FG’s  Maintenance Policy Is To Empower Nigerians At The Base Of The Economic Pyramid, Enable Small Businesses Grow- Fashola * As Minister addresses the Press on Infrastructure Maintenance Framework for Public Buildings recently approved by FEC * Says Buhari’s signing law to protect people living with disability from discrimination, exclusion also offers job opportunities to redesign, remodel, retrofit assets nationwide The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola SAN, Thursday in Abuja, briefed the Press on the recently approved  National Infrastructure Maintenance Framework saying it is a choice of the Buhari Administration to drive the small business sector, skill utilization and to move the economy from growth without jobs to growth driven by new jobs that reward services. Addressing newsmen at a conference, attended also by Heads of Ministries, Departments and Agencies as well as Parastatals and Members of the National Assembly, among other stakeholders, Fashola said, however, that the Framework, which applies to public buildings for now, would ultimately extend to other public assets like roads, bridges, rail, power installations and other infrastructure of a public nature. The Minister, who said the Framework was approved on January 9, 2018, explained that the Federal Executive Council’s approval meant that “after decades of agonizing about lack of maintenance, the Buhari government has chosen to act”, describing it as “policy decision of enormous profundity”, as, according to him, “the records do not indicate that any such policy decision has previously been taken at the federal level”. He said the decision to approve the Framework was provoked by a memorandum from the Ministry of Power, Works and Housing that challenged the conventional thinking that "Nigeria does not have a maintenance culture", adding, “The memorandum argued and FEC agreed, that maintenance of infrastructure, whether public or private, is not a cultural issue but an economic one”. According to him, the memorandum showed that in the built industry, only about 23 per cent of the workforce was employed by Design (6%), Construction (15%) and Governance (2%), while the remaining 77 per cent were employed by Maintenance and Operation adding, “the Council was persuaded to accept that while skill training and vocational centres exist almost nationwide for training artisans like plumbers, painters, bricklayers, welders, tilers, electricians etc., there is a lack of National policy that makes the practice of these vocations economically worthwhile on a sustainable basis”. The Minister said available data showed that many people trained in vocations such as Plumbing, Carpentry, Tiling, Masonry, Painting, Bricklaying, Welding, Electrical installations etc often resort to other vocations in which they do not have training such as riding motorcycles and tricycles in order to make a living. Giving details on what the Framework entails, Fashola said the first step would be to conduct Site Assessment of the affected buildings involving measurements, valuation and data collation, all of which, he noted, require the employment of people to carry out the process thereby creating jobs even from the very first step, adding that it would also provide for credible data such as lettable space, value of the property and so on “which could form the basis of the economic decisions or even actions in emergency periods”. The next step, the Minister said, would be Condition Assessment which would also, according to him, require people to be trained and employed to assess the conditions of affected buildings from foundation to roof and for mechanical and electrical sustainability for purpose adding that the maintenance programme would then be developed from the assessments as to what jobs would need to be done to restore the building to fitness while award of maintenance contract, also based on the assessments, would then be following the existing procurement law. Citing an example, Fashola, who said the Ministry carried out a pilot programme on nine buildings comprising a Federal Government College, a Federal Hospital, a Federal Court building, a federal prison, a federal secretariat and four office buildings belonging to the Ministry, pointed out that in one of the sample buildings leading up to the memorandum to FEC, out of 63 air-conditioning units, 11 required replacement or repairs while windows, doors, tiles, roofing materials, plastering works were also identified that required replacement or repair. And in another building, he said, out of about 30 toilets or so, about 12 were not functional, providing jobs for those in the Plumbing business, pointing out that buildings owned by parastatals, airports and others were yet to be reached where such jobs were likely waiting for skilled workers. “This provides a window of opportunity for small businesses who are into facility management and for young graduates of building technicians, architecture, engineering and even technical schools to register for these contracts”, he said adding that successful bidders would then be in a position to employ artisans to execute the maintenance contract they have won in the bid. Fashola said each Ministry, Department and Agency (MDA) would be responsible for its own procurement for its own building after training of their designated personnel by the staff of the Ministry of Power, Works and Housing who would guide them through the framework approved by the Federal Executive Council, adding that because data is critical to the programme, “each MDA will file data with the Ministry of Power, Works and Housing who will centrally manage data and