Third Mainland Bridge To Be Shut For Three Days For Assessment * Three-day closure begins from July 27 while repairs begin after report of assessment is received to determine extent of deterioration * “We will try to reduce the period of closure as much as possible. But this is ultimately a choice between peoples’ safety”, says Fashola * “There was a signed statement from my office and it did not contain 27 months”, he maintains The Third Mainland Bridge in Lagos will be closed to traffic for three days from July 27, 2018, for investigative work to be conducted to assess the current condition of the Bridge, the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola SAN, has explained in Abuja. Fashola, who spoke, Monday, as Guest on the Channels Television breakfast programme, Sunrise Daily in the Federal Capital Territory, said the shutdown was necessary in order to ascertain whether there had been any material deterioration between the period the first procurement for maintenance of the Bridge was approved and now adding that the three days would be used “to really do an examination just to be sure that there has been no material deterioration beyond what we procured”. The Minister, who debunked the misreporting in some sections of the media that the Bridge would be closed for 27 months, declared, “The first message we sent out was that it was going to be closed for three days from the 27th of July”, adding that the duration of maintenance would only be determined after the report of the investigative work has been received and extent of deterioration known. He said the investigation would have been carried out earlier but the need to reduce the inconveniences that would accompany the closure compelled government to shift the time to a more convenient period when children would be on vacation and when fewer vehicles were likely to be on the Bridge. “We thought that if we allowed the children to go on vacation first it would reduce the number of vehicles that needed necessarily to be on the road and ultimately reduce the amount of inconvenience. But now we are torn between maintenance and safety and peoples’ convenience”, Fashola said adding, “Essentially the first three days at the end of this month, as issued in our Press Statement, is for investigative work to be conducted to assess the current condition”. The Minister, who said it was only after the assessment of the amount of maintenance work involved that government engineers and the contracting firms would lay out the plan of work, added, “I think it is later in the year or early next year that the repairs will then start”, pointing out that some of the equipment and materials have to be imported. Noting that the repairs would “imminently compel some closure”, Fashola, who recalled that the Bridge had been closed for repairs in the past when he was Governor, pointed out that it was shut down for 12 weeks, adding, “We will try to reduce the period of closure as much as possible. But this is ultimately a choice between peoples’ safety; that bridge must not collapse and it needs maintenance”. “It has been built now going up to a period of 30 years and if you recall, the maintenance that was done at that time was not completed because the budget was cut and that was why they did it in phases. So we are back to what we should have done before. It is costing more but it needs to be done”, he said. Reiterating that he was currently not in the position to say how long the maintenance would last until the receipt of the report from the investigation and the amount of damage determined, declared, “For now, the first three days is what I can speak of and it is when we get the report and determine the extent of damage that we will now come back to the public and tell them and say definitively how long it will be”. “I am not in the position to say it now until that report comes back to us. But what will happen at the end of July is three days”, he said, adding that those peddling the 27 months rumour about the duration of repairs might have mistaken the “July 27th” date mentioned in the government Press Statement for 27 months. “There was a signed statement from my office and it did not contain 27 months”, he said. Fashola, who admonished the Media, both traditional and social, to endeavour to be more accurate in their reportage especially of such sensitive issues, expressed regrets that many of the nation’s public assets have remained unmaintained for decades citing the Ijora Bridge which he recalled collapsed some time ago due to lack of maintenance after 40 years plus. ...

