Fashola’s makes completion of abandoned road projects his top priority

Minister of power, works and housing, Babatunde Fashola, on Tuesday said the completion of abandoned road projects across the country would be his topmost short-term priority going forward.

Fashola stated this in Abuja during his maiden media briefing since he was sworn into office 28 days ago on November 11, 2015.

Previous budgetary records show that the last time Nigeria voted over N200 billion in a year for roads was in 2002, indicating that as income from oil prices increased over the last decade, government spending on roads rather decreased.

For instance, the Federal Government budgeted N18.132 billion in 2015 and the ministry of works got N13 billion for all roads and highways for the year, despite having multiple contracts for 206 roads, stretching over 6,000km and worth over N2 trillion.

“Yet, our ability to achieve connectivity of roads depends on capital spending in 2016 to pay contractors and get them back to work,” Fashola emphasised.

According to him, “our short-term strategy will be to start with roads that have made some progress and can be quickly completed to facilitate connectivity. We will prioritise within this strategy by choosing first the roads that connect states together, and from that grouping, start with those that bear the heaviest traffic.”

As of May 2015, many contractors in the country stopped work because of non-payment of contract fees to them by government, resulting in the lay-off of many people working for companies in the Nigerian building and construction sector.

“Some of the numbers from only four affected companies that were sampled suggest that at least 5,150 workers have been laid off as at March 11, 2015,” the minister said.

He added further that with at least 200 contracts pending, and on the basis of one company per contract having only 100 employees each, it means that at least 20,000 people who lost their jobs could return to work if the right budget was put in place and funded for contractors to get paid.

“The possibility to return those who have just lost their jobs back to work is the kind of change that we expect to see by this short-term strategy,” Fashola avowed.

Although the state governments own 18 percent of the total road network of about 200,000 kilometres in Nigeria, while the local governments own 66 percent, the 16 percent owned by the Federal Government carries an estimated 70 percent of the total traffic load because of their length, width and inter-state connectivity.

In order to make the roads safer, the minister said he intended to re-claim the full width and set back of all Federal Government roads, which represent 16 percent and about 36,000 kilometres of the entire road network in Nigeria.

This, he plans to do by immediately asking those who are currently infringing on the nation’s highways, whether by parking, trading, or erection of any inappropriate structure, to immediately remove, relocate or dismantle such objects voluntarily.

Fashola said such positive actions would symbolise the biggest contribution that Nigerian citizens could offer their country as a proof that we all want things to change for the better.