Fashola Calls For Public Cooperation On Proposed Government Projects

Babatunde Fashola, SAN

THE Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN has condemned the public 'lukewarmness' attitudes on public properties as well as constituting as strong oppositions to the government through frivolous litigations, rather than being supportive on developmental initiatives in the country by being stakeholders on safeguarding federal projects in their various communities from vandalisms and destructions. The minister added that litigations against the government on infrastructural development had contributorily led to the present state of the nation.

The Minister made the call during his nationwide inspections of various projects under his Ministry. He noted emphatically that the public attitudes towards the properties and projects belonging to the federal government needed to be modified in view of the present administration’s determination to fixing the nation’s neglected infrastructures to compete adequately with its contemporaries across the globe.

In the course of the inspection, the minister inspected various sections of the Abuja–Abaji-Lokoja Road, the Geregu I and II Power Plants and the Lokoja 330/132/33 KV Transmitting Sub Station in Kogi State.

Adducing reasons on the exercise, the minister’s spokesperson, Mr. Hakeem Bello, stated that it was aimed at making the minister get acquainted with the realities on ground so as to be in a good position tyo face the enormous challenges adequately 

“This is the 80th day since our appointments as ministers. We have spent the time before now planning a budget, taking briefings, getting to know our staff, getting to know ourselves and this phase of the work now is to go and see for ourselves some of the things we’ve read in files across the States, some of the things we have been told in the meetings and to see things as they stand in preparation for implementation,” the minister was quoted to have stated.

On his remarks after the inspection, Fashola assured that his ministry would remained committed to the completion of the Abuja – Abaji- Lokoja Road, in order to achieve the connectivity of the two cities and the State itself to the Federal Capital Territory as well as facilitate the efficient movement of goods and services.

He added that his ministry on assumption of office had written to all the state governments for availability of lands in their respective states for land suitable for housing developments and other basic amenities which will improve the standard of living of the masses at large.

“I have written to all Governors about providing us with land for housing and also providing us with their advisers, commissioners  or assistants as the case maybe on Energy,”

“We will need those advisers, commissioners and assistants to be our front men in the states. Men and women who will take decisions, who will be accountable to the state governors, because we are also seeing that quite a number of critical power projects are held up by community issues, disputes, environmental issues, cultural issues, social issues which are best dealt with by the people who are masters of the terrain and usually the Governors are closer to the local people.”

“We have just resolved some issues in one of the states where the power project has been held by communal and legal issues that was delaying about 700MW of power from being put to completion.

“These are the kinds of things that we want to tackle now. And these are the kind of things that I think has been left in the back burner. So we have cases of land disputes over erection of transmission towers, who gets compensation, who does not get and they escalate to court issues.”

 “We are seeing people blowing up gas pipes. They are things happening within states and within Nigeria. So we want much more community ownership, we want much more state ownership, so that these things can be put behind us. You can’t want electricity and be destroying electricity infrastructure,” he minister said.

The Minister while disclosing that President Muhammad Buhari has constituted a Committee comprising of some ministers including Power, Works and Housing, Transportation and Education, to review and verify claims made by states with respect to work done on Federal roads in order to enable the Federal Government put a plan in place for refunds added that the federal government interest is to see that the nation is improved in every sector within the time of this administration.