By SUNDAY ABBA, Abuja
The Nigerian new Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, upon assumption of office at the Works ministry on Monday, declared his intention to kickstart with a tour of road projects across the six geo-political zones of the country.
The minister, who headed straight to the Federal Ministry of Works after his inauguration alongside other ministers by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the State House Villa Banquet Hall, Abuja, said he would embark on the inspection of the Lokojo-Benue, Lokoja-Abuja roads on Tuesday (today).
The former governor of Ebonyi state also charged engineers to embrace the use of concrete technology amid forex challenges and petroleum crises and declared that his office would patronise local content to develop the Nigerian economy.
He said: “ I am not an office person, I am a field person which means, we are going to make changes, we are starting inspection tours to inspect ongoing projects and to know the ones to come up with next. So we’ll be touring the six geo-political zones to see things for ourselves.
“I will challenge my fellow engineers on the issue of concrete technology even amid forex challenges and petroleum crises, the nation is endowed with natural resources so we should be prepared for the renewed hope of the present government anchored on change.
‘’I have indicated to see the contractors and meet with them, and after taking briefings from the head of departments, we will meet with the contractors. I am not an office person, I am a field person. For some of you in that department, we will be inspecting the Lokojo-Benin, Lokoja-Abuja roads tomorrow (Tuesday).
He also vowed that under his watch files would not stay beyond two hours to be treated, but on the contrary, the erring officers must explain while they are delayed.
‘’Under my leadership, no file will stay for more than two hours. In two weeks, I will be in the field and I will settle down only when I have seen. We will activate local content during our tenure in the administration,” Umahi said.
Earlier, the representative of the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Engr Florunsho Esan, had welcomed the minister and pledged the ministry’s unflinching support toward a successful tenure in the ministry.
Speaking, the Deputy Senate President, Senator Barau Jibrin, expressed confidence in Umahi’s ability to deliver on his mandate, saying that at the end of his tenure, Umahi may emerge as the best minister of works in the annal of history.
The Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Kalu, Monday, declared the readiness of the 10th National Assembly to support infrastructural development across the country.
Kalu, who spoke in Abuja at the reception held in honour of the Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi in Abuja, also pledged the support of the Federal lawmakers to the minister to succeed in his new assignment.
The reception, which was organised by the Ebonyi State Government had Chief Bisi Akande, Deputy Senate President, Senator Barau Jibrin; Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Kalu, Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State, among other dignitaries in attendance.
The deputy speaker, who thanked President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for appointing Umahi as a minister, tasked the minister to employ a collaborative approach as he did as a governor of Ebonyi in the discharge of his duties.
To this end, he tasked Umahi to key into the road investment fund as a method of financing his road projects and also asked him to project the privatisation approach as part of his methods as a minister of works.
In his address, the Ebonyi State Governor, Hon. Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru, lauded the choice of Umahi as the works minister, saying that he used his expertise to transform Ebonyi State.
The Chairman of the Progressives Governors’ Forum and the Imo state Governor, Senator Hope Uzodinma, said Umahi as the former governor of Ebonyi state had demonstrated the capacity to deliver on his new mandate.
Responding, Umahi expressed his gratitude to God and President Tinubu for the opportunity to serve the nation, saying that he is a minister for all Nigerians and pledged not to betray the confidence reposed in him.