By Harry Awurumibe, STATE HOUSE, Abuja
Apparently satisfied with the extent of infrastructural development Nigeria has attained in the past six years, the Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola has given thumbs up to the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.
The Minister posited that the present administration has done much more wit less in the face of dwindling revenue of the government and its twin economic situation in the country since President Buhari took over in 2015.
Fashola who spoke on Thursday in Abuja at the Special Weekly Briefing coordinated by the Presidential Communication Team on ‘Buhari Infrastructure Revolution in the Works and Housing Sector, praised the administration for taking so much interest on the provision of critical infrastructure for the country.
He told State House Correspondents that the Federal Government led by President Buhari has revolutionised Nigeria’s infrastructure through the construction, rehabilitation and maintainance of many federal government’s projects like roads, bridges and housing estates.
According to him: “It has to be stressed that before 2015, the annual budget for roads by previous governments was N18, 000, 000, 00
(N18b) but since this administration came on board it has risen to N250b and above”.
The former Lagos State Governor also stated that the present administration keyed into the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) which he said has enabled the regime to do so much in the area of infrastructure development.
Fashola said the Presidential Infrastructure Development Fund (PIDF) has helped to deliver many road projects just as he lauded the SUKUK Fund which he said have ensured that many roads and bridges across Nigeria have been delivered for the use of citizens.
He listed some of the infrastructure already delivered with the SUKUK Fund to include Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Kano- Kaduna Rail line and 2nd Niger Bridge at Asaba-Onitsha.
Fashola also said his ministry has undertaken other projects such as electrification of 37 universities, building of new Federal Secretariats in seven states and rehabilitation of long abandoned Federal Secretariats in 24 states among others.
“Over all, the present administration has dealt with most of Nigeria’s difficult infrastructure problems with the quantum of the projects will have executed in the face of scarce resources”, Fashola explained.
Meanwhile, the Minister has risen in the defence of the Federal Government on the incessant borrowing by this administration, arguing that “there are a lot of positive conversation on how much the Federal Government is borrowing”.
