The Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, has blamed the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, for the delay in the construction of the Second Niger Bridge.
According to him, the Monday sit-at-home order usually enforced by the proscribed group has been delaying the completion of the bridge.
He, however, stated that the bridge and other projects will be completed in 2022.
Fashola was speaking while addressing State House correspondents during a special ministerial briefing organised by the Presidential Communications Team, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
He said, “The Lagos-Ibadan Expressway will be delivered this year, subject to how we navigate the pricing issues. Second Niger Bridge also this year, while the main carriageway of Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano Expressway is scheduled for completion by the second quarter of 2023 before the President leaves office at the end of his tenure.
“On the Second Niger Bridge, one of the challenges we are facing on the Anambra side of the project is the stay-at-home order on Mondays and every day we don’t work, there is time lost.
“On the second Niger Bridge, we are going to shut down the power supply from one of the power plants for maintenance. On Abuja-Kano road, we have to relocate transmission lines; we have to move people who have set up markets along the roads and so on.
“So, these are some of the challenges we are facing and then there are compensation issues and we are working with Governors, who control land in their states to help us overcome these local issues.”
