From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
President Muhammadu Buhari, yesterday, assured Nigerians that the 11.9kilometre Second Niger Bridge, 120 kilometre Lagos-Ibadan Expressway and other key projects under the Presidential Infrastructure Development Fund (PIDF) would be completed within the second term of this administration.
This is even as he has instructed the Ministry of Defence to create a modest military industrial complex for the local production of weapons to meet some of the requirements of the country’s armed forces.
He also warned ministers and permanent secretaries to take seriously all issues relating to the implementation of their mandates towards the attainment of the objectives of his government. The President stated this at the opening of a two-day Mid-Term Ministerial Performance Review Retreat organised to assess progress made towards the achievement of the nine key priorities of his administration.
The president will end his tenure on May 29, 2023. A statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, quoted him as assuring that all major transport projects under the PIDF would be completed before he leaves office.
“On transportation, we are growing the stock and quality of our road, rail, air and water transport infrastructure. The PIDF projects are also advancing remarkably. These include the 11.9km Second Niger Bridge, 120 km Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, 375 km Abuja – Kaduna – Zaria – Kano Expressway and the East West Road. Most of these projects are expected to be completed within this 2nd term of our Administration,’’ he said.
The president said his administration had made tremendous progress on railway projects, saying upgrading of the railway network had been extended with the recent completion of the Lagos – Ibadan line.
“The Itakpe-Ajaokuta rail line has finally been completed and commissioned after 30 years of its conception. Work is expected to commence very soon on the Port-Harcourt Maiduguri line and Calabar – Lagos Coastal Line to connect the Southern and Eastern States of our country. Progress is also being made on the upgrading of our airports, with the state-of-the-art facilities in line with world class safety standards.”
The president expressed delight that over the past two years, ministers have rendered reports to the Federal Executive Council (FEC) on their activities related to the achievement of their ministerial mandates.
“Some of the notable achievements include the establishment of InfraCo Plc in 2020, as a world class infrastructure development vehicle, wholly focused on Nigeria, with combined debt and equity take-off capital of N15 trillion, to be managed by an independent infrastructure fund manager. The Presidential Infrastructure Development Fund was also established in 2020 with more than $1billion in funding. In addition, we have launched the Nigeria Innovation Fund by the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA).”