The Nigerian government on Wednesday approved N126 billion for construction and rehabilitation of 12 roads in Enugu, Bauchi, Borno, Adamawa, Kwara, Gombe, Yola and Kaduna states.
Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola told State House correspondents at the end of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting that the huge funds would be expended to restore confidence in the country’s construction sector.
The meeting, which lasted for over seven hours, was presided over by Acting President Yemi Osinbajo.
He said contractors that had been owed are returning to site, monies are being spent on construction items, jobs created and the economy is bouncing back.
”The headline figures are in the region of N126 billion but I think that Is not the story, the story really is what the award of those contracts will do to the economy. It will restore confidence to the construction industry.
“Contractors who have been owed for two three years before Mr President was elected are back in various states, they recall their workers and as they are purchasing gravel, cement, the economy is on its way back with a bend and this situates what the Minister of Budget and Planning has said.
“Every place in all of those states once we mobilise the contractors the money is kept in those states. Most of the workers who drive the trucks, who fix the roads that you see are indigenes of those states and so they aggregate to the total output from each of those states to the national productivity and national recovery, what you will then see is improved journey time which was what we promised you as we cover more grounds,” he said.
Also speaking, Minister of Health, Mr. Isaac Adewole said the council has approved a new draft National Health Policy that would reposition the health sector in the country.
He said the new policy would provide direction necessary to support the achievement of significant progress in terms of improving the performance of the country’s national healthcare system.
“This administration is reputed for being pro-poor and we are quiet committed to alleviating the problem of the poor Nigerians, the vulnerable the unemployed and the disadvantaged,” he said.
