The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Babatunde Fashola

Increase in BRT fares will impoverish us – Lagos residents

Some residents of Ikorodu on Wednesday complained that the reviewed transport fares of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) would further impoverish the citizens of Lagos State, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.

The residents told NAN that the increase in fares was untimely, considering the prevailing economic situation in the country.

They appealed to the Lagos State Government to review the transport fares of the various routes to ease the discomfort being experienced by commuters.

NAN further reports that transport fares from Ikorodu to TBS was increased from N200 to N300; Ikorodu to Fadeyi increased from N120 to N200; while Ikorodu to Mile 12 increased from N75 to N100.

A trader, Mrs Adeola Adebiyi, complained that the increase in fares was astronomical.

She said that the increase would not serve the interest of the common man.

“We actually expect the government to be humane in the reviewed price considering that the masses are presently facing a lot of challenges, ranging from increase in prices of food, electricity, house rent and school fees.

“The burden upon us is much. We can barely make ends meet because sales at the market had been low since the beginning of the year, due to low purchasing power of customers.

“We are living from ‘hand to mouth,’ government should help us.

“We understand the concerns of the bus operators pertaining to increase in cost of diesel and maintenance of the buses.

“We appeal that Ikorodu to TBS route be reviewed to N250 instead of N300,” she said.

A civil servant, Mr Kunle Aderogba, advised that transport fare should be subsidised by the government to alleviate the sufferings of the citizens.

“The transport fare of BRT bus is a solace to many low income earners but now that has changed with the reviewed transport fares.

“For years, government has not reviewed the salaries of workers and it has taken a toll on our lifestyle as we have adjusted to our meagre income.

“We urge the government to consider the societal impact of the reviewed fares on the masses and emulate former Gov. Babatunde Fashola, who only reviewed BRT fares upward by N20,’’ he said. (NAN)

March 1, 2017
Fashola to stakeholders: Let’s work together to develop Niger Delta

The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, has challenged all stakeholders from the Niger Delta to close their ranks and work with the Federal Government to develop the region.

Fashola, who visited Bayelsa State at the weekend, about a week after Acting President Yemi Osinbajo, led a delegation to the state and unveiled a new vision for the region, said everybody must work hard to change the negative conversation around the Niger Delta.

The former Governor of Lagos State, said the current administration was sincerely determined to drive policies, projects and programmes that would develop the region.

Fashola and his team inspected some federal road projects in the state, including the Okarki-Yenigwe-Kolo road, leading to Ogbia, former President Goodluck Jonathan’s local government and the popular East-West road.

He called on Niger Delta governors to synergise and ‘step up’ their collaboration with the federal government to change the face of the Niger Delta.

He acknowledged that the government at the centre “has not had as much impact as it should in the region”, but promised that the current government was working hard to change the narratives.

He said: “I understand the challenges of building in the creeks and the swamps that’s how my state is like. It’s difficult terrain. We all need to get our hands in the plough here.

“I see that the presence of the federal government has not been as impactful as it should have been over the years , especially in terms of infrastructure across the delta, not just in Bayelsa.

“But we can only do that by collaboration, by peace and partnership. Not only does the governor and I have our work cut out for us, but the governors and his colleagues in the South-South must step up now and change the conversation around this place.

“This place has great potential. It can create jobs for the youths of Nigeria. From gas and other by-products , creating industry and life defining infrastructure, connecting the sea. These are places where you can do alot of tourism. The possibilities are endless. But we need to shake hands and that is why we are here”.

He said having inspected the East-West Road which is under the Ministry of the Niger Delta and the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), his ministry would play some roles to complete the road.

He lamented that contractors left sites of various projects in the area including the East-West Road at a period the country experienced prosperity in resources.

But he said the Federal Government would ensure the contractors retire to sites as a means of getting the country pit of recession.

“We have been through the east west road which is a federal road although it is under the Niger Delta ministry through the NDDC, but there’s a lot we can do in terms of collaboration to complete this road.

