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No abandoned road project, says minister

By Cornelius Essen, Abuja
26 September 2019   |   3:40 am
The Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, has said that no road project has been abandoned. He, however, admitted that some were delayed due to issues with contractors and communities.

Former Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola. Photo: TWITTER/FMPWH

The Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, has said that no road project has been abandoned.

He, however, admitted that some were delayed due to issues with contractors and communities.

While interfacing with the House of Representatives Ad Hoc Committee on Abandoned Projects (Works) since 1999, he regretted that the ministry had been having hard times paying outstandings.

Fashola said, “It is the government’s policy to ensure that we complete as many projects as possible. Unlike in the past, this government is focused on completing projects.”

According to him, one of the mandates of President Muhammadu Buhari is to complete all projects inherited from previous administrations, as he called for adequate budgetary allocation for them.

He noted security and contracts review cost due to time-lapse and weather as some of the factors responsible for the delay in the completion of on-going projects.

“The ministry got N18 billion in 2015, which was not enough to complete one major road. We have increased it to N300 billion, but we still can’t fund the projects.

“Our revenue is not growing with the same size as our projects. So we need to prioritise our projects by laying emphasis on the A1- A4 projects that would be of benefit to our people,” he said.

Earlier, chairman of the committee, Francis Uduyok, had stated that the essence of the interaction was not to witch-hunt any ministry or person, but to investigate the government’s abandoned projects from 1999 till date.

He explained that they were to evaluate and determine the cost of completing the projects and make appropriate recommendations in the annual budgets, adding that they were to access the viability of the projects and their benefit to Nigerians.

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