Hopes of fixing dilapidated roads across the country waxed yesterday as the Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun and his Works, Housing and Power counterpart handed over a N100 billion cheque to contractors handling the rehabilitation of major highways across the six geo-political zones of the country.
The N100 billion sprang from Sukuk (zero interest) bond raised locally by the Debt Management Office (DMO), in collaboration with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Finance Ministry, Financial Advisers and other stakeholders.
Speaking at the handing over ceremony, the Minister of Works, Power and Housing, Babatunde Fashola said the funds will go completely into roads construction to open the economy of all regions in the country.
According to him, bad roads have remained a clog in the wheel of Nigeria’s economy, pointing out investigations by his Ministry showed paucity of funds has remained a major stumbling block in addressing the poor state of the nation’s roads.
Fashola said: “We met with contractors on September 19. They alluded to what problems were- weather and finance. I promised well solve finance problem while nature will take care of weather and here we are”, he said.
Also speaking at the event, the Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, said the N100 billion will be divided equally among the six geo-political zones, where each will get N16.7 billion.
She said: “It is the first Sukuk in Nigeria. It is a good step because we have new products, we are getting more investors.
“It was over subscribed. We got N105.87 billion but we have taken only N100 billion as agreed. The road projects cut across the six geo-economic zones. South Africa has sukuk and likewise the United Kingdom. It’s about financial inclusion to attract those who would not have invested because of high interest rates. Banks, corporate bodies among others keyed in. The money is going straight out to the contractors,” she explained.
In her remarks at the event, Director General of the Debt Management Office (DMO), Patience Oniha, said it was heart-warming for the feat thus achieved.
“Issuance of Sukuk has economic gains no doubt. But it also shows what partnership can do. The CBN, Ministries, agencies all supported by investing in the Sukuk. Such financing option is really nice to support infrastructure”, she added.
The representative of contractors and the Managing Director of Reynolds Construction Company (RCC), Moussa Nakhla, said contractors financial insufficiency nightmare will be addressed with the N100 billion Sukuk
“Nobody can hide our smile. We want to thank President of Nigeria who worked with his Ministers on a 24-hour basis to ensure this sees the light of day. We believe in Nigeria and that is why we invested a lot in this country. It is a great development,” he noted.