“We need to collaborate to complete these roads, or from project to project. The contractors left site.

“Unfortunately, this happened in a period of relative prosperity in terms of resources coming in, but this government is determined that whatever the case, the infrastructure represent the way out of recession.

“Finishing them means getting contractors back to work, those living in those localities to have opportunities to get engaged and employed.

“And also connecting those facilities which will make it easier to transverse between Bayelsa and Rivers and to other states, not only in the south south , but also in the South East.

“I have spoken to the contractor and I have charged them to come back to site. We will take control of the project in a much more different way such that there is a more generous provision for the work that is going on rather than registering.

“This is a matter where your brothers, colleagues and representatives in the Senate and House of Representatives should help to make the budgeting process more flexible. And this will change the way we budget”, he said.

Fashola further attributed the problem with the Gbarain Power Plant to lack gas supply to the gas pipelines, adding that some of the pipelines were shut while others were broken.

He said the Gbarain plant was off the greed till about two weeks ago when the country started receiving power from there.

He said: “These are problems we are solving and the strategic importance of the gas assets the states of the Niger Delta and the Niger Delta itself cannot be understated.

“We need to find peace here very quickly and the story must change. This is one of the reasons we have come here to see if what is being reported about this place is true and this is not a place where the story suggests you can’t work.

But we need to get more ambassadors who will say ‘I work here, I live here. This place is safe’. And that’s what encourages people to come out and address the infrastructure work that needs to be done here.

“The collaboration that the governor spoke about in producing more energy from gas is something that I intended to take up”.

Earlier, the Governor of the state, Mr. Seriake Dickson, called for more collaborations between the stage and the Federal Government.

Dickson said despite the strategic importance of Bayelsa, the government at the centre had abandoned the state.

He said the state was sitting on gas and appealed to the government to partner with the state to explore the gas and generate electricity for the country.

Dickson said: “Bayelsa is the centre of gravity. The story of Nigeria’s oil started just about ten minutes from here. Untill you visit Bayelsa, you haven’t visited Niger Delta”.

The governor lamented the challenges of development confronting the state because of its terrain and most of the projects required support from the federal government.

Addressing Fashola, he said: “Your appointment has given a lot of people hope. And we are very hopeful that with you in these critical ministries, it’s in the hands of someone we have confidence in and has capacity to deliver.

“These ministries are critical areas that we want to collaborate with the Federal Government. Your ministry and federal government have very little footprint in terms of road construction.

“The road you said you went to inspect, we have talked about these roads for several years for even as old as Nigeria is. Now you have seen where it is”.

Dickson said the three senatorial roads and the Agge Deep Seaport were more critical projects that required federal government’s support.

“A road from Nembe to Brass is like building the third mainland bridge. Some of the raids we call roads here are actually bridges because the whole of Bayelsa is below sea level. So the cost of construction is twenty times what you have in other areas.

“We are available for collaboration. We can’t handle it alone. These roads are too expensive. Our country unfortunately has left this part of Nigeria behind. Nigeria left Bayelsa and the Niger Delta behind. No road to Brass , yet crude is lifted daily there the same for Forcados”.

February 18, 2017
FG to adopt emergency intervention on road projects

Mr Babatunde Fashola, the Minister of Power, Works and Housing on Thursday said emergency intervention would be adopted on Calabar-Ogoja-Ikom road project to ease the suffering of commuters in the area.

Fashola who stated this in Calabar during an inspection tour of the project said the intervention would be to cover the potholes and work on the failed sections of the road.

He said the idea was to reduce the challenges faced by motorist during rainy seasons.

The minister, therefore, ordered the Federal Controller of Works in state, the contractors and the state commissioner of works to put up a recommendation to achieve the process.

“I am happy that I came here working with the honorable commissioner, the contractors and our controller.

“We have resolved to put what at best one can call pain management solution in place to ease the trauma of the rainy season in the failed sessions of the road.

“It will be a little more expensive because ultimately when we start expanding the whole road, we will have to do the same thing again.

