Fashola renders account of three years stewardship

• Says power generation improved from 4000mw to 7000mw,

The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN, rendered account on the three years administration of the ministries under his supervision.

In the Third Year Progress Report Fashola, delivered at the Conference Room of the Ministry of Power, Works and Housing, Mabushi, Abuja on Monday, recalled the inauguration of the Federal Executive Council on Saturday, November 10,, 2015, by President Muhammadu Buhari and the merging of the Ministry of Power, Works and Housing into one ministry on November 11, 2015.

Fashola stated that three years after, the ministry has achieved improvement in increasing electricity generation from 4000mw to 7000mw, transmission from 5000mw to 7000mw and distribution from 2690mw to 5,222mw.

The minister noted that work is still in progress in the following areas;

A) Generation from Kaduna 215MW, Afam IV 240MW, Kashimbilla 40MW, Gurara 30MW, Dadinkowa 29MW, power for nine universities, 15 markets and two big Hydro power plants of 700MW in Zungeru and 3,050MW in Mambilla.

B) Transmission from 90 projects nationwide with Apo, Mayo Belwa, Damaturu, Maiduguri, Odogunyan and Ejigbo being recently completed ones.

C) Distribution through over 100 injection sub-stations and a distribution expansion programme to be funded by the Federal Government now in an advanced state of procurement.

Fashola stated that the evidence of ther progress is not only captured in the last quarter of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) Report for Q2 of 2018 which shows a growth of 7.5% in the electricity sector, previous quarterly reports from 2017, have consistently recorded growth, a clear departure from 2014-2015 and proof of change.

The minster also said that they have recovered the thousands of jobs that were lost to public works in the area of construction of roads and bridges. He emphasised that the recovery is the result of an expansive infrastructure spending that saw works budget grow from N18.132 billion in 2015 to N394 billion in 2018.

“The outcome is that there is not one state in Nigeria today where the Federal Government is not executing at least one road project and construction workers are engaged on these sites,” Fashola declared..

“Difficult or abandoned projects like the 2nd Niger Bridge, Lagos-Ibadan Expressway and the Bodo-Bonny Bridge have been brought back to life.

“Sections of Ilorin-Jebba, Sokoto to Jega, Sokoto-Ilela have been completed, while progress of works continues nationwide from Jada to Mayo Belwa, Enugu to Port Harcourt, Lagos to Otta, Ikorodu to Shagamu, Benin to Okene, Lokoja to Abuja, Kano to Maiduguri, Abuja – Kaduna, Kano, etc, the minster highlighted.

The minster further declared; “Our intervention on roads does not stop on interstate highways. It has also entered 14 Federal Universities where unattended internal roads are now receiving attention in:

1. University of Nigeria, Nsukka;

2. Federal University Oye, Ekiti,

3. University of Benin,

4. Federal University, Lafia

5. Fed University, Otuoke Bayelsa

6. Bayero University Kano

7. Federal University of Technology Owerri (FUTO)

8. University of Maiduguri

9. Federal University, Lokoja

10. Federal Polytechnic Bauchi

11. Federal University, Gashua

12. Kaduna Polytechnic

13. Federal College of Education Katsina

14. University College Ibadan

This is the First Phase under the 2017 Budget and we are preparing to do more under the 2018 Budget.”

He added that new roads are constructed, the government is also attending to old or damaged bridges and restoring the value of maintenance.

“So, while the Loko – Oweto Bridge is nearing completion, the damaged Tatabu Bridge linking Ilorin and Jebba has been reconstructed and the Tamburawa Bridge in Kano, the Isaac Boro Bridge in Rivers, Eko Bridge in Lagos and the Old Niger Bridge that links Anambra and Delta are receiving regular maintenance attention.

“As for housing, permit me to start with public buildings like Federal Secretariats in Zamfara, Bayelsa, Nasarawa and Ekiti where public works are being undertaken, and to mention the Zik Mausoleum in Onitsha which has now been practically completed,” he narrated.

Fashola point out that the pilot National Housing Programme has led to a nationwide Housing Construction being undertaken in the 34 states where they have received land.

“No less than 1,000 people are employed on each site apart from the staff of the successful contractors,” he said.

Fashola further stated that parastatals like the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) and the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) are also contributing.

He remarked that policies like the reduction of equity contribution from 5% to 0% for those seeking mortgage loans of up to N5 million, and reduction from 15% to 10% for those seeking loans over N5 million are helping to ease access to housing.

He said that the ministry is also tackling the backlog of issuance of consent and Certificates of Occupany to Federal Government land.

“A total of 1,216 Application for Consent to transfer interests in Land application and 1,300 Certificates of occupancy have been approved and signed respectively as at 25th October 2018,” Fashola declared.