Private Sector Engagement In Highway Development, Management, Avenue To Mitigate Paucity Of Funds - Fashola Works and Housing Minister, Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN has stated that private sector engagement in the development and management of roads is an avenue to mitigate paucity of funds which has hindered road development in the past. Fashola stated this in his presentation on Public Private Partnership (PPP) on Highway Development and Management Initiative to the joint National Assembly Committee on Works, Wednesday June 17th, 2020. He explained that Highway Development and Management Initiative (HDMI) was created by his Ministry to manage and develop the federal road networks, with the objective to attract sustainable investment and funding in the development of road infrastructure and to maximize the use of assets along the right of way. " The rationale behind the private sector engagement under the HDMI would provide an avenue that would mitigate paucity of funds, which had hindered roads development in the past" he said. Ten (10) roads are to be concessioned under the first phase of the HDM initiative, namely: Benin – Asaba, Abuja – Lokoja, Kaduna – Kano, Onitsha – Owerri – Aba, Shagamu -Benin, Abuja -Keffi – Akwanga, Kano – Maiduguri, Lokoja – Benin, Enugu-Port Harcourt, Ilorin-Jebba. The total length of the federal road network is 35,000km, but the proposed project in the first phase will cover a total lenght of 2.275km. The project will attract a capital investment of N163.323bn at a cost of about N16bn per each of the 10 roads, in addition to about 23,322 jobs that would be created. Explaining further, the minister said investors are expected to provide streetlights, toll plazas, rest areas, and weighbridge stations. Accordingly, the Minister further explained that the HDMI was broken into two categories, namely: Value Added Concession(VAC) and unbundled Assets Approval (VAA). He added that the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing, (FMWH), Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission,(ICRC), Bureau of Public Procurement, (BPP) and Special Purpose Vehicle Concessionaire were the defined stakeholders to provide the regulatory framework in the implementation. Earlier, Senator Adamu Aliero, Chairman Senate Committee on Works who co -chaired the Joint Session with Honourable Buba Abubakar, Chairman House Committee on works, stated that it was imperative to engage private sector partnership to tackle the bad roads in Nigeria as government alone could not bear the burden of fixing them. He said the Public Private partnership reduces the financial burden of government thereby allowing funds to be utilized in other relevant social economic sectors. Senator Aliero assured the Honourable Minister of the tacit support of the National Assembly and promised to provide legislation that will strengthen and protect the laudable investment initiative. Present at the presentation were the Minster of State for Works and Housing, Engr. Abubakar Aliyu, the Permanent Secretary, Mohammed Bukar, some Directors of the Ministry, and the Director General/CEO of Infraustructural Concession Regulatory Commission, Engr. Chidi Izuwah and and some other stakehokders. ...

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 ...