The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Fashola

  • FEC approves N61bn for road projects, others

    The Federal Executive Council (FEC) on Wednesday approved a total of N61.464 billion for roads, dredging of seaport and construction of buildings.

    Five ministers – Babatunde Fashola (Works, Power, and Housing), Rotimi Amaechi (Transportation), Abdulrahman Danbazzau (Interior), Suleiman Adamu (Water Resources), Adamu Adamu (Education) and the Senior Special Assistant on Media and publicity, Garba Shehu, briefed State House correspondents after the meeting.

    The seven hours meeting was chaired by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.

    Amaechi said the Council approved N13 billion for dredging of escravos Warri Seaport.

    Fashola disclosed that his ministry presented three memos which resulted in the approval of three contracts.

    The projects, he said, included Babalampa – Sharam road in Plateau State at a cost of N19.92 billion, Lagos – Ota – Abeokuta road revised upward by N22 billion and Enugu -Port Harcourt expressway at a cost of N6.31 billion.

    Danbazzau said N234 million was approved for construction of two buildings, cadet mess and cafeteria.

    Adamu disclosed that FEC approved the establishment of Nigeria Army University in Borno State.

  • Fashola, Dangote, Otedola for UNILAG lecture

    Minister of Power, Works and Housing Babatunde Fashola (SAN) will be the special guest of honour at the second public lecture of the Department of Commercial and Industrial Law, Faculty of Law, University of Lagos (UNILAG).

    Chairman of Dangote Group Alhaji Aliko Dangote, and Chairman of Forte Oil Plc Mr Femi Otedela, will be the special guests of honour.

    Ex-Foreign Affairs Minister Mr Odein Ajumogobia (SAN) will chair the event.

    The lecture, with the theme: Funding Governmental Services in a Federation: The Inevitable Admixture of Law and Politics, will be delivered by Deputy Chief of Staff to the President, Mr. Ade Ipaye.

    It will hold on Friday at the J. F. Ade-Ajayi Auditorium, by 11 am.

    Head of Department Prof. Ige Bolodeoku said the Executive Chairman, Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Dr. Babatunde Fowler, would  also speak at the event.

    He said Ipaye, a renowned tax law expert, would discuss sources of funding to government from the legal and political perspectives, as well opportunities.

    Bolodeoku said: “The lecture will examine the legal and political aspects of funding governmental services. It will look at the challenges, and explore areas Nigeria is doing well and not doing well. Are we under-utilising funding opportunities for government? If that is the case, what can be done?

    “The lecture will also look at policy and public expectations. Are the people overtaxed? Is there is justification for paying more or less? We believe the lecture will open a fresh vista on what we should do going forward. It will also educate those in government on areas they could look at and how to be more efficient.”

  • Ambode, Fashola, Babalola for Laspotech conference

    The 7th International Conference on Infrastructure Development in Africa (ICIDA) will take place today at the Lagos State Polytechnic, Ikorodu.

    Lagos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode is the chief host.

    The keynote speakers are foremost legal practitioner and founder of Afe Babalola University (ABUAD), Ado Ekiti, Chief Afe Babalola(SAN) and the Minister for Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola.

    According to a statement by the organisers, ‘’ it is a three- day conference and will be held at the School of Agriculture’s auditorium, Laspotech, Ikorodu campus.’’

     

  • Fashola: overloading truck a barrier to prosperity

    Minister of Power, Works and Housing Babatunde Fashola said yesterday that overloading of trucks is against road safety rules and regulations which constitute a barrier to prosperity and national development.

    Fashola spoke yesterday in Abuja during a one-day public enlightenment programme on developments in the road sector, organised by the ministry.

    “Why the temptation to overload trucks against regulation and good practice may be appealing, it is ultimately a barrier to prosperity.

    “Such practices may provide cheap and perhaps corrupt riches and income in the short term but they do more damage to our roads for which the cheap income is made.

    “Those who engage in it prosper at the expense of others, this means that in the short run, the road is lost and the opportunities it offers diminishes,” he said.

    He said the enlightenment programme was for stakeholders to recognise that they were actors of the change that would lead the country to prosperity.

    According to him, all over the world, one common trend to prosperity is the level of compliance to laws and regulations for every nation that prosper; there is high level of compliance.

    “In those societies, where there is high level of compliance, what you are likely to see is that the trucks are parked in proper parks and those parks create secondary opportunities to create jobs.

    “You will not see trucks parked on the highways which impede access and opportunities; you will see trucks carrying the specified tonnage of cargo because they want the load protected,” he added.

    He said the programme was for the stakeholders to brainstorm on ways to optimise the opportunities to be created by network of roads within the ECOWAS sub-region.

    “This meeting will deliberate on how we can optimise opportunities that lie in road network like the trans-Sahara highway which connects Nigeria to Chad, Niger Republic, Tunisia, Republic of Mali and Algeria.

    “We will indeed see how we can optimise the opportunities that lie along the Lagos to Abidjan highway that runs through the

    Republic of Benin, Togo and Ghana,” he added.

    The stakeholders at the event included the Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN), National Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO), National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) and Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD).

