President Muhammadu Buhari has pledged that the 11.9-kilometre Second Niger Bridge, 120-kilometre Lagos-Ibadan highway and other key projects under the Presidential Infrastructure Development Fund (PIDF) would be completed before his second term in office expires in 2023.

Giving the assurance yesterday at the opening of a two-day Mid-Term Ministerial Performance Review Retreat to assess progress made at achieving the nine priorities of this administration at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, the Nigerian leader used the event, third of such in the second lap of his administration, to highlight some achievements in the last two years.

He listed feats in infrastructure, transportation, economy, electricity supply and petroleum industry, among others.

On the economy, the President said the nation witnessed three consecutive quarters of growth, after negative growth rates in the second and third quarters of 2020.

Regarding security, Buhari said the Ministry of Defence had been directed to create a modest military industrial complex for local production of weapons to meet immediate requirements of the country’s armed forces and check over-dependence on other nations for armouries.