The Senate Committee on Works has declared its excitement at the progress of work on the signature Bodo-Bonny Road even as it urged the contractor, Julius Berger Nigeria PLC to intensify efforts to meet the project deadline.

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Chairman of the committee, Senator Barinada Mpigi, led members on an oversight visit to the site weekend, where they inspected ongoing works on the vital 35.7km linking mainland communities to Bonny Island.

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Senator Mpigi, speaking to journalists after the inspection, acknowledged the progress made so far but emphasised the need for urgency.

“We are happy with the progress, but we expect more from Julius Berger, a company we have come to know as a giant in the construction industry,” Mpigi said, adding, “The Federal Government has met its obligations, now it is time for delivery.”

The challenging project, which began in 2014, has been slowed by difficult terrain, including swampy soil and tidal movements.

Despite these obstacles, the committee reported that five kilometres of the road have been asphalted and major bridges completed, improving connectivity in the region.

The Senate team directed Julius Berger to step up efforts and complete asphalting work before the end of the year.

A progress review has been scheduled for September, with assurances of regular monitoring visits to keep the project on track. “This is not a one time visit. We will continue to monitor every stage of this project until it is delivered,” the Committee Chairman said.

A member of the committee, Senator Patrick Ndubueze, also emphasised how delicate the project is, citing differences in construction conditions compared to other regions. He quipped: “Construction in this area is not the same as in the South-East.

Ongoing works on the embarkments of the Bodo-Bonny Road during the inspection by the Senate Committee on Works recently

Responding, the Managing Director of Julius Berger, Engr. Dr. Peer Lubasch who led top management staff of the leading construction company to accompany the lawmakers on the visit, assured the Committee that the company will complete the road project by December
, depending on adequate financing.

According to Lubasch, the pace of construction was slow due to the need to allow the soil to set, considering that the area is low-lying, marshy, muddy and swampy, as well as disturbing tidal movements. He noted that despite these challenges, significant progress has been made. with reasonable kilometres of the road already asphalted, adding that the road is accessible for vehicles to drive into both the Mainland and Island. He added that critical bridges have also been completed, linking the mainland to Bonny Island.

The Bodo-Bonny road project consists of 13 bridges comprising three main bridges, nine mini bridges and one bridge over the pipeline. The length of the Bodo-Bonny road project is 35.7 kilometres. It will be the first road to connect oil-rich Bonny Island to mainland Rivers State; cutting across four local government areas (LGAs) in Rivers State.  

The project which is a tripartite agreement between the Federal Government, the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas and Julius Berger Nigeria Plc.  comprises the construction of mini bridges with a span of 23 m each as well as two creek bridges, Afa Creek Bridge of about 530 m length and Nanabie Creek Bridge of about 640 m length, in addition to the construction of a major river bridge of about 750 m length over the Opobo Channel.

Completion of the Bodo Bonny Road is expected to open up economic opportunities, ease transport for residents, and strengthen links to critical oil and gas by infrastructure on Bonny Island.

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Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan representing Kogi Central Senatorial District has filed a N5 billion defamatory suit against her colleague in the 10th Senate, Senator Onyekachi Nwaebonyi who represents Ebonyi North Central Senatorial District.

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The suit which has already been lodged at the Federal Capital Territory High Court is seeking a compensation of N5 billion as a result of damage done to her by Senator Nwaebonyi in an interview he granted on Channels Television on March 6, 2025

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Natasha thrpigh her lawyer, Michael Numa declared claims by Senator Nwaebonyi as false and malicious which should not have come from him.

In the interview on Channels Television, Akpoti-Uduaghan said that Nwaebonyi described her as a “gold digger, habitual liar, and habitual blackmailer” during the interview.

She said Nwaebonyi’s claims that she is a other of six children from different men was false, defamatory and out rightly malicious.

She noted that such remarks undermine her reputation as a role model for women aspiring to enter politics.
“The defendant’s characterisation of the claimant as a ‘mother of six from different men’ is baseless, malicious, and reckless,” the suit states.

“The claimant is an inspiration to women in politics and aspiring women for speaking truth to power.

“The claimant is not tarnishing the chances of women in politics as falsely alleged. Rather, she is inspiring women to be bold in their pursuit of political aspirations and good governance.”

Akpoti-Uduaghan in the suit contends that Nwaebonyi’s statements have caused significant harm to her reputation and public embarrassment.

The senator from Kogi proceeded to seek a court order restraining Nwaebonyi from making further malicious statements against her.

