Fashola: APC Didn’t Promise to Fix Nigeria in Four Years

Fashola: APC Didn’t Promise to Fix Nigeria in Four Years

Reaffirms FG’s commitment to boost energy supply

Ugo Aliogo, Sunday Ehigiator and Olaseni Durojaiye

Following the flag off of political campaigns ahead of the 2019 general elections, the Minister of Works, Power and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, yesterday stated that the All Progressives Party (APC)-led administration of President Muhammadu Buhari did not promise to fix all the challenges facing the country in four years.

The minister has also reaffirmed federal government’s commitment to increase energy supply, distribution and transmission across the value chain through investment in the Automatic Meter Reading Machines (AMRMs).

Fashola however, added that comparatively, the current administration has achieved more than the immediate past administration in the areas of infrastructure, power and housing.

The minister stated that there are verifiable records to show that the current administration has done more for the country even with lesser earnings from oil sales than the previous administrations.

He said the next general elections would present Nigerians with the choice of taking the country to the next level or return it to the era of abandoned projects, which he said was the hallmark of the Peoples Democratic Party’s 16 years in power.

The minister spoke in Lagos yesterday during the inauguration of 5,000-member PMB 2019 Ward Action Committee. The committee is a body of grassroots votes canvassers dedicated to the re-election of President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo in the presidential election slated for next February.

Members of the committee were drawn from all the local governments and local council development areas in the state.

Dignitaries at the event included a former deputy governor of Lagos State and an aide of President Buhari, Princess Adejoke Adefulire; Chairman of the Senate Committee on Land Transportation, Senator Gbenga Ashafa; deputy governorship candidate of APC in Lagos, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat; former commissioners for Culture and Transportation in the state, Oyinlomo Danmole and Kayode Opeifa respectively among others.

While charging members of the committee to ensure that they mobilise voters in their various communities to turn out and vote, Fashola said the state must turn out more votes compared to what obtained in 2014 adding it was the appropriate payback for President Buhari who has favoured the state and the South-west in his appointments and projects execution.

He also stated that in three and a half years, the current administration has constructed more roads and improved power generation and transmission in the country than the PDP government did in 16
years.

“There are verifiable proofs that the government of President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has done more for the country in the areas of roads construction, power generation and distribution and construction of housing estates than the previous administration.

“Yesterday we released N15 billion to the two contractors handling the Lagos-Ibadan expressway. Even though the road is not completed yet, those who have been using the road know that their travel time spent on the road has been greatly reduced. We all know the state of the road during the 16 years of the other party. We have also mobilised contractor handling the Ikorodu – Sagamu road which has been lying fallow for many years. You have Senator Ashafa to thank for that as he made strong and convincing case for the road to be constructed.

In another development, Fashola has reaffirmed federal government’s commitment to increase energy supply, distribution and transmission across the value chain through investment in the Automatic Meter Reading Machines (AMRMs).

Fashola disclosed this recently in Lagos at the 32nd Convocation Lecture of Yaba College of Technology with the topic: ‘Sustainability of Technological Advancement-A Key to Industrial Growth.’

He stated that in his ministry, every part of the value chain, from generation to transmission and distribution has values about how energy is produced and how much is ultimately distributed.

“In my ministry, power, works and housing, every part of the value chain, from generation to transmission and distribution has values about how much energy came out and how much energy was ultimately distributed. All of these have meters or should have meters. But how do you read the meters? It is by going round the 200 substations? That takes time to settle bills because I want to sell more.”

So, we have invested on Automatic Meter Reading Machines (AMRM),” he said.

Fashola also stated that the AMRM is driven by the existing telecommunication platform to ensure that every individual from the producer of power to the consumer of power sees the entire value chain from remote location.

Earlier in his remarks, the Rector, Yaba College of Technology, Mr. Obafemi Omokungbe, stated that for technology to be sustainable, its usage should not have any long term adverse effect on the environment and added that the academia has a role to play.

He also stated that the College would continue to provide the platform that would generate new ideas and innovations.

Omokungbe added that the current administration has repositioned the college to provide Students with the required functional education which would challenge them to be productive and innovative.

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