Babatunde Fashola. Minister of Power, Works and Housing. |
Distinguished
ladies and gentlemen, Saturday the 10th day of November 2018 was the 3rd
anniversary of the day when President Buhari inaugurated the current Federal
Executive Council and announced the merger of the Ministry of Power, Works and
Housing into one new ministry, on the 11th November, 2018.
Shortly
after the inauguration and specifically on the 8th day of December 2015, I
addressed members of the public in a statement titled “Setting the Agenda for
Delivering Change” in which I set out what we inherited, what we plan to do,
and what members of the public should expect from us
For
the sake of consistency, let me refresh your memories by repeating some of what
I said about each sector, as a benchmark for assessing our progress in the
report which I will present shortly.
With
regard to our mandate on power supply, I promised that we will improve on the
gas supply, increase the transmission capacity, pay MDA debts and generally
improve your experience with power supply, first by getting incremental power,
then proceed to stable power and hopefully reach uninterrupted power
With
regard to works, I said:
“As
at May 2015, many contractors have stopped work because of payment and many
fathers and wives employed by them have been laid off as a result. The
possibility to return those who have just lost their jobs back to work is the
kind of change that we expect to see…”
And
with regard to Housing, I said:
“The
Housing Sector presents an enormous opportunity for positively impacting the
economy to promote not only growth but inclusion.”
I
also said that:
“Government
will lead the aggressive intervention to increase supply” starting with a
pilot.”
Ladies
and Gentlemen, on behalf of my colleagues, Hon. Mustapha Baba Shehuri and
Surveyor Suleiman Hassan Zarma, the Honourable Ministers of State who manage
this ministry with me, the Permanent Secretaries; Mohammed Bukar for Works and
Housing; Louis Edozien, for Power, the Directors and all the staff of the
ministry, the heads of our various parastatals and their staff, I am proud and
happy to report that we have walked our talk, and we have delivered visible
results and recorded qualitative progress.
With
regard to power, we have improved on what we met, by increasing generation from
4000 MW to 7000 MW, transmission from 5000 MW to 7000 MW and distribution from
2690 MW to 5,222 MW.
Our
work is clearly not finished, and we are still in the process of delivering
additional:
A)
Generation from Kaduna 215MW, Afam IV 240MW, Kashimbilla 40MW,
Gurara 30MW, Dadinkowa 29MW, power for 9 universities, 15 markets and 2 big
Hydro power plants of 700MW in Zungeru and 3,050MW in Mambilla.
B.)
Transmission from 90 projects nationwide with Apo, Mayo Belwa, Damaturu,
Maiduguri, Odogunyan and Ejigbo being recently completed ones.
C)Distribution
through over 100 injection sub-stations and a distribution expansion programme
to be funded by the Federal Government now in an advanced state of
procurement.
Although
there are still people we have not reached, although there are still
disruptions from time to time, and although there are still people who also
need meters, and we are working to reach them, it is indisputable that we have
delivered on incremental power.
The
evidence of our progress is not only captured in the last quarter of the
National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) Report for Q2 of 2018 which shows a growth
of 7.5% in the electricity sector, previous quarterly reports from 2017, have
consistently recorded growth, a clear departure from 2014-2015 and proof of
change.
As
I promised you in my inaugural address, it will not just be electricity by
numbers, it will be borne out by personal experiences.
The
report of our survey and feedback mechanism confirm that many of you now have
public power for longer hours compared to 2015, and you now run generators for
shorter periods compared to 2015 and you now spend less money on diesel to
power your generators.
As
some Citizens recently reported, they no longer have to iron all their clothes
one week in advance as they previously used to do, because the supply is
proving reliable and predictable even if not yet fully Stable and
uninterrupted.
This
is progress that we must move forward by consolidating on our mandate of
change. We cannot go back.
As
our policies on Mini Grids, Meter Asset Provider, Eligible Customer, and
liquidity sustenance and improved governance deepens, your experience with
power supply can only get better.
Our
progress report on public works relating to roads and bridges also confirms
that we have fulfilled our promise.
We
have recovered the thousands of jobs that were lost to public works.
This
recovery is the result of an expansive infrastructure spending that saw
works budget grow from N18.132b in 2015 to N394b in 2018.
The
outcome is that there is not one state in Nigeria today where the Federal
Government is not executing at least one road project and construction workers
are engaged on these sites.
Difficult
or abandoned projects like the 2nd Niger Bridge, Lagos-Ibadan Expressway and
the Bodo-Bonny Bridge have been brought back to life.
Sections
of Ilorin-Jebba, Sokoto to Jega, Sokoto-Ilela have been completed, while
progress of works continues nationwide from Jada to Mayo Belwa, Enugu to Port
Harcourt, Lagos to Otta, Ikorodu to Shagamu, Benin to Okene, Lokoja to Abuja,
Kano to Maiduguri, Abuja – Kaduna, Kano to mention a few.
Apart
from recovered construction jobs and growth in construction sector of the economy,
the feedback from road users is that the journey times are reducing on the
completed roads.
