Oct

10

2017

Remarks By Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN At The 20th Monthly Power Sector Operators Meeting Held In Owerri, Imo State

Once again it is my pleasure to chair this monthly meeting to review the progress we have made from our last monthly meeting in Lagos in September, and to collectively engage the challenges that lie ahead in our roadmap to incremental, stable and uninterrupted power.

At our meeting in September, we received reports of:
a.    The successful connection of power to Magboro, Ibafo and neighbouring communities in Ogun state who had not been connected for about 10 years.
b.    Provision of more meters to customers in Ijeshatedo, particularly on Ajijedidun Street, Adamolekun Street and Abiola Alao Streets where 196 out of 244 customers had been metered.
c.    We also got reports of the progress that has been made to restore power to 16 out of 36 communities in Ondo North (Akoko Communities) and the challenges in Okitipupa.

Another other piece of information that is worth sharing is the conviction of one Okechukwu Anoke by the Federal High Court Abakaliki and sentencing him to 3 years’ imprisonment for tampering with electricity fittings.

We welcome this judicial support to stop corruption in the power sector, enforce the law and promote liquidity in the sector. This comes on the heels of similar support from no less an office than that of the Chief Justice of Nigeria who has issued practice directions for the full enforcement of Arbitration clauses in power contracts so as to take such cases out of the tedium of regular trial and place them in the hands of commercially sensitive adjudicators.

On behalf of the entire sector we welcome the intervention in the Court of Appeal in the case involving the tariff review.

The order of the Trial Court which declared the tariff setting process illegal has been reversed and the case is now to be tried afresh.

Before I leave the issue of the critical role of the judiciary and law enforcement in the power sector, let me point out that the efficacy of the practice directions issued by the CJN for the strict enforcement of Arbitration clauses does not rest with the Judicial officers alone.

The Nigerian Bar Association has a pivotal role to play in ensuring that Arbitration clauses are enforced. This is because it is often the Lawyers, not the clients, that file and initiate processes that invoke the jurisdiction of the Court.

It seems to me that there might be something that potentially crosses the line of ethics which should arouse the interest of the Bar Association if one of its members fails to avail a client of his rights under an Arbitration agreement.

That said, I will proceed to inform members that in the last month, we have recovered 100MW from the damaged Afam IV Power Plant which was inoperative since January 2015.

Similarly, TCN has energized the Jebba-Kainji 2nd 330KV line and the 2nd Ajaokuta-Abuja 330KV line both of which were inoperative since 2015.

In the last month also, specifically on Wednesday 4th October 2017, the Federal Executive Council approved the verified sum of Federal Government MDA debts of N25.9Billion, and its payment by setting it off against the debts owed by the DisCos to NBET.

You will be receiving official communication of how these have been applied to reduce debts owed by DisCos to NBET.

We are also making promising progress in recovering debts due from international Customers and you will be notified of how much has been received when the appropriate accounts confirm that they have received value for the credits we have been notified of.

It is against this background that I now move to the challenges which we still have to overcome; the more pressing of which is how the DisCos can quickly increase their capacity to take power and distribute to the consumers.

I think that this is the issue that is captured in your letter of 27th September 2017 titled, ‘Federal Government of Nigeria’s Initiatives in the Electricity Sector and the Impact on Electricity Distribution Company Activities,’ which was addressed to NERC and copied to me.

Let me commend DisCos for the decision to channel their complaints to NERC by a jointly signed letter. This is a welcome departure from the previous order and it is to be encouraged.

The substance of Government initiatives which prompted that letter can be summarised as follows:

a.    Provision of meters to consumers through licensing of meter suppliers
b.    Provision of more power to consumers through licensing of eligible customers
c.    Provision of Independent dedicated Power to Universities
d.    Promotion of the deployment of more solar power through mini-grids
e.    Expansion of the Distribution Network of the DisCos so that they can take about additional 2,000 MW of power now available for supply

Without a doubt, the initiatives are targeted at improving service to the people. In your letter under reference copied to me, you expressed concerns about the impact of these initiatives on your businesses.

It is not my understanding that you oppose them, which is commendable.

