The Plateau State government has debunked claims from the opposition that all the projects carried out by Governor Caleb Mutfwang in his two years in office have been financed by the World Bank.
The State Commissioner for Works, Joshua Ubandoma Laven who made the clarification during a press conference in Jos on Thursday, said the claims being peddled by the All Progressives Congress, APC, that ongoing road and infrastructural projects embarked upon by the Mutfwang administration in the state are funded by the World Bank, all false and fallacious as all the projects are 100% state-funded through taxpayers’ money and government revenue.
While addressing the press briefing Laven stressed that when the Mutfwang administration came on board, it inherited 45 abandoned projects, out of which 19 have been re-engaged and three fully completed.
The Commissioner gave a rundown of the projects abandoned by the Gov. Simon Lalong’s government but have been completed by Mutfwang, to include the Mararaban Jama-Millionaires Junction Bridge, the Secretariat Junction Flyover, and the Shendam Township bypass.
“These are not World Bank projects. All are funded by the Plateau State government,” Laven emphasized.
According to the Commissioner, ongoing major projects which are funded fully by the state government include the Zawan Junction–Mararaban Jama Road which comes with bridge works, the Mangu–Kengyel–Lere Road which had been abandoned after its contract was awarded eight years ago, the Gungji-Shoi-Kwi road, and the dualization of the Old Airport-Rayfield 16 km road.
Others are the Jingre-Amokatako- Karambana road, a six km road that had five bridges, the Langkang-Pankshin-Kuampan road, the Kukari-Foron-Lamba road network, the Bukuru-Yelwa-Tina Junction-Raho-Kanan road, the Mangu-Gindiri-Lere Bridge, as well as the Mararaban Demshin-Shimankar road.
Laven noted that the state has also intervened in some federal roads such as the Faringada road and Mararaban Jama Federal Road, to ease the hardship of commuters.
Other major projects that the Mutfwang administration has embarked upon, according to the Commissioner, include massive solar street lighting projects across the state.
He explained that the solar lighting projects across Jos and Bukuru Metropolis are also not World Bank-funded, but executed by Blue Camel Construction Company.
“So far, over 2,800 lamps and 1,800 poles have been installed in areas such as the Secretariat Junction-Mararaban Jama, Tina Junction-Rayfield-Raho-Kanan, PRTV Roundabout-Golf Club-Rayfield Resort, Terminus-Bauchi Road-University of Jos, and UTC Junction-Bauchi Road Bridge.
Laven further explained that new contractors have been mobilized for additional streetlight networks covering over 59 km across the metropolis.
Laven, however, decried rampant vandalism especially around Bauchi Road Bridge, where vandals have damaged installations, and called on the affected communities to help in safeguarding public infrastructure.
“All projects currently ongoing under the Ministry of Works are fully funded by the Plateau State government. The World Bank has no project under us,” Laven reiterated.
“Our works speak for themselves. The Mutfwang administration is focused on delivering real, people-centered infrastructure across all 17 LGAs of Plateau State,” he added.
