By Ismail Auwal
Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal has approved the sum of N4.5 billion for the reconstruction of bridges affected by floods about two years ago.
The state government also allocated N520 million for the expansion of urban infrastructure projects.
An additional N467 million will be spent on the procurement of drilling materials. Equally, an additional N325 million has been earmarked for the variation of two rural infrastructures’ contracts.
The State Executive Council in a meeting presided by Governor Aminu Tambuwal has deliberated on the field surveys currently being undertaken by experts in Goronyo and Kebbe local government areas where flood washed away roads and bridges with a view to awarding contracts for their reconstruction soonest.
According to a statement signed and made available to newsmen by the media adviser to the governor, Muhammad Bello, the roads are 66.8 kilometers Kagara-Goronyo; and 32 kilometers Kebbe-Tambuwal, in Goronyo and Kebbe Local Government Areas respectively.
The statement further disclosed that the state commissioner of rural development, Alhaji Isah Bajini Galadanchi, said the sum of N1.3 billion would be spent on the construction of Romon Sarki-Gawon Gulbi road and bridge washed away by flood in Tambuwal local government area.
An additional N3.5 billion was approved for the reconstruction of the Binji-Silame-Gande road; and Wurno- Huchi road, all of which had bridges washed away by flood.
Furthermore, the council also approved the provision of streetlights at the sites of the ongoing two flyovers being constructed by the state government at Runjin Sambo and Rijiyar Dorowa, within Sokoto metropolis, at the cost of over N109 million each. More streetlights proposed for the completed intra-city Waziri Abbas and Maituta roads will gulp N222 million and N80 million respectively.
Bajini added that the council approved the sum of N262 million as a variation for the hitherto awarded contract of N475 million for the 14 km Tsaki- Lambo- feeder road, which total cost now stands at over N738 million. There was also a variation of N63 million on the Kwanar Kimba-Zamau road which was initially awarded at the cost of over N262 million but will now gulp over N376 million.
The council has also approved the purchase of drilling materials to facilitate the operations of the state’s three functional rigs, used for drilling boreholes across the state, at the cost of over N467 million.
Meanwhile, the council has revoked the contract for the construction of Dange General Hospital abandoned by the contractor since its award in 2019, despite three variations of cost all fully paid by the state government.