    President Muhamadu Buhari, who was represented by Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) Boss Mustapha, said:  “The eradication of overloading on our highways will promote competitiveness in business and reduce high maintenance cost of heavy duty vehicles. I implore all vehicle fleet operators and tanker drivers to stop parking their vehicles on the federal highways, as these often causes roads to be congested and gridlocks.

    “The highways should be free at all times for safe and comfortable movement of vehicles. Fleet owners should endeavour to create private parking lots for their fleets at designated locations.”

  • Why Nigerians must be patient with road contractors, by Fashola

    Minister of Power, Works and Housing Babatunde Fashola has called on Nigerians to be patient with contractors handling federal road projects over inconveniences caused by the on-going projects.

    Fashola spoke in Kano yesterday while he was inspecting Federal Government road projects in Kano State.

    The projects inspected by the minister were the expansion of Kano-Katsina Road and the Kano Western Bypass.

    He said the inconveniences, diversion and traffic on the roads being rehabilitated were “consequences of doing what we were supposed to do 15 years ago.

    “I want to appeal to Nigerians to be patient with us wherever that is happening, our contractors have been told to provide signage and traffic management strategies.

    “But whatever the inconveniences may be, we all know now that, it is for a better tomorrow,” he said.

    The minister  said the Kano-Katsina project was awarded in 2013 and the contractor moved to site in 2014 but had to stop work because he was not paid.

    He said work resumed on the project in 2016 when the Federal Government started implementing its budget for the year.

    He said the road was a 74km project leading to the border between Nigeria and Niger Republic, adding that it was a single carriageway  in spite of its connectivity to an international border.

    “So what we want to do here is to expand the width of the road to carry more vehicles and allow freer movement to strengthen local and international trade.

    “The contractor has said that funding has improved and has promised that, 18 months from now, the project will be completed,” he added.

    Fashola expressed satisfaction with the quality and pace of work at the two project sites visited in the state.

    The Kano-Katsina project is being handled by CCECC Nigeria Limited while Dantata and Sawoe Nigeria Limited is handling the Kano Western Bypass.

  • FG to ease process of doing business in Nigeria – Fashola

    FG to ease process of doing business in Nigeria – Fashola

    The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, on Saturday pledged the commitment of the Federal Government to ease process of doing business in Nigeria.

    Fashola stated this during the tour of electrification project in Sabo Gari Market in Kano.

    The project is being executed by a private firm, Sabo Gari Energy.

    He said the commitment to promote ease of doing businesses was because small and medium scale businesses were the major drivers of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP)

    The minister said the Sabo Gari Energy project was critical because power was being generated and delivered to traders in the market without a grid system.

    He said the project had increased traders’ access to power, adding that instead of waiting for transmission grid, energy was generated and consumed in the market.

    “We have seen the control room where the energy comes and the solar panel where solar energy is converted to alternating current electricity.

    “About 3,000 out of the 12,000 shops have signed contract to be connected and about 500 have been connected and the last section of the market is being wired.

    “As the wiring continues, it is also creating employment in the procurement, manufacture, sale and installation units.

    “About 120 technicians have been employed. What this mean is that opportunities are coming and this is what our government is all about,” Fashola said.

    NAN

     

     

  • Fashola: Fed Govt will repair its roads in Ekiti

    Fashola: Fed Govt will repair its roads in Ekiti

    The Minister of Works, Power and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN), has said the Federal Government will soon begin the repairs of its roads in Ekiti State.

    Fashola spoke at the weekend during a fact-finding visit to some roads President Muhammadu Buhari approved recently for repairs in the state.

    He said it was the resolve of the Buhari administration that all federal roads must be made motorable to Nigerians.

    Represented by the Southwest Zonal Director in the ministry, Mr. Emmanuel Adeoye, the minister said priority would be given to the Federal road linking Ifaki Ekiti and Ikole Ekiti road network.

    Fashola said most of the roads currently witnessing major repairs had long been awarded but their repairs stalled due to non-receipt of further mobilisation by contractors.

    The minister said the government’s concern for those using the roads made it to consider the return of contractors to sites, after paying them the due mobilisation.

    He urged motorists to use the roads well, adding that the residents should avoid illegal activities, such as cutting the roads or setting bonfire on them to guarantee their durability.

    Also, the representative of Kopek Construction Company, the contractor handling the Iwaraja-Erinmo-Efon federal road axis rehabilitation project, Mr. Pascal Harfouch said the contract was originally awarded to his company since 2011 at a total cost of N3.5b.

    He said the job which covers a distance of 21.8 kilometre was stalled as a result of unpaid certificates amounting to over N1 billion.

    However, he said the company had to return to site to complete the job, having received mobilisation from the Buhari-led government.

    This was coming just as he called for an upward review of the contract sum which he said was no longer in tune with the economic realities of the present day Nigeria.

    Welcoming the team, the Vice Chairman of Ado-Ekiti branch of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), Olumide Ogundipe and the state’s head of the ministry, Mr. Ezekiel Kehinde, said they would continue to monitor the progress of work on the project which they said had reached over 86 percent completion stage.