“But again, the cost against the pain would have a beneficial analysis to the people at the end of the day and will help the state to pursue its developmental aspirations,” he said.

Fashola said the greatest challenge facing the nation’s power sector was the sabotage of power assets.

According to him, people who want power cannot be sabotaging gas pipelines and depriving the nation of the fuel that is required to produce the power.

The minister called on aggrieved Nigerians to understand that damaging the power assets was not the best way to express anger.

In his remark, Mr. Dane Asu, the Cross River Commissioner for Works commended the minister for embarking on inspection tour of the federal government road projects in the state.

He said the problem of roads in the state was not peculiar than what was obtainable in the South-South.

“Our top soil do not give credence to the performance of road and the problem is compounded with the increasing heavy trucks plying the road,” he said.

February 17, 2017
Who inserted N2 bn Regional Housing Scheme in 2017 budget?

Finance Minister, Kemi Adeosun has an explanation to give the Senate Committee on Housing and Urban Development on the curious insertion of N2bn Regional Housing Scheme in the allocation for the Housing Sector in the 2017 budget.

Minister of Power, Works and Housing Babatunde Fashola who disowned N2 billion allocation while defending the details of the N64.99 billion proposed capital vote for the Housing Sector on Tuesday said he knew nothing about Scheme.

A member of the committee spotted the curious insertion and sought Fashola’s explanation about how it got into the budget proposal.

To resolve what the allocation for the scheme is all about, Chairman of the committee, Senator Barnabas Gemade, requested that the Minister of Finance be invited to clarify the issue.

The following conversation ensued between Fashola and Gemade, Chairman of the Committe:

Gemade: Finally, what is this provision of N2bn for regional housing scheme? What is regional housing scheme? Where is it taking place? What is happening? Have you seen it on Page 18?

Fashola: It is not our project. It came in from, I think, the Budget (Office). It is a Ministry of Finance initiative; saying that they want to do what they called ‘family homes’. It is not from us.

Gemade: Yes, but they have put it here; otherwise, we will not be in the position to accept it.

Fashola: I know as much of it as you do sir.

Gemade: But you are here to defend this budget in totality.

Fashola: That is why I have come. I am explaining to you now, sir, on how it comes into our budget. That is not what we submitted. We didn’t submit that proposal.

Gemade: So, will the ministry be kind enough to tell the people who put this in this budget to come forward and let us know?

Fashola: Please.

Gemade: Let us know what is regional housing programme because government cannot be operated in secrecy.

Fashola: I think the committee, if you permit me to bring this suggestion…

Gemade: …should invite them?

Fashola: Yes, sir.

Gemade: But you know the people; we don’t know them.

Fashola: No, sir. We just said finance sir.

Gemade: Finance ministry?

Fashola: Yes sir.

Gemade: We will write to the minister.

Fashola: Please do sir.

February 15, 2017
Senate summons Adeosun over N2b planted in Housing Sector budget

The Senate Tuesday invited the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun to throw light on the vote of N2 billion discovered in the 2017 budget of the Housing Sector,

Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola disowned the money saying he knew nothing about how the vote crept into the Housing Sector budget.

Fashola told the Senate committee on Housing that the Ministry of Finance may have inserted the money in the 2017 budgetary profile of the Ministry of Housing as its own initiative tagged under “Regional Housing Scheme.”

Chairman of the committee, Senator Barnabas Gemade had wanted to know how the regional housing scheme came about.

Fashola said; “I know as much of it as you do because it is not our initiative”.

Apparently not satisfied, Gemade ordered the committee clerk to write the Minister of Finance, Adeosun to appear before the committee to explain how the N2 billion was inserted into the budget.

February 14, 2017
Electricity: Dangote chief advocates restructuring, better funding

As Nigerians and businesses grope in darkness, Honorary Adviser to the President of Dangote Group, Eng. Joe Makoju has advocated adequate funding and restructuring of the Power sector so as to achieve relative stability in electricity generation and distribution

He said the power sector is currently bankrupt to the point of even threatening the health of financial institutions and the wider national economy.

