Fashola Flags Off 9th Experts’ Meeting On Abidjan-Lagos Corridor Highway Development Programme •Says President Buhari is fully committed to realisation of the Project to enhance trade and communication within the sub-region •Highway will enhance rapid sub-regional integration, improve socio-economic activities, job opportunities and curb social vices-Minister The Minister of Power Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola SAN, Tuesday in Abuja, flagged off the 9th Steering Committee & Experts Meeting on the Abidjan-Lagos Corridor Highway Development Programme saying the highway would  enhance rapid sub-regional integration and communication and other benefits among the stakeholders. In his address at the Transcorp Hilton venue of the 3-day Meeting, Fashola named other benefits of the Highway to include improvement in socio- economic activities among the West African countries, creation of employment opportunities and reduction in social vices, adding that rapid integration would enable the sub-region keep abreast with other fast growing economies such as Asia and South America. The Minister told the gathering of experts and professionals representing the five ECOWAS countries involved in the project-Nigeria, Ghana, Cote D’Ivoire, Benin Republic and Togo- “With the development of this Corridor, we will enhance rapid integration that already exists in other economic blocs in other parts of the world”. “It will improve socio- economic activities among the West African countries and it will lead to rapid integration, creation of employment opportunities and reduce social vices among our population”, he said adding, “It testifies to the strong bond among the African countries with common goals and aspirations to develop our sub-region both in terms of standard of living for our people and the level of communication between our countries”. Commending the ECOWAS Heads of State and Governments for their vision leading to the development of the project, Fashola described the meeting of the Steering Committee and Experts on the project as “crucial to the success of meeting the development of the Abidjan-Lagos Corridor project”. The Minister told the Committee, “Let me say that when this Corridor is finished, very few people will see the work that you do; very few people will know how many hours you have spent preparing, planning, working and ultimately implementing the project. But I see that work, I acknowledge it and I appreciate it”. “As you are well aware, road development drives economic growth which the West African Sub-Region must pursue to keep abreast with the fast growing economies in Asia and South America with a view to reducing the migration of our youths and also keeping our precious human capital on the Continent”, he said. Expressing the commitment of President Muhammadu Buhari and the Nigerian Government to the realisation of the project as a means to enhance trade and communication, Fashola declared, “This is why I am also happy to report at this Opening Session that Nigeria has now signed the financing agreement, which was one of the outstanding issues”. The Minister, who also acknowledged the support of the Minister of Finance in signing the Financing Agreement, noted that the global Ease of Doing Business report which was published recently acknowledged that Nigeria made “some inspiring progress”. He added, “And there is still work to be done if we are to deliver on vision of economic prosperity that we have”. “This is why I am very delighted and honoured to address this meeting of experts on the Abidjan-Lagos Corridor Development Project in preparation for the 9th Ministerial Steering Committee Meeting which will hold at this venue over the next few days”, he said. Also thanking members of the team in the Nigerian Ministry of Power, Works and Housing, from the Permanent Secretary to the Directors who were at the flag-off, Fashola, who specially thanked the Director Highways, (Planning and Development) Engineer Chukwunwike Uzo, declared, “I can say very clearly that if these Directors, our staff, were trying to build their own houses, the commitment they will show will not be greater than the commitment they are showing in the development of this project”. Thanking the Committee members for their efforts and wishing them “very happy and fruitful deliberations”, Fashola urged them to dedicate themselves to the noble project, “a project you are clearly committed to”, adding, “It holds the key to cross-border trade, to tourism, to cultural integration and to prosperity”. Earlier in her remarks, the ECOWAS Commissioner for Infrastructure, Antoinette G. Weeks said the meeting of the Steering Committee and Experts on the Abidjan-Lagos Corridor Highway Development would finalize the documents for the various aspects of the project including, according to her, consultancy services in financing and road safety as well as the review of the various technical studies culminating in the award of the contracts. The Commissioner thanked Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari and the Government for hosting the three day event and specifically expressed appreciation to the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola SAN, as well as the Permanent Secretary, for the ground works and preparations leading to the present meeting. The Abidjan-Lagos Corridor Highway is a 1,008 kilometre highway that will traverse five countries in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), including Cote D’Ivoire, Ghana, Benin Republic, Togo and Nigeria and will provide access to vibrant sea ports which account for about 90 per cent exports and 60 per cent imports across the sub-region. According to the details released at the event, approximately 558 kilometres of the highway will run through Ghana, approximately 135 kilometres will run through Benin Republic, approximately 180 kilometres through Cote D’Ivoire, approximately 57 kilometres through Togo and approximately 78 Kilometres though Nigeria. Hakeem Bello Special Adviser, Communications To The Hon. Minister   ...

