Isaac Anumihe, Abuja
Federal Government has given priority to the completion of six federal secretariats in six states.
The secretariats are located in Anambra, Bayelsa, Gombe , Nassarawa, Osun and Zamfara states.
Other priority areas of the 2020 Budget, according to the Minister of Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola, include, fulfilment of Nigeria’s financial obligations to Shelter Afrique for the construction of affordable housing of which Nigeria is a key player.
Fashola, who fielded questions at the National Assembly Joint Committee to defend the Ministry’s 2020 Budget, said that the government also plans to install solar panels as alternative source of energy at the ministry’s headquarters, Abuja.
The Minister also mentioned in the priority list: the provision of infrastructure by building access roads, drainages for erosion control for social housing schemes in Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Enugu, Kwara and Osun states, and settlement of liabilities incurred under the Special Projects Unit, which caters for project under the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The Minister, however, faulted the practice of measuring budget performance by funds expended on projects but not on the actual work done. He explained that most times the projects were carried out on priority bases. Therefore, the fund made available might not be enough to carry out all the projects needed by Nigerians.
Fashola charged members of the joint committee to encourage members of their constituencies to form cooperative groups through which land could be acquired from states to access credit and build genuine houses of choice.
He further revealed that the ministry was planning to launch the co-operative system for ease of accessing land and credit for providing affordable houses for Nigerians.