Niger Seeks FG’s Financial Assistance in Minna-Bida Road Construction

Laleye Dipo in Minna

The Niger State Government has approached the federal government for financial support to enable it continue work on the 79-kilometre Minna-Bida road dualization project.

The state government awarded the contract for the project to an indigenous construction company two years ago and approached the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) for a $181 billion loan for the funding of the job.

Though the job has commenced, it is being executed at snail speed partly due to poor funding and the government’s inability to meet the conditions set out by the IDB for the release of the $181 billion loan.

As a result, the state government has gone cap in hand to the federal government through the Minister of Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN), for financial bailout for the speedy completion of the project which has become a source of concern to the administration and a nightmare to motorists plying the road.

Governor Abubakar Sani Bello, it was gathered, personally wrote a letter to the minister, seeking the federal government’s assistance to guarantee the IDB loan to the tune of N23 billion being the counterpart funding demanded by the international financial institution.

In the letter dated November 12, 2021 with the caption: ‘Approval for the Rehabilitation and Reconstruction of Critical Roads In Niger State’, Bello confirmed that IDB did not only approve the loan, but has agreed to disburse the fund on making available cash or source for the state’s counterparts funding amounting to N23,818,530,043.06 which has been a big constraint for the state.

“Following from the above, Niger State Government wishes to appeal to the federal government to go ahead and disburse the sum of N23,818,530,043.06 to the contractor on certification of work done by the ministry,” the letter further read.

In addition, the governor asked for a letter from the ministry to be presented to the IDB as evidence of the federal government’s willingness to guarantee the loan.

According to Bello in the letter, he wants the federal government, through the Federal Ministry of Works, to “confirm that Dantata and Sawoe is the contractor working on Bida-Minna road and also on site”.

It could not be confirmed if the federal government has reacted to the request more than two months after the letter was written to the federal government.

However, skeletal work is ongoing at the Minna end of the project.