Minister of Environment, Mrs. Laurentia Mallam, yesterday said contrary
to speculations and media reports, her ministry had not stopped work on the
ongoing construction of the second Niger Bridge.
Media reports had earlier quoted the minister as saying that the
federal government erred in commencing work on the construction of the second
Niger Bridge without considering the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) law,
prompting the ministry to consequently stop work on the project.
Speaking through the Deputy Director, Press and Information, Ben Goong,
the minister said: “Without mincing words, the ministry wishes to state in
unmistakable terms that the minister never at any point, either at that press
conference or any other occasion make that statement. The report is
false, misleading and politically motivated. The report is totally lacking in
facts and depth.”
She explained that “there is no record anywhere in the Ministry of
Environment or Works or the consortium handling the project indicating that the
Minister of Environment has stopped the work on the second Niger Bridge.
You can’t just stop work of that magnitude with the word of mouth.”
The minister stated that her views which were made at the instance of
the visiting Turkish Ambassador to Nigeria, Mustapha Pulat and Turkish
construction companies’ chief executives, did not allude to the stoppage of
work at the second Niger Bridge, but that an interim certificate of EIA was
issued to the construction companies to accelerate the progress of the project.
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