It is my understanding that you fear that you will lose some income or some customers if Government proceeds; and on the question of meters, you seek to have technical compatibility with what the licencee will operate.

 In respect of possible investment in Distribution equipment you seek that Government should route the investment through the DisCos.

Understandably you are concerned about investment recovery and in your views, the solution is a tariff review.

While your concerns about business viability, financial stability and cost recovery are well understood and indeed supported by the Electric Power Sector Perform Act of 2005 (EPSRA) which Government will respect; I must point out that Government’s focus is also strong on the issue of service to the people.

There must be a balance somewhere in the middle.

As far as the promotion of solar and other sources of independent power are concerned, please note that not only are they supported by the ESPRA, they are consistent with our Paris Climate Change Agreement Obligations and with emerging global practice.

DisCos have nothing to fear about solar. It is a space in which they are entitled to play but in which they cannot exclude others from playing.

The ESPRA did not contemplate a monopoly for any licensee unless it is expressly stated in the license.

As for channelling investment into Distribution assets through the DisCos, Government has not yet taken a position on what the best way forward will be.

However, Government is clear that a solution must be found quickly to the inability of DisCos to take about 2000 MW of power that will imminently increase as we get more incremental power.

But the point that must be made is for all of us to remember that, Government is a 40% shareholder of the DisCos (on behalf of the Federal, State, Local Governments and Workers) and therefore has a self-benefitting interest in the wellbeing and efficiency of the DisCos.  

Most importantly, the concerns contained in the letter under reference can and will be managed through consultations  which NERC has been undertaking to my knowledge. Consultations will help to build consensus about how best to serve customers, instead of festering gulfs of Disagreement.

At this preliminary stage therefore, you letter and concerns focus first on the business, while the Government initiatives focus more on service.

Consensus should give us both; the service and the business.

Still on the matter of DisCos, my attention has been brought to the fact that Yola DisCo has not been actively participating in the affairs of your association.

My position about your right and freedom to associate has been publicly stated and so is the right of the Government to associate or dissociate with you by lack of recognition or grant of recognition.

Because rights are not absolute and because they impose duties, all I need say is that we must respect the right of Yola DisCo to also choose whether it wants to associate or not. That is a duty we all have if we must enjoy the freedom and right to associate.

I will also want to report the successful holding of our National Council on Power, the 3rd in the series hosted by Plateau State who used the opportunity to present Rural Electrification Road Map to all of us.

I will like to thank Governor Simon Lalong for hosting us , and all of you for participating and urge that you follow up with the State Governments to assist you in enforcing the law against energy theft, right of way protection, metering of state government offices and buildings, the verification and  prompt settlement of bills.

Finally, I would like to refocus our attention to the order signed by the NERC which reduced the timeline for making (New) Electricity connections from 145 days to 40 days.

While DisCos are also expected to comply and file reports of compliance to NERC and copied to my office, the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) has advised that the focal DisCos that will affect Nigeria’s ease of doing business rating will be Lagos, Ikeja, Kano and Kaduna because of the sample size that the population they serve represent.

Thank you for your attention.

Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN
Honourable Minister of Power, Works and Housing

Monday 9th October 2017

Sep

28

2017

FG Woos Investors To Increase Housing Stock

The Honourable Minister of State for Power, Works & Housing, Surv. Suleiman Hassan Zarma, mnis, has said that Federal Government will not relent in its efforts toward providing enabling environment for genuine investors to invest in the Housing Sector of the economy. He added that this will in effect radically increase the housing stock and bridge the Country’s housing deficit.

The Minister, who represented the Vice President at 2017 Housing Summit Conference organized by Housing Circuit Magazine in collaboration with the Senate Committee on Lands, Housing and Urban Development, noted that the theme of the Conference: Addressing Housing Stock Deficit in Nigeria requires a holistic view.

Suleiman informed the gathering that the Federal Government, through the Ministry is taking the lead on Lands and Housing reforms to make land readily accessible and provide shelter for the teeming Nigerian population.

