A few days before President Muhammadu Buhari’s term ends, the Federal government has responded to criticism on the ongoing awarding of contracts and external borrowing.
Babatunde Fashola, the minister of works and housing, announced that the Muhammadu Buhari administration would award contracts on May 28 at midnight.
Fashola made this statement in Akure, the capital of the Ondo State, as he opened the 49-kilometer, dilapidated Akure/Ado-Ekiti highway’s N 90 billion dualization project.
People are wondering why we are still granting contracts when there are only a few days left, he claims. Should we halt our current course and wait for the next administration?
“It is a juvenile conversation. They forgot, among other things, that the term of this administration ends at midnight on May 28.
“This road really represents the paradox of governance, about roads, and about public debts. This is the real story.
“The work looks easy from the outside, but one decision leads to other consequences. But we have now given you contractors who have worked with you.
“All kinds of stories have been told about me, but none of them bother me. They just dedicate me to my job and tell me to do it as best I can.
“All lies have been published that Fashola does not like Ekiti and Ondo States. That is absolute nonsense.
“There were suggestions that we should asphalt and rehabilitate the road, and I said no, that we will dualize the road and we are going to reconstruct.
“Before we could do that, we had to first do the design, which took some time. But many were ignorant about this. It is not as easy as it looks.
Fashola, who noted that infrastructure development can only be realized through borrowing or taxation, stated that NNPCL will handle the project, which will cost N90 billion, using the federal government’s tax credit program.
He claims that the project, which was given to Samchase Nigeria Ltd. and Kopeck Construction Company, will be finished in the following 24 months.
The Minister spoke about the procurement statute and requested that it be amended by the 10th National Assembly since it was impeding the development of the nation.
“There is a law passed by the National Assembly called the Procurement Act; if you don’t follow it, they will call you a thief.
“That procurement law and the processes that it prescribes are not consistent with the hurry that Nigeria is in for development. And I hope the 10th National Assembly will look at that procurement law and make adjustments. Its intention is good, but the processes slow down the country.
“They forget that you, the people, through your representatives, have passed a budget for us to implement. It is a law. The people then ask, “Why is the government borrowing?”
“The easiest thing to do in government is to say that our revenue is N10 and our work is N10, but that means that nobody should ask for a road.
“If you want development and you have chosen infrastructure—a road, school, bridge, pipeline, refinery—who is going to pay for it?” It is going to come at a cost.
“So that is why the first thing you will see when government, whether at the state, local, or federal level, responds to the needs of the people is an expenditure that exceeds the revenue; that is when you have what is called a deficit. Someone has to pay for that deficit.
“In this next dispensation, I want us to have a real conversation, not imaginary issues. Elevated and mature conversation, not juvenile conversation.
“If you don’t want to borrow and you don’t want tax, So where do you want the government to get money from, because that is how it is done everywhere in the world?
“The road will cost $90 billion. You want the road, and you will say that Buhari is borrowing too much money. This road is not funded by debt but through tax credits.
“We will be leaving the sustainable development goal because, whether we are in office or not, this road will be completed.
