From Geoffrey Anyanwu, Enugu
The federal government on Wednesday said that it has undertaken interventions in 43 road projects in tertiary institutions across the country.
The Minister of Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola, who disclosed this while inaugurating a one-kilometre internal road at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH), Ituku Ozalla, Enugu, said the road was one of the 43 road projects.
Represented by the Federal Controller of Works in Enugu, Mr Olufemi Oyekanmi, the minister said that the federal government was striving hard to meet the infrastructure needs of various sectors of the economy.
Fashola explained that 29 of the 43 projects had been completed and 17 handed over to the benefitting institutions in 2020.
Recalling that the federal government had in 2020 handed over a 2.5 km internal road at the University of Nigeria Nsukka, he said, ‘today, we hand over this project in UNTH as a critical intervention to support education.
‘The point must be made that though this is a civil work project, it is an investment in education.’
He added that the Buhari administration had stepped up the process of addressing the infrastructure gap in the country.
‘The gap of our infrastructure needs is steadily being bridged by a gradual process of repairs, renewal and construction on major highways and it has reached the schools.
‘It is undebatable that the quality of education will be impacted by the quality of infrastructure and the learning environment.
‘Those who doubt it should simply listen to some feedback from students in the schools where this type of intervention has taken place.’
In his speech, UNTH Chief Medical Director Oninna Onodugo expressed gratitude to the federal government for the gesture, noting that the construction of the road was a big relief to the institution.
Onodugo stressed that until now the road had been deplorable and posed a great challenge for patients and other road users.
Corroborating him, the Deputy Chairman, Medical Advisory Committee, Dr Tessy Nwagha, noted that the road which led to the oncology unit of the hospital had been a nightmare. ‘Imagine the plight of patients who use the road to the Oncology Department,’ she said.
The institution, she added, needed more of such interventions in order to improve the quality of its health services.