  • Fashola, Emefiele, others for Standard Bank investors’ confab

    Fashola, Emefiele, others for Standard Bank investors’ confab

    High net worth individuals are expected to grace the 9th edition of the Standard Bank West Africa Investors’ Conference scheduled to hold in Abuja and Lagos, bringing together foreign and local institutional investors, fund managers, regulators and policy makers, bankers, businessmen and captains of industry, among others, to engage and explore growth potential and opportunities in Nigeria.

    The four-day event, tagged:”The Pathway towards inclusive economic recovery”, will run from February 27 – March 2, 2018, with Stanbic IBTC and Standard Bank officials leading a delegation of investors on a visit to the Minister of Power, Works & Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola; Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu; Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Godwin Emefiele; and the World Bank. This year’s edition will be capped with a factory visit to the newly commissioned $17million KelloggsTolaram plant, to showcase one of the most recent private sector led capital investments in the Nigerian economy.

    Chief Executive, Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC, Yinka Sanni, said underlining the conference is the organization’s conviction about Nigeria’s growth potential, which it would be steadfast in deploying its international connections to ensure an increased inflow of foreign capital into Nigeria.  This, he stated, requires putting before the global audience crucial information about the economy to aid their investment decisions.

     

  • Fashola vs. lawmakers

    Fashola vs. lawmakers

    The Senate and its younger cousin, The House of Representatives, have a fashion of summoning ministers, heads of agencies and chief executives of sensitive companies. The chambers’ committees then assume the toga of a monarch, tossing questions at the invitees as though addressing a school boy.

    They act as though they are the arbiters of the people’s will. They pose for the press, speak with grandiose morality and dramatise an ownership of protocol. For instance, in the last visit of members of the National Assembly to the office of the Comptroller-General of Customs, Hameed Ali, they expected the Customs chief to walk down to receive them on their arrival.

    But the old soldier was not a man to bait. He retorted that he was not a jellyfish to be tossed about and insisted that the lawmakers were received according to protocol. After all, it was not as if the agency did not assign its officials to receive them. The legislative comedian, Dino Melaye, roared his protest over what he saw as an act of institutional contempt.

    The man of Customs had to remind them of their earlier sins when he visited. No one treated him with such courtesy. In one word, the lawmakers were hypocrites. They do so all the time. They invite heads of agencies, even for inconsequential reasons.

    Hardball has learned that they want those they invite to “drop.” When they don’t “drop,” then there is trouble and the lawmakers bicker and rant and ask for this document and that paper and insist vaingloriously as though they were fishing for something.

    They did so not so long ago with the Minister of Works, Power and Housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN), when they harangued the man with questions and it seemed they were more patriotic than the minister.

    What happened between Fashola and the lawmakers is like the vacuous quarrel between husband and wife in which outsiders wonder over their pettifogging over inconsequentials. But the real issue is known only to the sparring spouses.

    Hardball learned that the lawmakers had requested Fashola’s ministry to fund their overseas trips, and the minister did not agree. He said he did not want to contravene the protocol of this democracy that forbade one arm of government to fund another. The minister had wounded their vanity.

    They also bombarded him with scores and scores of companies for contracts. The minister said they did not bid and it was against the protocol of due process to grant any such deals. They also wanted to acquire a high percentage of the contracts for rural electrification of the universities, and again the minister said no.

    May the Almighty save us from our mighty lawmakers.

     

     

  • World Bank approves $486m loan to improve Nigeria’s electricity transmission

    World Bank approves $486m loan to improve Nigeria’s electricity transmission

    The World Bank on Friday approved an International Development Association (IDA) Credit of $486 million for the rehabilitation and upgrading of electricity transmission substations and lines.

    The Senior Communications Officer, World Bank, Nigeria, Ms Olufunke Olofon, said in a statement the investments would increase the power transfer capacity of the transmission network.

    The World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA) helps the world’s poorest countries by providing grant and low to zero-interest loans for projects that boost economic growth and reduce poverty.

    The World Bank’s Country Director for Nigeria, Mr. Rachid Benmessaoud, said the Nigeria Electricity Transmission Project (NETP) would help address key bottlenecks in the transmission network.

    “It will also improve access to affordable and reliable electricity service to citizens. The credit will also enable distribution companies supply consumers with additional power.

    “Together with other investments and policy measures, the project will contribute to ensuring adequate and reliable electricity supply that is necessary for Nigeria’s continued economic development,” he said.

    The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, reiterated the government’s commitment to improving power supply in the country.

    “The Federal Government is committed to addressing the challenges in the public-owned transmission network.

    “The financing being provided by the World Bank under the Nigeria Electricity Transmission Project power sector underlines this commitment.

    “The Federal Government anticipates that private sector financing in the privately-owned segments of the value-chain will complement the government’s efforts in bringing better quality service to citizens,” he said.

    The NETP is part of the Power Sector Recovery Programme (PSRP) initiated by the federal government.

    It is a comprehensive package of policy, legal, regulatory, operational and financial interventions that will restore the financial viability of the power sector.

    The measures that will be implemented through 2021 are aimed at improving transparency and service delivery and re-establishing investor confidenc