The Minister of Works and Housing Babatunde Fashola
says the President Muhammadu Buhari administration has
delivered three critical infrastructure projects that defy
solutions for decades.
The minister said this on Tuesday in Abuja at the 21st
edition of Town Hall Meeting focusing on the
achievements of the Federal Government in Infrastructure
Development.
The town hall meeting was organised by the Ministry of
Information and Culture and the National Orientation
Agency, NOA.
In a presentation, Mr Fashola said that Apapa-
Oworonshoki road in Lagos state which was notorious for
gridlock and in bad shape for decades was one of the
difficult projects.
He said the road built in 1970 had failed intermittently and
seemed to have defied solution in the history of the
country.
Mr Fashola said Buhari found solution to the critical
infrastructure with the construction of a new 37 km road
from Apapa Port to the Toll Gate which would last for at
least 50 years after completion.
The minister also identified Bodo-Bonny Bridge in Rivers
which was the only access to the site of Nigeria Liquefied
Natural Gas.
“For decades, this place is only accessible by air and
when there is bad weather which are a usual occurrence
people cannot get there for days.
“Three attempts had been made by the previous
administrations to construct the bridge but all failed,’’ he
said.
Mr Fashola said the Buhari administration succeeded in
constructing the first road and bridge linking Bonny Island
in highly challenging environment and soil condition
The third project according to Fashola is the Second
Niger Bridge which he said would be delivered and
inaugurated before the end of the year.
The minister said the second Niger Bridge had always
come up as an election statement by past administrations
and nothing happened until Buhari broke the jinx.
The minister said the administration awarded 1,019
infrastructure contracts covering 859 projects across the
country and no state was left out without benefitting from
the projects.
He said the administration also took an initiative to fix
roads inside federal tertiary institutions and the impact
had really worth the efforts.
“We are in 76 federal tertiary institutions we have
completed and commission 29 and starting a round of 22
last year before the ASUU strike.
“Our promise of change as a party and government is
manifesting in the area of road transport infrastructure
“The money we borrowed is being invested in all part of
Nigeria and it is driving growth,’’ he said.