Housing Is A Catalyst For Development And Sustainable Economic Growth Says Fashola The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN, has said that the present Administration has taken leadership role by demonstrating how provision of affordable housing can catalyze development and sustainable economic growth in Nigeria. Fashola explained that President Buhari has used the National Housing Programme (NHP), presently active in 34 States of the federation in the last three years, as one of the tools to grow the economy and extricate the nation from recession.   According to him, ‘’we are able to employ, on the average, a thousand people at each of the 34 NHP sites, and this is only for the pilot stage’’. The Minister stated this at the recently concluded 7th Meeting of the National Council on Lands, Housing and Urban Development held at the Banquet Hall, Gombe International Hotel, Gombe State with the theme ‘Provision of Affordable Housing: A Catalyst for Development and Sustainable Economic Growth’. Speaking at the Council, Fashola urged Policy Makers and government at all levels to make efforts in consolidating on the achievements of the present government by building more houses and also proffer policies to address urbanization. He said that one of such policies is to consciously redistribute wealth and opportunities by strong commitments to programs like Agriculture and Mining. The Minister stated that from his trips across the nation, ‘’I can tell you categorically that President Buhari’s investment in infrastructural development is impacting on the nations urbanization challenge in a positive way’’. In his remarks, the Special Guest of Honour and the Host Governor, the Executive Governor of Gombe State, H.E. Alhaji Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo, commended the Ministry for choosing Gombe State as host, assuring that the Council meeting was bound to address the challenges facing Land Administration, Housing and Urban Development to enable the sector contribute meaningfully to the socio-economic development of the nation. Dankwambo stated that access to quality and affordable housing is not only fundamental to the health and well being of families and communities, but critical to human survival. He urged Government at all levels to work assiduously in ensuring provision of affordable housing, particularly for the low and modest income earners in the country. While he commended the efforts of the Federal Government in the construction of mass housing under the National Housing Programme (NHP), stating  that the state government has also consolidated on these gains with the construction of over  1, 000 housing units, fully completed and allocated to civil servants and the general public in the state. Earlier, while addressing the meeting of the Permanent Secretaries at the state level and other stakeholders, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, (Works & Housing) Mohammed Bukar, said that the provision of affordable housing rest on the shoulders of all stakeholders in the industry, adding that ‘it is a collective duty to provide leadership for achieving the set objective’. Bukar enjoined all stakeholders to make judicious use of the opportunity provided by the 7th Meeting of the National Council on Lands, Housing and Urban Development to deliberate on the memoranda submitted for consideration towards formulating and strengthening policies that will address the challenges in the built environment and making housing affordable to all Nigerians. In her goodwill message, the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs Winfred Oyo-Ita, represented by the Permanent Secretary, Service Welfare, Mrs Didi Walson Jack, stated that the Council meeting is an auspicious moment bringing together key stakeholders in the housing sector to deliberate on policy issues geared towards the full delivery of mass housing. She commended the ministry for initiating and promoting the discuss on affordable housing in Nigeria According to her, the Federal Executive Council in consideration of the need to reposition the civil service for greater productivity approved the Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan, adding that one of the 8 goals of the Plan is to enhance the value reposition of Civil Servants via improving their access to affordable housing. She stressed that this initiative led to the creation of the Federal Integrated Staff Housing (FISH) programme by the Head of Service, which has assisted over       35, 000 civil servants to acquire homes through the provision of mortgage with a long term repayment plan. The Council meeting ended with the issuance of a Communiqué unanimously agreed by all stakeholders to chat the way forward and also formulate a holistic Housing Policy for development and sustainable economic growth in Nigeria. A total number of Thirty-four (34) memoranda were received and considered under the following four thematic groups: i.                     Policy, Finance, Capacity Building for Affordable Housing Delivery; ii.                   Building Consideration and Institutional Strengthening for Affordable Housing Provision; iii.                  Urban Planning Provision for Affordable Housing; and iv.                 Lands and Infrastructure Consideration for Affordable Housing. ...

FEC Approves Reconstruction Of Roads In The Country The Federal Executive Council (FEC) presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday approved N35.6billion for reconstruction of roads and bridge in the country. The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola, disclosed this when he briefed State House correspondents at the end of the Council’s meeting held at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. The Minister said N8.9 billion of the amount was approved for construction of Ikom bridge and road in Calabar, Cross River. According to him, the road and bridge has a completion period of 24 months and when completed, will create access to the port for trailers to move freely with their containers. The Minister said that N11.78 billion was approved for Nguru –Gashua – Balmari road in Yobe State, while N8.6 billion was approved for Ilorin – Kishi road in Kwara State. He said the Council also approved N5.4 billion for another road project in Abia State, He disclosed that N933 million was also approved for automatic meter reading equipment for Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN). “The other project that was approved relates to power and this is the approval to procure at the request of the TCN an automatic meter reading machine and services – that will include the installation of equipment and also the training of engineers, auditors, IT engineers who will operate and maintain the system. “The total installation period is 18 months, supply and installation,’’ he said. According to Fashola, the wholesale meters are different from the retail meters, saying that smooth implementation of the wholesale meters would help in dispute resolution as data can be easily produced online and eliminate all delays in the system. The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, who fielded a question on the controversy surrounding NYSC exemption certificate of the Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, said the federal government had already responded to the allegation via statement from the NYSC. He said: “The government has spoken. NYSC is part of government and I have nothing to add to what the NYSC has said.’’ ...