By Sarah NEGEDU
Communities affected by the ongoing construction along the N5 road project in Life Camp will receive compensation from government, the Federal Capital Territory Administration has revealed.
FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, who disclosed this on Monday, after inspecting the Life Camp road project along with other ongoing projects across the city, stressed the need for the relocation of the communities to pave way for the project.
The minister also assured that issues of compensation for crops destroyed during construction would be addressed in the coming days.
According to him, “We went to Life Camp to see the obstruction that may delay finishing that job. But by the grace of God, that has been sorted out. We believe that in the next two days, the communities and those who own some crops will have been compensated. That job is being handled by Julius Berger.”
He further explained that, “What we went to do at Life Camp has to do majorly with the crops, and then there are some small houses that we need to compensate.
“If it requires relocating them, we will do so; if it requires just compensation, we will proceed accordingly. It depends on what is available. What is important to us is that we are working together with the various communities.”
The minister who was also at Katampe districts, as well as the International Conference Center to assess the level of progress achieved with the rehabilitation of the ICC, expressed optimism about the progress of the projects and their expected timelines for completion.
At Katampe, Wike announced plans to extend the Arterial Road N16 within the Cadastral Zone B07 in Katampe District to further link it to Arterial Road N20 in Jahi District.
“The contractors have agreed that they will still complete it even though it is an additional job at the same timeframe, which is next year May. We are happy with that commitment,” he added.
The minister also addressed the need for the rehabilitation of the ICC, recalling a previous incident when Nigeria faced embarrassment during the inauguration of the ECOWAS Parliament due to the subpar condition of the facility.
“Mr. President directed immediately that we must rehabilitate it to meet international standards. With what I’ve seen Julius Berger doing, I am quite satisfied that by the grace of God, April next year, they would have handed over this project, and it will be available for Nigerians to use,” he declared.
He emphasized that the upgraded International Conference Center would meet global standards, thereby positioning Nigeria as a respectable host for international events.