To restructure the sector for effective services, Makoju advised a reduction in the distribution zones.

Speaking at a two-day Power Sector Stakeholders Interactive Dialogue convened by the National Assembly in Abuja, Makoju who was a special adviser to three different Presidents of Nigeria on Power canvassed for a fundamental structural change as against the current path of tariff increases and government bailouts.

He said: “I want to stress that, I do not wish to be alarmist; but if we continue on the current path of tariff increases and government bailouts without fundamental structural changes, we will soon be dealing with a disaster. What assets are on the ground will depreciate, financial positions will deepen, and eventually we will all come back to these same conclusions but after much more harm has been done.”

While revealing that the failure of the Power Sector under government management was not a technical and commercial management of the business but the absence of sustained and adequate funding of the sector, he said despite the privatisation exercise six years ago, the problem of the sector remains the same.

According to him, “Most of the private sector investors in the power privatisation had no specialist knowledge or understanding of the power sector, which has eroded the technical and managerial competence in the industry. And the funding problems have persisted and even become exacerbated as they now even threaten the stability and health of the nation’s banking system as well as the entire electricity sector.”

While noting that the distribution end of the value chain is the most inefficient and has suffered the greatest neglect, he described it as one which underpins the financial viability and sustainability of the entire sector. “To get the sector moving forward we need to improve its liquidity position, and this can only be accomplished through satisfied, paying customers.” he asserted.

Still on the issue of adequate funding for the sector, Makoju said the Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors (ANED) reports that as at December 2016, the funding gap in the power sector is over N1 trillion and as such, he advised that funding must be looked at from the perspective of new equity and debt financing arrangements and structures, and internally generated revenue maximization.

As a lasting solution, he also canvassed new capable players working in a reconfigured power sector while also considering residual government shares for bringing in long-term funding.

While urging the FG to declare a state of emergency in the power sector, he routes for the engagement of industry experts and policymakers to draw up a comprehensive power sector master plan building on past provisions and arrangements to deliver an electricity industry fit for current and future needs.

Makoju said: “The present configuration is not working and will not work even with more money pumped in. The structure of the sector needs to be reconfigured for efficiency, with fewer distribution zones for instance. These can be managed and coordinated by a reputable international operator like EDF, Globeleq, Actis, Reliance, etc. in partnership with financially credible Nigerian entities,” Makoju also canvassed for the restructuring of the TCN management for better service delivery.

Given the extended lead times required for new gas, transmission and distribution improvement investments in the Power sector, and the quantum of legacy issues now encumbering the sector, Makoju opined that it may take anywhere from five years to 10 years to fully stabilise electricity delivery across the country.

Nevertheless, he said positive results can be recorded within the first five years’ period if earnest action is taken now.

Speaking at the Power Sector Stakeholders Interactive Dialogue, Senate President Abubakar Bukola Saraki said the problems with the power sector are Man-Made but are surmountable. He regretted that despite the huge amount of money sunk into the sector it has failed to bring about the desired result.

He said the dialogue was convened because the legislative arm of government, which represents the Nigerian people are worried about the teething challenges facing power chain of generation, transmission and distribution. He said Nigerians of this generation must not repeat the mistakes of the past, adding that both regulators and players must be ready to make sincere sacrifices.

Speaker of the House of Representatives Yakubu Dogara also concurred with Senator Saraki that successive investments in the sector have not translated into efficiency and delivery of power to the people. He also asked questions relating to the proceeds of power sector privatisation, saying the legislative arm will continue to work with all stakeholders to deliver power to the Nigerian people.

Minister of Power, Works and Housing Babatunde Fashola said the Muhammadu Buhari government is doing all things possible to address power problem. He, however, urged the legislative arm to support such efforts through vibrant legislations and continuing engagement with critical stakeholders.

Also speaking Acting President Yemi Osinbajo said his office has been coordinating all activities in the sector and it is not unmindful of the deep crisis it is facing.

