Approves Carter Bridge demolition, major road projects 
President Bola Tinubu has initiated plans for the establishment of Grid Asset Management Company (GAMCO) as part of efforts to address persistent challenges in Nigeria’s power sector, particularly within the transmission segment.
 
The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, while briefing journalists at the State House, Abuja, disclosed, after its meeting presided over by the President, that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) set up a panel to execute the plan.
 
Also, FEC approved several major road and bridge projects across the country, including the reconstruction of key highways and the redesign of Carter Bridge in Lagos, the Minister of Works, David Umahi, said.
 
Briefing State House correspondents after the FEC meeting, Umahi said six major projects received approval.
 
According to Idris, the proposal was contained in a memorandum presented to the Council by President Tinubu for deliberation.
 
He explained that the initiative was designed to strengthen the transmission component of Nigeria’s electricity value chain, which the government considers the most critical bottleneck in achieving a stable and reliable power supply across the country.
  
Idris recalled that following the deregulation of the power sector, the industry was unbundled into three segments: generation, transmission and distribution, but noted that the transmission arm remained the weakest link.
 
He explained that the proposed GAMCO would be responsible for managing and strengthening the national electricity grid to improve efficiency and enhance power delivery nationwide.
 
To advance the initiative, FEC approved the establishment of an inter-ministerial committee tasked with developing the operational framework for the proposed company.
 
FEC also approved the implementation of an additional exit benefit scheme for retiring civil servants in treasury-funded Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS).
 
Idris explained that the scheme would provide retiring employees with benefits of up to 100 per cent of their total emoluments, in line with Section 4(4)(a) of the Pension Reform Act.

UMAHI disclosed that the council approved the completion of the Suleja-Minna Road, which had earlier been awarded to Salini Construction Company but was later terminated due to poor performance.
 
According to him, only about 10 kilometres of the project were executed before the contract was cancelled.
 
The minister explained that after reviewing the project, the government resolved to complete the remaining 71 kilometres of dual carriageway, adding that one carriageway had been awarded to China Geo-Engineering Corporation (CGC) at N91 billion, while the second carriageway received the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) clearance.
 
He further announced that the FEC approved N5.6 billion for the design and costing of a new Carter Bridge project in Lagos, explaining that the existing bridge could no longer be rehabilitated.
 
He said the government would demolish the present structure and construct a new bridge based on recommendations from technical assessments.
 
“The stakeholders’ engagement and technical reviews showed that the Carter Bridge can no longer be rehabilitated. It has to be demolished, and a completely new bridge constructed,” Umahi said.