Additionally, she asked the court to direct Nwaebonyi to pay N5 billion in aggravated and exemplary damages for the false, malicious, and injurious statements made against her.

She also requested that the court compel Nwaebonyi to retract the defamatory remarks on the same platform where they were initially made and issue an unreserved apology.

The court filing seeks “an order of perpetual injunction restraining the defendant, his associates, agents, assignees, servants, privies, proxies, allies, or anyone acting on his behalf from further publishing or causing to be published the words complained of, or any other defamatory statements concerning the claimant.”

The document further requests “an order of this Honourable Court compelling the defendant to retract the defamatory statements on the same platforms used to make the allegations and to tender an unreserved apology in at least two national newspapers, both in print and online, circulated nationwide, within seven days from the date of judgment.”

It also calls for “an order of this Honourable Court awarding the sum of £5 billion as aggravated and exemplary damages in favour of the claimant for the false, malicious, and injurious statements that have caused the claimant considerable distress, reputational harm, embarrassment, and emotional distress.”

She also sought, “an order of this Honourable Court awarding post-judgment interest on the judgment sum at a rate of 10% per annum from the date of delivery of the judgment until the judgment debt is fully paid.”

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On April 7, 2025, the U.S. company General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems (GA-EMS) announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Israeli company Rafael Advanced Defense Systems.

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Under this agreement, GA-EMS will serve as Rafael’s U.S. partner and the prime contractor for the production of the Bullseye, a long-range, precision-guided strike missile. The announcement was made by representatives from both companies at the Sea-Air-Space Conference organized by the Navy League of the United States in National Harbor, Maryland.

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The collaboration between GA-EMS and Rafael combines Rafael’s design, maturation, and testing of the Bullseye missile with GA-EMS’s manufacturing and integration infrastructure in the U.S. (Picture source: GA-EMS)

The Bullseye will be manufactured in the United States and offered to U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) customers. It is designed to meet U.S. military specifications and support a range of precision-fires missions for the DoD and allied coalition partners. The missile is intended to provide multi-platform launch capability from air, ground, and maritime systems, and is positioned to enable massed strike delivery at a reduced unit cost. GA-EMS will manufacture and integrate the missile at its facility in Tupelo, Mississippi, which functions as a manufacturing center with experience in engineering, design, integration, testing, and production of complex systems and components in support of U.S. national security programs.

Scott Forney, President of GA-EMS, stated that Bullseye would be manufactured in the United States for delivery to U.S. military customers and that the collaboration would leverage Rafael’s existing investment in missile design and testing to reduce development risk and cost while enabling production-scale delivery of a precision-guided missile. Yuval Miller, Executive Vice President and Head of Rafael’s Air & C4ISR Systems Division, said the joint effort would combine Rafael’s missile technologies with GA-EMS’s manufacturing capabilities to develop a system designed to meet evolving mission requirements with a focus on accuracy, flexibility, and affordability.

The Bullseye missile features a modular and scalable design, allowing for incremental development, system upgrades, and cross-service interoperability to address different service requirements. The missile is currently assessed at Technology Readiness Level 8 (TRL 8). Rafael has already completed testing in areas such as aerodynamics, engine performance, seeker functionality, and launch integration. Additional testing is planned to qualify the missile for flight and confirm operational readiness. Deliveries of the missile are scheduled to begin in late 2025.

The system is configured to operate in Anti-Access/Area Denial (A2/AD) environments. It incorporates multiple technical features, including Very Low Observable (VLO) characteristics under various weather conditions, advanced automatic terrain avoidance (ATA), automatic target recognition (ATR), and Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)-independent guidance. The missile also supports synchronized attack capability, advanced mission planning, and autonomous flight operations, with the option for human decision intervention (man-in-the-loop backup).

The Bullseye is compatible with multiple launch platforms, including jet fighters, light attack aircraft, helicopters, small maritime vessels, and ground vehicles. Its design allows for the integration of various warhead payloads and propulsion configurations, enabling adaptation to different mission profiles.

These include deep-strike scenarios, anti-ship and anti-surface missions, electronic warfare, and decoy operations. The missile system is designed to provide long-range strike capability against selected target sets across multiple domains, while offering cost-efficiency through its modularity and scalability.

The collaboration between GA-EMS and Rafael combines Rafael’s design, maturation, and testing of the Bullseye system with GA-EMS’s manufacturing and integration infrastructure in the U.S. The objective is to provide a production-scale delivery capability aligned with U.S. military operational and logistical requirements.

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