Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Raji Fashola, on Tuesday said the All Progressives Congress (APC) led government of President Muhammadu Buhari never attached four- year time frame to totally transform the country and bring about change in different sectors while delivering its campaign promises in 2015 election.
This was just as he dismissed the notion that President Buhari was slow in implementing policies, describing such as erroneous given the results his administration had methodically achieved within the period he had ruled the country.
The Minister for Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola (SAN) also the South West had more to gain by re-electing President Muhammadu Buhari in the 2019 presidential election.
Fashola stated this while inaugurating the President Muhammadu Buhari–Osinbajo 2019 Campaign Group comprising of about 5,000 political foot soldiers that would comb all the wards in Lagos State and deliver at least 4.5 million votes for the re-election of the duo in the coming general election.
The minister, however, asserted that the APC had remained focused from outset and made tremendous impacts in different sub-sectors of the nation’s economy despite the challenges and economic woes caused by wanton mismanagement of the nation’s resources by previous administrations.
According to the minister, the Buhari led government has laid the foundation for economic growth of Nigeria, judiciously utilized its first term in office by achieving more with less resources and has re-strategized to take the country to the next level, declaring that the country had recorded rapid infrastructural development across the country under President Muhammadu.
“We did not promise to change Nigeria in four years. We have done very well in all the sectors, including education. For instance in 2015, the total number of roads completed before we came was 80 kilometres nationwide. In 2016, the total kilometre of roads completed was 277 kilometres. In 2017, it became 488 kilometres and in 2018 it is now 497 kilometres,” Fashola said.
He warned that it would be retrogressive if the country was dragged back to the era of delivering 80 kilometres roads in 16 years.
In the area of power, Fashola, who is former governor of Lagos State, said for 16 year the nation’s electricity generation hovered around 4,000 megawatts, asserting that within three years it had moved to 7,000 megawatts.
“Within three years, it had moved to 7,000 megawatts. We have added 3,000 megawatts meaning we were doing 1,000 per annum. Though they did not meet power generation at zero level, if you aggregate, it means they were doing 250 megawatts per annum. Do you want to go back to 250 megawatts per annum or 1000 mega watts per annum?” Fashola queried.
Chairman of the campaign group and former Commissioner for Home Affairs, Hon. Oyinlomo Danmole, in his own remark, said the PMB- Osinbajo Support Group was designed to create a new system of presidential campaign in the state.
According to him, the people are from 347 wards, 20 local government areas and 37 local council development areas in Lagos State, adding that they had 15 in each LGA and LCDA.
Danmole said they were targeting between 4.5 million and five million votes for Buhari out of 6.2 million registered voters in the state.