NERC Formally Presents Eligible Customer Regulations To Fashola •As Minister urges, public, stakeholders to take NERC consultations, notices seriously • Says Regulations will help improve capacity for electricity distribution to consumers who need the utility •Urges NERC to speed up work on the regulation on Meter The Minister of Power Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola SAN, Monday received the regulations guiding the Eligible Customer policy in the electricity sector with an appeal to members of the public to always take seriously the consultations and Stakeholder notices being issued from time to time by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC). In his remarks after the formal presentation of the document, Eligible Customer Regulations 2017, to him by Engr. Sanusi Garba, the NERC Vice Chairman, Fashola said such consultations were necessary as decisions taken thereafter would affect both members of the public and consumers as well as stakeholders in the sector. Citing an example with the Eligible Consumer Regulations just presented, the Minister, who noted that the regulations came by consulting with as many people as possible who will be affected by it and the declaration which he made, pointed out that while the DisCos would be affected in terms of potential revenue impact, consumers would be affected with regards to how they could possibly build distribution assets and how they would get compensated. “Members of the public must, therefore, understand that whether it is tariff setting, whether it is Eligible Customer declaration, NERC works, first by consultation, before it makes decisions so that all interests are carried as much as possible”, he said adding, “I want to use this opportunity to say that whenever consultation notices, stakeholder notices are issued by NERC, members of the public should take them seriously”. Describing the regulations as “a very important rule”, Fashola, who said it has been much awaited, added, “It will help us to improve the capacity for electricity distribution to consumers who need them; consumers also who are willing to make investments in providing distribution assets in a way that it then helps them to recover their costs and so on and so forth”. “But I will like members of the public to know that the process of making these rules did not come by sitting in the office. It came by consulting with as many people as possible who will be affected by the regulations and by the declaration that I have made; and I know that DisCos will be affected in terms of potential revenue impact and I believe that this has been taken care of in the regulation”, he said. The Minister, who also described the Eligible Customer Regulations as one of the steps in furtherance of the Power Sector Recovery Programme, declared, “This will assist the distribution end when it becomes implementable, the metering programme when the regulations come, when approved, the settlement of DisCo debts, MDA debts and solving the liquidity problem”, adding that everything being done in response to the power value chain was a step to the furtherance of the PSRP.   Commending the NERC Management for its efforts in the production of the Regulations, the Minister expressed delight at the presentation promising to familiarize himself with the document and appealing to the Commission to upload the document on its website for the benefit of the public as well as share with the Ministry “so that all the agencies of government can help you to propagate and advertise this”. He, however, called on the Commission to speed up work on the regulation on Meter, adding, “Much as we welcome this (Eligible Customer Regulation), I think the regulation that everybody is waiting for is the regulation on Meter. It will be a good thing if you can complete that before this month is over and let us see then how quickly that can stimulate licensing of meter suppliers”. In his own remarks before presenting 10 copies of the document to the Minister, the NERC Vice Chairman, Engr. Sanusi Garba, recalled that after the declaration of the Eligible Customer policy in May and the modifications in October this year, the Commission constituted a Committee which made consultations through the six geopolitical zones of the country adding that the Commission took as much of the recommendations possible to cover the larger interest of the people. He said in arriving at its final position, the Commission benefitted from the technical advisory support from the USAID because, according to him, “We needed to leverage on the experiences of other emerging economies in the area of Eligible Customers”, adding on November 1, the Commission received the report from its Committee from which the Commission compiled the Regulations. While the Minister was joined at the event, which took place at the Conference Room of the Ministry of Power, Works and Housing, Mabushi, by top officials of the Ministry, including the Permanent Secretary, Power, Engnr. Louis Edozien, the Interim Managing Director of the Transmission Company of Nigeria, Mr Usman Gur Mohammed, Directors and Special Advisers. On the side of NERC, aside the Vice Chairman were Dr Moses Arigu, the Commissioner for Consumer Affair; Prof. Frank Okafor, Commissioner for Engineering Performance and Monitoring; Mr Musiliu Oseni, Commissioner for Planning , Research and Strategy; and Dr Usman Arabi, Head Public Affairs Department. Hakeem Bello Special Adviser, Communications To The Hon. Minister        ...

Fashola Charges Universuty DONS To Produce Competitive Graduates -Challenges them on provision of affordable housing for indigent students The Honourable Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN, has appealed to Vice Chancellors of Nigerian Universities to meticulously pay significant attention to the academic curriculum of tertiary institutions, especially as it affects students in the built and construction industry. He added that ‘’this will ensure that Graduates are fit for the ever changing world and can compete favourably with their contemporaries worldwide.’’ The Minister stated this at the High Level Policy Dialogue on Affordable Housing for indigent students and low income earners organised by the Committee of Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian Federal Universities (CVC) in Abuja. Fashola, who was represented by the Minister of State II for Power, Works and Housing, Surv. Suleiman Hassan Zarma, mnis, commended the university Dons for the laudable initiatives of the new pro-poor housing framework aimed at addressing the housing challenges of these categories of people and indeed the entire citizenry. He stated that the CVC’s inspiration stemmed from the PhD work of Dr. Paschal Onyemaechi whose findings and research work has translated into a housing project termed ‘’Build for Nigeria’’ shared the vision of the present administration’s on-going construction of mass and affordable housing across the 36 States of the federation, under the National Housing Programme Scheme. According to the Minister, ‘’it is no longer news that there is a huge housing deficit in the country and that the poor and low income earners are at the receiving end. It is very unfair that our children at our Tertiary Institutions are also grappling with the problem of accommodation.’’ He however assured them that government is mindful of these situations and is heavily investing on infrastructural facilities, site and services schemes, mortgage facilities, Public Private Partnership Schemes and lots more to bridge the gap of the nation’s housing deficits. The Committee of Vice Chancellors of Nigerian Universities which is coordinating collaboration amongst all the 153 universities in Nigeria, has decided to take the lead with the Dialogue, along with other sponsors and professional bodies to identify and proffer possible solutions to the escalating low-income housing deficit and the urban housing crisis in Nigeria. The overall essence of the research is to focus on how the benefits of Public Private Partnership (PPP) can be maximized to improve access to decent and affordable housing for low and middle-income earners in developing economies like Nigeria. The High-Level Policy Dialogue which featured panel discussants, presented a detailed report on the strategies for the implementation of the ‘Build for Nigeria’ solution to the Vice President and other leaders representing various interest groups and the general public. The occasion was graced by the Executive Governor of Kebbi State, Senator Atiku Bagudu, Minister of State for Education, Prof Anthony Anwuka, the Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, His Eminence John Cardinal Onaiyekan, Royal fathers and other keynote speakers. ...