The Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, Tuesday, assured Nigerians that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu feels their pains, adding that he is working day and night to address the current economic challenges facing the nation.
Umahi, who stated this at an award ceremony organised for him by the staff of the ministry in Abuja, also cautioned Nigerians against blaming the president over the current economic hardship facing the country.
“We need to stop blaming the president or past presidents because the problem of this country is the problem of all of us. We all must show patriotism and commitment towards contributing our individual quota in our efforts to address problems facing us,” he said
Umahi lauded Tinubu for the opportunity given him to serve as minister, noting that he had demonstrated uncommon belief in him and the ministry’s capacity leading to the huge resources committed towards transforming the road sector in the country.
“Our agenda for the road sector infrastructure development is to give to Nigerians good and quality road network which will ultimately facilitate robust economic development all across the country’’, the minister said.´
While praising Tinubu for the deployment of the Permanent Secretary, Dr. Yakubu Kofarmata to the ministry, he remarked that the permanent secretary has a unique leadership style.
Umahi, however, charged the staff to be part of the efforts to realise the mandate of the ministry under the Renewed Hope Agenda of the Tinubu administration, and announced the creation of a Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) Committee which would periodically monitor contractors’ performance.
Also speaking, the Permanent Secretary, Kofarmata thanked Tinubu for the appointment of Umahi as the minister for Works, noting that it is a square peg in a square hole.
