The federal government has paid road contractors a whopping sum of N70billion in fulfilment of promise made to offset the huge debt owed to road contractors.
The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola, confirmed that N70bn has been paid to contractors out of the N102bn released to his ministry.
This was made known while speaking on the theme, ‘Towards Effective Implementation of the 2016 Budget’ at the Town Hall Meeting/Policy Dialogue for Good Governance at the Shehu Musa Yar’adua Centre in Abuja yesterday.
According to the Minister, “Work has resumed at Kano-Katsina road, Port-Harcourt-Enugu road, Lagos-Ibadan expressway, Loko-Oweto Bridge, and this has invariably led to economic improvement in the communities around those sites.”
Fashola stated that in the past, government had been paying attention to recurrent expenditure as against the capital expenditure which has worked negatively against the nation’s infrastructure and hence the economy. He said that his ministry had over 200 on-going road projects totaling over N2trn and that the N19bn released from the 2015 Budget was grossly inadequate.
According to the Minister, “41 Construction Companies including some consultancy firms have been slated for payment this quarter. The Ministry cannot accommodate all the contractors due to insufficient funds being expected from the Federal Government. The priority of the Ministry is to finish as many on-going road projects as possible.”
On the amount allocated to the Ministry this quarter, Fashola said that N79bn is earmarked for road projects, N24bn for power while about N5bn for housing totaling N108bn.
However, the highlight of major projects in the 2016 Budget for the Ministries on road and bridges are over 40 projects spread across the geo-political zones, including: N13 billion for Dualization of Kano-Maiduguri road (Sections I-V); N8.7 billion Reconstruction and Pavement strengthening of sections of Benin-Sagamu expressway; N14.2 billion for the Construction of Oju/Loko Oweto Bridge to link Loko and Oweto with approach Roads and Oshegbudu-Oweto road; N13 billion for Concession of 2nd Niger Bridge and N6 billion for Dualisation of Odukpani-Itu-Ikot Ekpene Road in Cross River and Akwa Ibom States
The others include: N4.8 billion for Rehabilitation of Ilorin-Jebba-Mokwa-Bokani road; N8.8 billion for Rehabilitation of Sokoto-Tabuwal Kotangora-Makira Road; N40 billion for Lagos – Ibadan road (Section I); N2.8 billion for completion of Gombe-Numan-Yola road phase II; N5 billion for the Rehabilitation of Apapa-Oshodi-Oworoshoki Road; N2.6 billion for Dualization of Kano-Katsina road phase I; N6 billion for Dualisation of Ibadan-Ilorin Section II; N5.5 billion for Rehabilitation of Enugu-Onitsha Road and N2 billion for Dualization of Sapele-Agbor-Ewu Road (Section I).
Based on the funds available to the Ministries, he stated that the contractors have agreed to return to site while some have already started mobilizing to site in anticipation of payment.
The Minister advised Nigerians to be patient and positive affirming that things will soon improve. He urged Nigerians to familiarize themselves with how the budget works, saying that Budget is a document and not cash as it is generally believed in some quarters.
On power, the Minister said that government is making all efforts to see that on-going transmission works are completed with reference to Zungeru and Mambilla hydro power plant in Niger and Taraba States respectively.
He further corrected the erroneous impression in some quarters that government is the one managing the affairs of Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN). He said that rather than being a government business sector, government is now playing a regulatory role while the power side is private sector driven.
The Special Guest of Honour at the occasion, the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, GCON, ably represented by the Special Assistant on Economic Matter in the Presidency, Dr. Adeyemi Dipeolu said that the Presidency is willing to collaborate with any organization that wishes to partner with government in its effort to provide good governance to Nigerians.
In his remark, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Muhammed, used the forum to caution some individuals and groups who have consistently berating government over the poor state of economy to desist from doing so, saying what government needs now is credible suggestions that will be of good tools to move Nigeria forward. He therefore called on other organizations to “emulate AANI by joining hands with government to realize Nigeria of our dream”.
Other Ministers participating at the meeting are: Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, Agriculture Minister, Chief Audu Ogbeh, Budget & Planning Minister, Sen. Udoma Udo Udoma, Finance Minister, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, Minister of Environment, Hajia Amina Mohammed, Health Minister, Prof. Isaac Adewole, and Foreign Affairs Minister, Geoffrey Onyeama.
The town hall meeting was chaired by the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Mohammad Sa’ad Abubakar III who challenged government to be open to ideas, adding that “if a policy does not work, there is no problem in changing it”.