Only
last week a commuter sent a text message to me that he travelled from Warri to
Lagos in Five and Half hours.
This
is what we promised in my inaugural address.
That
journey used to take a whole day before President Buhari was elected and
sometimes people slept on the Road. We cannot go back to that era. We are
determined to move forward.
We
acknowledge that the work is not finished, but as long as we remain able to
finance the projects, I have no doubt that it will get better.
Our
intervention on roads does not stop on interstate highways. It has also entered
14 Federal Universities where unattended internal roads are now receiving
attention in:
1.
University of Nigeria, Nsukka;
2.
Federal University Oye, Ekiti,
3.
University of Benin,
4.
Federal University, Lafia
5.Fed
University, Otuoke Bayelsa
6.
Bayero University Kano
7.
Federal University of Technology Owerri (FUTO)
8.
University of Maiduguri
9.
Federal University, Lokoja
10.
Federal Polytechnic Bauchi
11.
Federal University, Gashua
12.
Kaduna Polytechnic
13.
Federal College of Education Katsina
14.
University College Ibadan
This
is the First Phase under the 2017 Budget and we are preparing to do more under
the 2018 Budget.
It
is important to highlight this intervention and the 9 (Nine) Indepedent Power
projects in Federal Universities as an investment in Education for the benefit
of those who seek more funding for education.
As
we build roads, we are also attending to old or damaged bridges and restoring
the value of maintenance.
So,
while the Loko -Oweto Bridge is nearing completion, the damaged Tatabu Bridge
linking Ilorin and Jebba has been reconstructed and the Tamburawa Bridge in
Kano, the Isaac Boro Bridge in Rivers, Eko Bridge in Lagos and the Old Niger
Bridge that links Anambra and Delta are receiving regular maintenance attention.
As
for housing, permit me to start with public buildings like Federal Secretariats
in Zamfara, Bayelsa, Nasarawa and Ekiti where public works are being
undertaken, and to mention the Zik Mausoleum in Onitsha which has now been
practically completed.
Let
me also point out that our pilot National Housing Programme has led to a
nationwide Housing Construction being undertaken in the 34 states where we have
received land.
No
less than 1,000 people are employed on each site apart from the staff of the
successful contractors.
These
sites are an ecosystem of human enterprise, where artisans, vendors, suppliers
and craftsmen converge to partake of opportunities and contribute to nation
building.
These
are some of the most vulnerable people for whom President Buhari has delivered.
Our
parastatals like the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) and the Federal
Housing Authority (FHA) are also contributing.
Policies
like the reduction of equity contribution from 5% to 0% for those seeking
mortgage loans of up to N5million, and reduction from 15% to 10% for those
seeking loans over N5million are helping to ease access to housing.
The
ministry is also tackling the backlog of issuance of consent and Certificates
of Occupany to Federal Government land.
A
total of 1,216 Application for Consent to transfer interests in Land
application and 1,300 Certificates of occupancy have been approved and signed
respectively as at 25th October 2018.
Some
of these transactions started over a decade ago and those just getting
certificates acquired their properties years back but never got title.
You
will go a long way back in our history to find out when a Federal Government
set out such clear objectives and is able to come back to show its progress
report.
As
you all know, we are now in the month of November and heading to the end of the
year.
What
this means is that festivity, end of year activity and consequent movement of
goods and services will put pressure on our roads nationwide.
Our
Ember month planning committee, working with FRSC and FERMA have been meeting
to prepare themselves to make your movement during this period as conducive as
the circumstances will permit.
FRSC
will deploy their personnel across the major transport corridors of the country
during this period of heavy movement to help manage traffic.
They
have committed to setting up 9 camps and 18 help areas across the zones to
provide support and help to commuters in need.
The
ministry staff have identified 53 critical roads requiring intervention while
construction is going on in order to move traffic and we will be working with
our contractors to provide relief gangs.
We
are also deploying the Zonal Directors to their zones of responsibility until
this period of peak traffic subsides.
What
is true of pressure on roads at the end of the year is true of pressure on the
power supply with the heat and weather change that comes with end of the year.
There
will be increased demand for water and cooling in dry and hot weather which
translates to increased demand for electricity in our homes, offices, and other
places of activity.
Our
ember month team have been set up to keep the supply on and, where possible,
increase it to meet demand.
We
have prepared for the worst and we now hope for the best.
The
success of our plans now depend on the cooperation of road users who must drive
carefully and energy users who must comserve energy when not needed.
Ladies
and gentlemen, we came to this job in November 2015 with a mountain to climb.
With
careful thinking, planning, and a dedicated team of public officers, we have a
firm foothold on our way to the top.
Our
policies have shown what is possible with critical sectors recording growth.
What
remains is time that it takes for the full harvest of the fruits of our
policies in plenitude and prosperity of our people.
We
cannot go back to the bottom of the mountain when the plateau is now within
reach.
Let
me conclude by wishing you all a Merry Christmas in and a prosperous 2019 in
advance and assure you of our readiness to continue to serve you.
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