roads In Bauchi

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The Federal Government through the Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA) has kick-started the maintenance and repair of 32-kilometre roads in Bauchi state ahead of the rainy season.

Engr Nanpan Joroh, the Federal Road Maintenance Engineer of FERMA, Bauchi Field Office, stated this in an interview with newsmen on Wednesday.

Joroh, who assured that the Federal Government is more concerned about the safety of lives of Nigerians plying the roads on a daily basis and more especially, during festive periods, said this, was the reason behind the maintenance of the major roads.

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The engineer explained that the projects were under the 2024 budget, adding that even though the contractors delayed reporting to site, the works were almost completed.

READ ALSO: Bauchi Assembly Passes Bill To Establish Sanitary Pad Banks

Presently, we have three contractors working on our various sites in Bauchi state. The main one is the Bauchi-Jos road and the contractor is almost 100 per cent completion of the projects.

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“The project is covering 20 kilometres towards the Plateau state border, and when you go there now you will see that it’s potholes-free and we did a lot of overlays along the road.

“Secondly, we have another ongoing project along Bauchi-Gombe road and that one is covering about 5 kilometers along Alkaleri town where the contractor did some patchings and long stretches.

“They are doing everything possible to make the road very motorable for road users because that road is in a very bad shape.

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READ ALSO: Bauchi Sets Up Committee To Advance Education

“They are making the area to be potholes free so people can use the location properly and without any hitch. This particular road is 50 per cent completion,” said the engineer.

Similarly, he explained that a contractor is currently working on the Kari-Yana road around Jigawa state border, saying that the project involved patchings of potholes.

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“There is also a location of washouts where the road is almost cutting off there and they are trying to reset the place so that during the rainy season, the road will not cut off.

READ ALSO: EFCC Nabs 21 Suspected Internet Fraudsters In Bauchi

“The contractor is there now trying to do retaining walls, backfill and then do concrete protection to make the road stable so that it will not cut off during the rainy season.”

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Joroh, who lauded the pace at which the contractors were working on the roads, expressed optimism that the projects would be completed within the next one month.

He however, appealed to the management of FERMA to consider some of the proposals sent on various washout locations that occured during last year’s rainy season so as to tackle them before the 2025 rainy season in the state.

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NiMet Predicts Three-day Rain, Thunderstorms From Monday

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JUST IN: Ooni Visits Olubadan-designate Ladoja In Ibadan

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The Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Ogunwusi, on Sunday, paid a visit to the Olubadan designate, Rashidi Ladoja, at his Bodija private residence in Ibadan, Oyo State.

The PUNCH reports that Oba Ladoja will be installed as the 44th Olubadan on Friday, September 26, 2025, following the demise of the 43rd Olubadan, Oba Owolabi Olakulehin, who joined his ancestors on Monday, July 7, 2025, at the age of 90 years.

READ ALSO:Ladoja Coronation Date As 44th Olubadan Revealed

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The two paramount rulers are currently exchanging pleasantries.

Details later…

 

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JUST IN: FG Revokes 1,263 Mineral Licenses Over Unpaid Fees

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The Federal Government through the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development has announced a fresh revocation of not less than 1,263 mineral licenses.

These licenses, which will now be deleted from the Electronic Mining Cadastral System portal of the Nigerian Mining Cadastral Office, include 584 exploration licenses, 65 mining leases, 144 quarry licenses, and 470 small-scale mining leases.

The minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, gave the revocation announcement in a statement issued by his special assistant on Media, Segun Tomori, on Sunday in Abuja.

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The minister explained that the directive was issued due to the companies’ failure to comply with the requirement of paying their annual service fees.

The latest revocation brings the total mineral titles revoked under the current administration to 3, 794 including,619 mineral titles revoked for defaulting in paying annual service fees and 912 for dormancy last year.

READ ALSO:FG Introduces Chinese Language Into School Curriculum

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By opening up the areas formerly covered by these licenses, the revocation is expected to spur fresh applications by investors looking for fresh opportunities.

The statement read, “Not less than 1,263 mineral licenses will be deleted from the portal of the Electronic Mining Cadastral system of the Nigerian Mining Cadastral Office, MCO, following their revocation by the Federal Government.

“These include 584 exploration licenses, 65 mining leases, 144 quarry licenses, and 470 small-scale mining leases.”

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Approving the revocation following the recommendation of the MCO, the Minister said applying the law to keep speculators and unserious investors away from the mining sector would make way for diligent investors and grow the sector.

The era of obtaining licences and keeping them in drawers for the highest bidder, while financially capable and industrious businessmen are complaining of access to good sites, is over.

READ ALSO:FG Gives Mining Firms Deadline For Community Agreements

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“The annual service fee is the minimum evidence that you are interested in mining. You don’t have to wait for us to revoke the license because the law allows you to return the license if you change your mind,” the minister said.

He warned that the revocation does not mean the Federal Government has pardoned the annual service debt owed by licensees, adding that the list will be forwarded to the Economic & Financial Crimes Commission to ensure that debtors pay or face the wrath of the law.

This is to encourage due diligence and emphasise the consequences of inundating the license application processes with speculative activities.”

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In the recommendation to the minister, the Director-General of the MCO, Simon Nkom, disclosed that there were 1,957 initial defaulters when the MCO published the intention to revoke licences in the Federal Government Gazette on June 19, 2025.

He informed the minister that the gazette was distributed to MCO offices nationwide to sensitise licencees and encourage them to comply within 30 days in compliance with the Minerals and Mining Act 2007 and relevant regulations.

READ ALSO:FG Gazettes New Tax Reform Laws

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He observed that the delay in the final recommendation was due to complaints of several licensees who claimed to have paid to the Federal Government through Remita and had to be reconciled.

Earlier this month, the DG MCO had hinted that more mining licences would be revoked as part of ongoing efforts to sanitise the solid minerals sector and protect investors from fraudsters.

According to Nkom, the clean-up exercise, which covers expired, speculative, and inactive titles, is necessary to make room for genuine investors and ensure compliance with the law.

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This is part of ongoing efforts at sanitising the sector since the inception of the Tinubu administration, and the salutary effects of the reforms are massive and manifest despite the attempts to push back by defaulters and their agents.

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