use it to advise government and brief the public, while the MDA reserves the right to keep its own data”. Reiterating that the implementation of the Framework would start with public buildings, the Minister, who noted that the award of contracts would not only drive employment for artisans but the demand of manufacturing and suppliers of parts like wood, pipes, paint, tiles, electrical fittings, windows and tools, in addition to those of  cleaning items like soap, detergent, polish, varnish etc, declared, “This is the economy that we see ahead as we set out to implement this approval as we progress”. On the cost of implementation, Fashola said the pilot survey showed that the nine buildings would cost about N40.3 billion to reconstruct, while it would cost N922 million per annum to maintain them, which is about 2.3 per cent of cost of replacement, adding that if maintenance was pursued the buildings could last their lifespan of between 50 and 60 years and instead of using N40 billion to replace existing buildings it could be used to expand and provide more buildings for the nation’s growing population. “Just these nine buildings will require about 400 people to keep them well maintained a year. For example, the school will require at least 30 people to be employed per school for maintenance; and the federal government owns 104 Unity schools which potentially will require 3,120 maintenance staff. So you can see the economy we see when this extends to all our hospitals, all our courts, all our prisons, all our police stations, all our universities and covers all public buildings”, the Minister said. Comparing the new economic initiative to the Lagos Green Economy, Fashola declared, “This is an economic choice by this government to drive the small business sector, to drive skill utilization and to move the economy from growth without jobs to growth driven by new jobs that reward services”. The Minister also disclosed that President Buhari also in January signed the law to protect people living with disability from discrimination and exclusion thereby “raising the bar for construction, services and a new way of life for Nigerians”, adding, “We have five years to comply, and this requires that all our buildings must have lifts and well-designed ramps for people confined to their wheelchairs, not hills they cannot use on their own. “We must modify all our toilets with support for our brothers and sisters who are living with disabilities, as we must build sidewalks for them to use our roads without colliding with vehicles. Our airports and parking lots in buildings must become compliant with international best practice by providing corridors and facilities for people living with disabilities at arrival and departure points, while a minimum number of slots clearly designated must be provided for vehicles owned by people living with disabilities”, he further explained adding that this was another opportunity for jobs to re-design, to re-model, to retrofit all assets nationwide to comply with the law as signed by Mr President. “This is Nigeria that beckons upon us from today and the immediate future. A Nigeria where public infrastructure works because they are maintained; a Nigeria where everybody has a secure sense of belonging because they can use their skills and labour to earn a decent income and retain their dignity, a Nigeria where government cares for the people living with disability by providing the basic minimum facilities that gives them a sense of belonging to demonstrate their ability”, the Minister said. Pointing out that Government has taken the leadership role to provide the policy and the how to make the present Nigeria possible, Fashola urged all and sundry to take ownership of the platform of opportunities and make it work. “It is now your responsibility and mine to take ownership of this platform of opportunities and make it work for all of us”, he said. Responding to questions during the interactive session with the media and other stakeholders, Fashola explained that the maintenance contracts that would emerge from the implementation of the framework would be funded through appropriation adding that the members of the National Assembly were invited to also take note of the Framework and work out modalities in the annual budgets. On how to engage artisans and technicians who are already in government and those outside governments, the Minister explained that the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation would provide clarification adding that there are certain levels of entry that government has dispensed with and some of the artisans fall within those entry levels while the services are now contracted out. Also responding to the question on whether or not there would be sanctions for non-compliance, Fashola said the implementation would be largely by voluntary compliance adding that just as an individual would not wait for sanction before repairing broken down domestic utilities, MDAs would not need sanctions before embarking on maintenance of their facilities. Earlier in their goodwill remarks, Head of the Civil Service of the Federation who was represented at the occasion and the Director General, National Orientation Agency hailed the Framework as highly commendable in a country where maintenance culture had been jettisoned for decades while the Chairmen, House Committees on Works and Housing in the National Assembly, Hon. Dr. Abubakar Kannike and Hon. Mahmud Mohammed respectively, commended the Ministry for coming up with the Maintenance initiative pledging to play their role in ensuring that it gets consideration in the nation’s annual appropriations. ...

