News
Rising Prices: Oborevwori cautions contractors to speed up work
Delta State Governor, Hon Sheriff Oborevwori, has cautioned contractors working on state government projects to speed up work in view of rising construction costs.
Speaking during the inspection of ongoing construction works at Uduere Road, Okogbe Road, Oyakhinagha and Edo streets, all in Ughelli, on Friday, Governor Oborevwori, who frowned over it, warned that such reviews would only be done by taking into account
the percentage of work already done by applicant contractors.
The governor cautioned contractors working on state government projects to speed up work in view of rising construction costs.
Oborevwori, who was conducted round the projects by the commissioner for works, (Highways and Urban Roads), Comrade Reuben Izeze and his rural and riverine road counterpart, Mr Charles Aniagwu, said the Ughelli ring road contract was awarded on August 8, 2023 to help decongest traffic from the Otovwodo junction.
He urged the contractors to speed up the pace of work. “I have come to ascertain the work that has been done so that we know how to channel our funds.
“I said during my inauguration that we will consolidate on existing roads and also award new ones and this road is part of the new roads that we initiated and awarded.
“Let me emphasize that the contractor must hasten up because if they continue to slow down, when the rain comes, it will wash away the sharp sand on the road.
“If they can fill and compact during this dry season and stabilise the road, we won’t have problems during the rainy season. Because of the nature of this area, these drains are very necessary to help evacuate water from the road and without these drains, the road will not last.
“The challenge here is that the Otovwodo people dump refuse on drains; so, I want to appeal to the residents of this area to stop dumping refuse in the drain to make the water flow freely.
“I am satisfied with the quality of work I have seen today but am not satisfied with the pace of the work because, in three months from now, we are going into the rainy season and that’s my challenge.
“So, I am appealing to the contractors to see how they can work faster. We know prices are going up; so, they should not delay.
“When you delay, you are still going to do the work; so, why the delay? If you are waiting for an upward review before you do your work, you are making a big mistake because we will look at the extent to which you have worked before any review. So, if we want to do an upward review, we will do it according to the extent of work done.”
He also appealed to residents to stop dumping waste in the drains.
By Kayode Sanni-Arewa
US President-elect, Donald Trump’s incoming administration plans to immediately order a series of deportation raids targeting illegal immigrants after his inauguration.
Chicago is expected to be the first major city targeted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents as part of Operation Safeguard, the New York Times reported, citing two people familiar with planning the undertaking.
The massive deportation operation is expected to target criminals and gang members in the United States illegally and run for one week.
Trump has promised to conduct the largest deportation program in U.S. history.
Up to 200 ICE agents are being sent to Chicago to help kick off the operation on Tuesday, the Wall Street Journal reported. The agency has already asked agents to volunteer for the post-inauguration raids.
“There’s gonna be a big raid across the country,” Tom Homan, who will be in charge of U.S. borders once Trump takes office, told Fox News in an interview.
Homan has previously said he will instruct ICE agents to carry out raids on illegal immigrants at their workplaces.
In addition to Chicago, the sweeping crackdown will also target other major U.S. cities with large immigrant populations.
Trump is set to take the oath of office on Monday, January 20, in an inauguration that will take place indoors.
By Kayode Sanni-Arewa
A faith-based civil society organization, CSO that monitors and reports on Hajj and Umrah activities, the Independent Hajj Reporters, IHR, has commended the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria, NAHCON, for selecting a different Saudi-based Hajj service provider for the 2025 Hajj season.
It said the decision would create healthy competition among service providers interested in efficiently, qualitatively, and satisfactorily serving Nigerian pilgrims.
The CSO, in a statement signed by its National Coordinator, Malam Ibrahim Muhammed, in Makkah, Saudi Arabia, and made available to our correspondent on Sunday in Abuja, said the quest for improved Hajj services has been a major challenge for Nigerian pilgrims owing to the repeated failure of providing satisfactory services.
”We applauded the decision to pick another service provider that will cater for the needs of pilgrims within the Masha’ir areas during the five days of Hajj,” he said
The national coordinator, who is currently in Saudi Arabia to monitor the pre-Hajj arrangements, said available information shows that the new company, Mashariq Al Dhahabia, is an experienced provider that has served top-rated Hajj countries, like Indonesia and Malaysia, and ranked among the top five Hajj service providers by the Saudi Arabia Ministry of Hajj and Umrah.
“The company served 249 706 which is the largest number of Hajj pilgrims during the 2023 hajj. They were awarded as the Best Hajj Service Providers during the 2022 Hajj by the Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah,” he stated.
IHR said it further understood that NAHCON is planning to recruit another service provider to provide services for very important personalities, VIP pilgrims so as not to repeat the experience of previous years, which is also a desired step forward.
It, however, urged NAHCON to set a parameter of performance for the newly selected service providers to serve as a baseline for determining continuous patronage, advising that such criteria should be based on pilgrims’ satisfaction and adherence to contractual terms.
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