He assured Nigerians the government is prioritising the sector, saying it is key to economic development.

Chairman of Egbin Power Plc Kola Adesina and Board Director Ikeja Electric urged the National Assembly to accord priority to power during budgeting. He also regretted that public sector debt in the sector has increased astronomically over the years.

February 9, 2017
Fed Govt reduces stranded power

The Federal Government yesterday took steps to reduce challenges of stranded power in the national grid by commissioning the National Independent Power Project 330KV Switching Station in Essien Udim, Ikot-Ekpene, Akwa-Ibom State.

Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola who inaugurated the power station said all Nigerians wanted to hear was not kilovolts (KV) but to see electricity.

According to him, the station would help to evacuate power from Ibom Power plant, Clabar Power, Alaoji Power, and from Afam Power to boost power to Uguaji and support Makurdi that has always recorded low voltage.

He explained that the four power plants have a combined capacity of 1,800 megawatts (Mw) but had been wheeling out between 600Mw and 700Mw.

Fashola said the commissioning of the switch station would reduce the issue of stranded power in the Southeastern region.

He said: “So, when they said stranded, I said can’t it work? But what stranded power rally means is that over the years, we built power plants either without providing the gas so that there is one side of stranded power. There are plants ready to work no fuel.

“The other side of stranded power is where there is gas like here in Akwa Ibom. You have Ibom Power plant with gas ready to go; you have Alaoji with gas ready to go; you have Afam with gas ready to go and you have Calabar power all ready to go.”

November 22, 2016
2016 Budget: FG achieves fifty percent capital expenditure implementation

…FG releases N25 billion for social intervention investment

The Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed on Wednesday placed the implementation of capital expenditure in the Federal Government’s 2016 Budget at fifty percent.

She briefed State House correspondents at the end of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting presided by President Muhammadu Buhari.

She was with the Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed and Minister of Power, Works, and Housing, Babatunde Fashola.

The Minister of State also said that the Ministry presented a memo to council for notation and implementation on the progress of national roll out of the social investment Programme.

The programmes, she said, are in four parts.

She said: “First is the homegrown school feeding Programme which is targeting 5.5 million primary school people in all the states of the federation from primary 1-3.

As at today, 11 states are fully ready to start and first phase will feed 3.5 million school children.

“The second Programme is a job creation Programme which is aimed at preparing 500,000 university graduates; they will be equipped with devices contained information to train them as teachers, agricultural workers and also as health support workers. They will be deployed to work in their local community. They will be receiving a monthly stipend of N30, 000 monthly for a period of two years.

“The third is the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT), where one million care givers will be given N5000 monthly for a period of two years. Focus has been given to the extremely poor and vulnerable in our society and special emphasis is being place to providing as many as possible the northern eastern part of the country where a lot of internally displaced persons.

“The fourth is the Enterprise promotion Programme which is essentially the loan scheme which will be handled by the Bank of Industry. 1.6 million People made up of market women, traders, artisans, small businesses, youths will be given loan from N10, 000 to N100, 000 with a repayment period of three to six months and administration cost of five per cent.

“N500 billion was budgeted for the social investment Programme in the 2016 budget. We are rolling out with this first four programmes and it will continue till 2017.” She added

According to her, there is approval from the steering committee in sum of N150 billion, but so far only N25 billion has been released into the account while another N40 billion is in the process of being released into the account.

She also pointed out that implementation will be done in stages as the states ready for each of the Programme will be added into each of the schemes.

The school feeding Programme, she said, has started in some states like Kaduna and Osun while the federal government is only adding its resources to it.

“The federal government will handle from primary 1-3 while the states will handle from 4-6.

“The cooks have been selected, banks are in place. The only thing that needs to be done including training the persons as well as taking data of the school children have been done in those nine states.

“There is no spending yet on the national social investment Programme, we are just kicking off, the funds will be released to the Bank of Industry this week for the EIP Programme and for the school feeding Programme is only after the cooks have performed that they will get their first payment.”

