Works And Housing Minister, Fashola, Has Not Left Abuja Since March 22 The attention of the Office of the Honourable Minister of Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola SAN, has been drawn to a letter signed by the Chairman/CEO of Executive Jets Services Limited, Dr Sam Iwuajoku concerning a flight it operated to Abuja last weekend. For purposes of clarity and in order to set the records straight, the Hon. Minister of Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola SAN, has not travelled out of Abuja since March 22, 2020, when he returned there after an inspection tour of the Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway construction work and a visit to Lagos, before the lockdown. The decision of the Hon. Minister not to travel was taken in strict compliance with the Federal Government’s ban on inter-state travels as part of efforts to control the COVID-19 pandemic. It is therefore ridiculous for Dr Iwuajoku to attempt to link the Hon. Minister with any noncompliant flight. ...

Abba Kyari : Tribute To A Single-Minded Patriot As the inks flow in tributes to Abba Kyari by those who loved and despised him, let us not forget that Abba was much misunderstood and often maligned. Wherever you stood then and stand now, let us not forget that Abba was a patriot . He executed President Buhari’s vision with his own single mindedness. One of his favourite quotes was credited to Jeff Immelt to the effect that “The job looks easy when you are not the one doing it.” He seemed to take a lot of comfort from these words when his actions were misunderstood. I bear testimony to his dedicated execution of the Presidential Infrastructure Development Fund Initiative (PIDF) which guaranteed funding to cash strapped projects like the Second Niger Bridge, the Abuja-Kano Highway, the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, the Mambilla Hydro Project and the East –West Road at monthly meetings we held to review progress with Contractors. Like all of us, Abba was flawed but he was not conceited. He was driven by conviction and never shied from an intellectual argument because his intellect was vast. We disagreed but I never found Abba disagreeable. Now that he has paid the supreme price in the service of the fatherland one good way we can honour Abba’s service and memory is to continue where he stopped. Our most compelling assignment is to make the defeat of Covid-19 an urgent National Assignment to be completed in shortest possible time. I think Abba would love that very much. We must now undertake this assignment with a single mindedness similar to Abba’s execution of his own assignment. This requires all of us , high and low , to observe existing guidelines like hand washing, sanitizing , wearing of face mask, social distancing and staying at home, in order to stop the community spread of the virus. We must remember that the virus , on its own can only travel about 6 (six) feet and no more. If it travels beyond that to our villages, cities, towns, wards, local governments and our homes, we carried it and enabled it to do so by heedlessly transporting it. My deepest condolences go to Abba’s wife, children and family who gave us their Husband, Father, Brother, Uncle and Son , and to Mr President and all his immediate Staff and colleagues in the Villa . Rest in Peace Chief, you served well. Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN Honourable Minister of  Works and Housing ...

FG Committed To Development Of Education Through Provision Of Quality Infrastructure – Fashola The Honourable Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN Tuesday reaffirmed the commitment of the Federal Government to the development of education in the country through the provision of quality infrastructure, saying it remains a vital means to impact quality in that sector. Fashola, who spoke while handing over two kilometres rehabilitated internal roads and a paved parking lot to the Kaduna Polytechnics, said the Buhari administration also chose to invest in infrastructure renewal in the education sector in order  to improve the learning environment in the tertiary institutions pointing out that the various feedbacks from the students of those institutions testify to the positive impact on the sector. The 2.0 kilometre road project includes: Hamman Tukur Avenue, Yusuf Aboki Avenue, Abdullahi Crescent, Aminu Aliyu Close, Salisu Iliyasu Close, Yusuf Hassan roads and a roundabout  linking them. The minister, who was represented by the Federal Controller of Works Kaduna State, Engr. Finbarr James declared, “It is un-debatable that the quality of education will be impacted by the quality of infrastructure and the learning environment and those who doubt it should simply listen to some of the feedbacks from students in the schools where this type of intervention has taken place.” Fashola noted with delight that the gap of Nigeria’s infrastructure needs was steadily being bridged by a gradual process of repair, renewal and construction on major highways and it has reached schools. He  added that aside the impact in schools the project also generated employment for people thereby contributing to the job creation initiatives of the Federal Government. Urging the academic community to take ownership of the infrastructure and ensure that they are carefully utilized in order to last their lifespan, Fashola promised that Federal Government would continue to intervene in education, explaining that the intervention by Federal Government would improve the ambience and environment of Federal Tertiary Institutions to enhance academic activities. The Rector of Kaduna Polytechnics, Professor Idris Bugaje, expressed gratitude to the Federal Government and the Minister of Works and Housing for the intervention recalling that he met all the infrastructure in dilapidated state when he came to the institution. He added that with this intervention the institution had been able to repair most of the roads in the main campus and a few ones outside. He told the audience at the brief ceremony, “When I came here in October 2017 the Kaduna Polytechnics was in very bad shape. The roads, the buildings, all the infrastructure had  dilapidated. We have also been able to do the pavement of the campus parking lot et cetera.” “So we are most grateful to the Minister of Works and Housing”, he said, appealing to the minister  that because the Polytechnics operates multi-campuses, the Federal Government should also intervene in the other campuses of the institution across Kaduna State. In her remarks, the Kaduna Polytechnics Director of Works, Engr. Umm Kulthoom Aminu, also expressed gratitude to the Federal Government and the Minister of Works and Housing for including the Polytechnic in the on-going interventions pointing out that no regime in the country had ever dreamed of carrying out such intervention in the institution prior to the present one by the President Muhammadu Buhari led administration In an interview with newsmen, the director declared, “We are grateful to the Federal Government and the Minister. No other regime except this one has ever thought or looked at the tertiary institutions. And as you can see yourselves, our parking space is something we will be grateful for,  it will be here after this government and after other governments.” She, however, pleaded with the minister for more interventions saying, “The Kaduna Polytechnics is a multi-campus institution. Aside this Main Campus in Tudun Wada, we have another campus in Baranawa, we call it College for Environmental Studies. We have another one in BYPASS, we call it College of Social Sciences. We have another campus, the College of Business and Management Studies  where we have our farm, demonstration farm in a village called Nariya. According to her the small road leading to the farm needs rehabilitation due to the insecurity in the state, particularly the incidence of kidnapping and other crimes that occur along the road. She believes an intervention on the road would facilitate the movement of students to  and from the farm for practicals under a more secured environment. The Welfare Officer of the Polytechnics’ Students Union Government, Mr. Isa Ibrahim, in his remarks also expressed “sincere appreciation to the Federal Government for deeming it fit to choose Kaduna Polytechnics as one of the tertiary institutions to touch in the on-going interventions across institutions in Nigeria”. Ibrahim, who is in the Department of Electrical and Electronics Technology, said, “This is my five years here as far as this Polytechnics is concerned and nothing of this nature had happened. We thank the Federal Government for seeing the need to touch these roads and since the interventions, movement has been made a lot easier for pedestrians and vehicle owners within  the school campus including the lecturers and the students.” In an interview with journalists the Controller of Works Kadun State, Engr.Finbarr James reiterated that the need for the interventions in the nation’s tertiary institutions by the Federal Government was a response to create a conducive learning environment and impact on the quality of education in the institutions. He added  that prior to the intervention in Kaduna Polytechnics the roads were in “a sorry state” with the walkways impassable in some areas. “Those who drove at nights within the campus often got accidents, students got accidents at nights while going to classes, vehicles were having accidents. There is a roundabout there where there was not traffic lights, people drove any how even with the bad state of the place. It was and obvious problem and when we saw all these things we had to write to include this institution as one of those to benefit from the interventions.” ...