The Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola has said that the infrastructural commitment of the Muhammadu Buhari administration will be its enduring legacy.
The former Lagos State Governor made this known on Friday, when he played host to the team of the APC NewsOnline media team at the ministry of works and housing in Abuja.
According to him, while the second Niger bridge will be one of the President’s infrastructural legacy, it cannot be limited to that, as his infrastructural legacy cuts across ministries.
He noted that the value of the administration’s investment in infrastructure can only be felt after the president has exited power as these assets would continue to provide value and services.
He said, “As i say to my colleagues and also Mr President jokingly, the value of the work that has been done under his leadership will only be appreciated after he has left because those assets will remain there, making life better, making life easier for people. So there is a lot that will represent the legacy of President Buhari, in terms of providing us with the infrastructure to get on with our lives. So you will have a new gas pipeline helping to improve the storage and transportation of gas. That is the AKK gas project, from Ajaokuta to Kano, the Escravos Lagos pipeline phase 2.
“So that in the future, when all of these projects are completed, the problem of gas shortage or not getting enough gas will be a thing of the past. We have five new airport expansion projects now, all of them at different stages of completion, so our travelling experiences will be better, because the airports we were using were built 40 years ago when we were a much more smaller economy and much more smaller population.
“This is where you will see the impact, and you will also see the impact as we become a more competitive nation. You will see our broadband roll out, you will see a new port in Lekki. You will see a refinery that will be completed with government support behind the Dangote group. So the pain is going to ease continuously and progressively. That will be the real defining impact of the Buhari administration, focusing on bridging our infrastructural gap.
“It is not one project or even in one ministry. Talk about rail for example, people can travel by rail despite the set back, which we shall overcome. They are temporary.
Speaking on the inspiration behind the second Niger bridge, the minister recounted that since the first Niger bridge was constructed in 1986, Nigeria’s population has increased significantly bringing with it increasing movement and business activities around the area. Thus, necessitating a second bridge.
“Nigeria as a country represented by population and businesses, has been growing, has increased in manifold ways and will continue to increase and if you have the old Niger bridge built since 1965, when Nigeria was a much smaller country in terms of population, when businesses were relatively much smaller. You really must understand the need to add more infrastructure.
“So in terms of rationale, it is a necessity. Necessity to support life, to support business, to support the expression of will of all those who need to cross the river Niger and to give them choice. So those are the things that I think informed and compelled the necessity for this bridge. To give people the choice to reduce pressure, to reduce travel time and to bring efficiency and productivity into business in Nigeria. Why should it take you five hours to cross a river that is barely two kilometers or there about long, Fashola stated.