For the job creation Programme, she said that money will only be released when the graduates have resumed and have worked for the first month.

The 2017 budget preparation, she said, is at an advanced stage.

According to her, the Economic Management Team has reviewed it extensively, while it will soon be presented to the federal executive council for approval, before going to the National Assembly.

On the borrowing plan, she said that Mr. President has sent to the National Assembly the borrowing plan for the amount required for both local and foreign borrowing to fund the 2016 budget deficit.

“The budget implementation itself is on course, the 2016 budget is fully performed to date in terms of personnel, that is to say we do not owe,” She stated.

Fashola said that the Council approved two memos including 215 megawatt Kaduna power plant and construction of sub-station to evacuate 40 megawatt of power from the Gurara hydro electric power plant phase one.

On the first project, he said: “The memo sought procurement and implementation defects and lack of budget support for the project which was started 2009 and should have been completed in 2012.

“But we are now in the position that we can complete this project by next year to add 215 megawatt of power to the national grid. And in particular dedicate some of the power to Kudana dam in Kaduna to support industrial complex there.”

On the second project, he said, it will enable interconnectivity to Mamdo transmission substation and strengthening the transmission grid.

He said: “What these two approvals will do is to complete ongoing projects which is a commitment of this administration, create work because contractors will return to site and also increase our power by 215 megawatt, from Kaduna and we will get 40 megawatt extra into the grid from Gurara phase 1 and we are also expanding the transmission across the country.”

October 26, 2016
Arrest of judges, not wrong – Minister
- Says Govt has right to search anybody, anywhere, anytime
- FEC okays N700 million for Federal secretariats in six states
The Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed on Wednesday said there was nothing wrong in stepping on judges’ toes in the fight against corruption.

It would be recalled that the Department of State Services (DSS) had last weekend stormed the houses of some judges, arrested them and recovered the huge sum of money in different denominations.

But briefing State House correspondents at the end of Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting presided by President Mohammadu Buhari, Mohammed said that there was nothing wrong with the method adopted by the DSS.

Mohammed was accompanied by the Ministers of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola and Minister of State for Aviation, Hadi Sirika.

While stressing that governors who have immunity are still open to investigation, he said that judges don’t even have immunity.

He said: “What the government is concerned and passionate about is to fight corruption. In the process of fighting corruption, it is not unusual that you step on some very sensitive toes but the question to ask and I think these has been adequately answered by the Attorney General is that let’s remove emotion from facts.

“One, do judges have immunity? The answer is no. Can judges be arrested? The answer is yes. Have judges that are serving been arrested in Nigeria? The answer is yes. Justice Okoli had been arrested and tried.

“Now the next question to ask is what is the proper procedure for arresting anybody including judges? There must be properly executing of the search warrant. Was such presented? The answer again is yes. People have tried to muddle the facts about when do you search the person’s house, the truth of the matter is that under the new criminal justice law, you can search anybody, anywhere, anytime.

“Again they have tried to muddle issues by trying to say that the NJC is the only authority that can attend complain and discipline, the answer once again is no,” he added.
He pointed out that there is a difference between what is happening to the judges now and when a judge is accused of professional misconduct.

“If you suspect anybody including Governors who have immunity they are still subject to investigations.” He said

The government, he said, has the highest respect for the judiciary and does not intend to ridicule the judiciary.

“We are not painting the whole of the judges with the same brush but we also have a duty to fight corruption at whatever level and in doing so, we will do so within the ambit of the law.” He said

The Minister expressed displeasure that some people have started raising issues that are completely irrelevant to the matter.

He said: “Some people are saying oh, the reason why they went to some particular judges house is because the President wants somebody from one part of the country to be Chief Justice of Nigeria. I think that is preposterous.

“I want to assure you that this government has no intention to humiliate the judiciary and for those who are talking about separation of power, I think you are stretching it too far. I and members of the Executive, I can be invited by any arm of the government and I will go. So I think we should situate this thing in the right perspective.” He added

He recalled when 22 out of 32 judges in Ghana, who were caught on tape by journalists asking for a bribe, were dismissed in 2015.