FG Flags Off Multi Billion Naira 73km Rehabilitation Of Odukpani-Ikom-Ogoja Road In Cross River The Federal Government once again has reiterated its commitment and effort towards bridging the infrastructural gap across the entire six geo-political zones of the country with the aim of stimulating economic growth ease of doing business as well as providing improved standard of living to its citizenry. Towards the realization of the Ministry’s mandate by Mr President to complete and rehabilitate all exiting road projects in the country,   the Honourable Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN, formally flagged off the Rehabilitation of 73 kilometres single carriage way stretching from Odukpani Junction through Ikom to Ogoja in Cross River State at the contract sum of over 14 billion naira awarded to an indigenous contractor, Messer Sermatech Construction Company. Fashola, who was represented by the Minister of State in the Ministry, Hon. Mustapha Baba-Shehuri, said that the present administration is investing heavily in the provision of critical infrastructure with at least one on-going road project per State in Nigeria. The Minister stated that the project completion period is within twenty-four months, adding that the federal highway links the industrial and agricultural towns of Akamkpa, Biase and Yakurr. The frequent plying of the 44 year old road by industrialists and haulage of agricultural produce has led to its deterioration with shoulders completely eroded’’. Earlier in his speech, the Chief Host and Executive Governor of Cross River State, Senator Ben Ayande appreciated President Buhari for his support and goodwill to the state regardless of political differences, adding that the state is enjoying the dividends of democracy by partnering with the Federal Government. Representing the Governor at the occasion, the Commissioner for Works in the state, Engr. Dane Osim-Asu noted that one of the major policy thrusts of Cross River state government is industrialization, noting that this cannot be achieved without good and motorable roads which will create a nexus between these two to grow the economy of the state. The Director, Highways, Construction and Rehabilitations from the Ministry, Engr. Yemi Oguntominiyi, in his opening address commended President Buhari for his commitment to the project and support to the Ministry in the course of the procurement process and eventual award of the contract by the Federal Executive Council in November, 2018. Oguntominiyi further stated that the completion of the rehabilitation works on the corridor will, no doubt, reduce vehicle operating costs; improve travel time, reduce road accidents and also stimulate the socio-economic growth and general security of towns and cities in the state. The Minister and his entourage also inspected some completed and ongoing rehabilitation projects along the road corridor of Calabar-Ikom-Ogoja federal highway led by the Federal Controller of Works in the state, Mr Bassey Nsentip   ...

FG Commissions The Zik Mausoleum: Says Edifice Will Promote Nationalism, Patriotism And Public Service The President Muhammadu Buhari’s led administration has once again made a landmark achievement in his effort to ensure provision of critical infrastructures across the nation. The President was in Onitsha, Anambra State to officially commission the Nnamdi Azikiwe Mausoleum (The Zik Mausoleum), a public building of national and international significance and a monument to honour the late Nigeria’s first President and a nationalist, Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe.  In his speech, President Buhari noted that the building will serve the purpose of promoting nationalism, patriotism and public service while urging Nigerians to emulate the best values that the foremost nationalist espoused in knowledge, service and leadership. He said the late legend will be remembered for his comradeship, brotherhood and engaging politics. President Buhari also noted that “rather than Zik choosing to be a local, he chose to be a nationalistic, he embraced all the territory of Nigeria”, adding that his legacies will remain evergreen. Earlier in his welcome address, the Honourable Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola, expressed with delight that the completion and commissioning of the Zik Mausoleum was a dream come true and mission accomplished. He said that Mr President’s mandate to the Ministry to complete as many abandoned and uncompleted federal projects is a reality today, but regretted that the national monument and tribute to patriotism was subordinated to private interests that did not benefit the Nigerian economy as a result of corruption. Fashola stated that for the period of 19 years (between 1996 to 2015) when the Zik Mausoleum project was conceived, oil income and proceeds accrued to Nigeria were in the hundreds billions of United States Dollars, yet there was no significant progress on the building until this administration came into power. The Minister however added that the construction period of the project generated economy activities in the state by engaging the services of suppliers, transporters, drivers, food vendors, bricklayers, carpenters, welders and ordinary hardworking Nigerians whose livelihood was taken away by corruption.  Speaking at the occasion, the Executive Governor of Anambra State, Willie Obiano thanked President Muhammadu Buhari for delivering the monument which successive governments lacked the political will to complete. Obiano stated that it is indeed remarkable that 23 years after the Great Zik of Africa died, he’s finally given a befitting mausoleum as a resting place, adding that the Great Owelle of Onitsha has now joined leaders like Kwanme Nkrumah of Ghana and Julius Nyerere of Tanzania and others whose mausoleum have become a major tourist destinations in Africa. He appealed to President Buhari to declare Zik’s birthday, November 16, a National Day in Nigeria, nothing that this will be in keeping with the honour and dignity conferred on other great and illustrious leaders in Africa. Appreciating the Federal Government on behalf of the Ziks’ family, one of the Sons of Dr Azikiwe, Ambassador Emeka Azikiwe, described the monument as a wonderful legacy initiated in honour and recognition of his father’s immense contributions to the nation’s independence, democracy and national development. ‘’As we celebrate the commissioning of the Zik Mausoleum and Conference centre, the historic legacies left by him are numerous and vital to the revitalization of the development potentials in Africa’’. The Zik Mausoleum is located in the city centre of Onitsha, comprising of the main Mausoleum and the Administrative/Conference building. Construction works commenced in 1997 and was conceived to serve as a national monument and a tourism centre in memory of the late legend and foremost Nationalist globally recognized as the Father of African Nationalism. ...