He added: “Yes it’s true that what is happening today has probably never happened at this level before but frankly speaking and with all due respect we do not intend to humiliate any judge, we have no intention to humiliate the judiciary but believe me what we have done we have done within the ambits of the law.

“I think the Federal Government is being very careful with handling of this particular issue, I want to state clearly that this government believes very much in separation of powers, this government has a lot of respect for the judiciary and for obvious reasons, not just because the constitution says so but I think probably this is one cabinet that has the highest number of lawyers as ministers.

“As at the last count about eleven or twelve council members are lawyers and we have female lawyers also in the cabinet until death robbed us of late Ocholi we had five SANs in our cabinet and I think this is unique, therefore you can understand the kind of respect we have for the judiciary.”

He also pointed out that the President himself, who sought to be President four times and had it thwarted three times, took his case to court on the three occasions.

“He took his case to the judiciary, so I can say clearly that this administration has a lot of respect for the judiciary and I think I stand by what Mallam Garba Shehu said that please do not confuse the fight against corruption as a fight against judiciary,” he added

Fashola disclosed that the FEC approved N700 million for the completion of abandoned Federal secretariats in Anambra, Bayelsa, Gombe, Nasarawa, Osun and Zamfara states.

According to him, the fund for the completion of the secretariat projects, which were abandoned since 2012, were captured in the 2016 budget.

He said when completed, the projects would provide office accommodation to Federal Government staff deployed to the affected states.

“They are at various stages of completion. There have been changes in cost as a result of project designs, amendment, cases where original location and contract are changed and they have to be redesigned in such structure,’’ he said

He said that the second memo approved by FEC from the ministry has to do with ongoing projects for the construction of the abandoned 10 megawatts Wind Farm power project in Katsina state.

According to him, the wind farm project is part of government’s strategic plan for renewable energy.

He added that the project was a major component of the government’s road map towards achieving incremental power in the country.

Fashola noted that the contract cost of the power project escalated following the kidnapping of the contractor, who after being rescued abandoned the project.

Sirika said that the council approved an outline Business case for Industrial Port Development in Badagry, Lagos State.

According to him, the Council also approved the relocation of flight training simulator from Lagos to Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Zaria in Kaduna state, for the training of pilots and engineers.
October 12, 2016
Buhari will dualise Trans Saharan routes – Fashola

Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola has said that President Muhammadu Buhari is committed to dualising Trans Saharan routes in the country.

The Minister also disclosed that future road projects in the country would be upgraded to double-lanes.

Fashola who spoke at the 65th session of the Trans Saharan ‎Road Liaison Committee, Monday in Abuja stated that the present administration attached great importance to developing the Trans Sahara road which traversed Algeria, Tunisia, Chad, Nigeria, Niger and Mali.

He said the country had so far made significant development, including the 127.70km Lagos-Ibadan‎ and the 50km Oyo-Ogbomosho.

His words: “The efforts of the Federal Government under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari are fully committed to the dualisation of the entire section of the Trans Saharan route in Nigeria

“The 65th session of the Trans Sahara Road Liaison Committee further offers member countries the opportunity to strengthen the existing bilateral relations and provide an avenue to assess the extent of work that has been undertaken in ensuring the completion of the Trans Sahara route

“The fact that out of a total length of 9, 500km of the Trans Saharan Route, more than 8, 000km of it has been surfaced with bituminous material which is a great achievement and more is expected to maintain and ensure the serviceability to the benefit of member countries and its peoples.”

In his remarks, the Secretary General of the Committee, Mohammed Ayadi lauded the progress at which the project has witnessed.

He said despite limited resources, three of the six countries‎ where the road passes had constructed almost all the totality of their respective sections and were involved in dualizing their roads.

Ayadi described the project as a good example of active cooperation stressing that participating countries and institutions would immensely benefit from its proceeds when completed.

October 10, 2016