The Minister commended the organizers of the conference and urged participants to focus more on the challenges facing the housing sector of the economy. He enjoined them to come up with strategies aimed at repositioning and reinvigorating the facilitation of affordable housing delivery in the country.

Earlier, the chairman Senate Committee on Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Sen. Barnabas Gemade remarked that the Conference is coming at time President Buhari’s led Administration has put in place an increased public mass housing programme that covers the 36 States of the federation, adding that this is the first action by any Government since the Shagari Administration of Mass Housing Scheme of 1979.

According to Gemade ‘’with an upward review from 35 billion naira budgetary provision in 2016 to 40 billion in 2017 budget, one would be safe to say that President Buhari is tackling housing challenges, but this is to some extent, as more needs to be done.’’

In his goodwill message, the chairman of the occasion and chairman Dangote Group of Company, Alhaji Aliko Dangote represented by Executive Director, Stakeholders Management Services, Engr. Mansur Ahmed stated that the housing sector is one of the most critical sectors to the nation’s economy, adding that the importance of this sector cannot be overlooked as it is one of the major indicators of underdevelopment.

He challenged key stakeholders in the built industry to come together and share experiences, knowledge and perspectives that will bring lasting solution to the problem of housing deficit in the country.

Sep

21

2017

Speech Delivered By H.E Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN At The National Council On Power On Thursday 21st September 2017 In Jos, Plateau State

I welcome the opportunity to speak to you at this year’s National Council on Power, holding in the famous city of Jos in Plateau State.

Mining, Agriculture, the High Altitude and Climate, Tourism and brands like the Hill Station Hotel, The Rock Beer are some of the very proud heritage that have put Jos city on the global map.

This city of Jos is also famous for its contributions to Nigeria’s power history, through NESCO, the first privately run Power service in Nigeria that started producing power since 1920s, before the ECN (which became NEPA and PHCN.)

We have recently admitted NESCO to our monthly meetings and I believe we have something to learn from them.

I thank the Governor and the Government for their good work in ensuring that this conference holds despite the recent threats to public peace and order.

The proactive statements and actions have shown that Plateau state Government takes its primary responsibility of safety of lives and property very seriously.

I am also pleased to inform you that TCN has a major transmission sub-station in Panskshin in this state which will improve power service when completed. I have previously visited that site and our monthly power meeting gets periodic progress updates.

The sustenance of peace and order are critical to the completion of this and service delivery.

Ladies and Gentlemen, the theme of this Year’s council meeting on power is not accidental. It is deliberate and purposed. The theme is “Completing the Power Sector Reform.”

It follows logically and sensibly from last year’s our achievements at last year’s meeting, the highlight of which was to launch the country’s energy mix, to diversify our energy resources beyond gas and hydro to coal, solar and other sources.

That is already bearing fruit as we are gradually seeing an increasing foot- print of solar power systems especially at mini and off-grid levels and many more are afoot.

And as is now well known, this Government has finally approved the award of the 3,050 MW Mambilla hydro power project after over 40 years of starts and stops.

The solar foot print is growing slowly but surely, not just because of what the FGN is doing but because of what Nigerians are doing in their states, and this is why this theme at this meeting was chosen because all the states are expected to be represented here.

Let me set the context by once again reminding all of us that the power sector has been privatized and is largely in the hands of the private sector. Therefore, the work that needs to be done is largely the responsibility of the private sector.

Our role as governmental institutions at Federal and State levels is to implement the laws, enunciate Policies and take actions that help the private sector play its part effectively.

Our roles in this regard are well set out in the Electric Power Sector Reform Act 2005 pursuant to which the privatization of the power sector took place. That law, which I urge everybody to read, clearly sets out my role as minister which is to administer the Law in section 100.

As we are all aware, there have been comments about how effective privatization has been in the power sector and some people have called for its cancellation which I disagree with.

However, I agree that there are problems, I understand that 4 (FOUR) years post privatization is a transition period, and some more work needs to be done before the expected benefits of privatization come to fruition.

That is why we developed the Power Sector Recovery Programme (PSRP) which are a set of policies, programmes and actions aimed at solving Generation, Transmission, Distribution, Liquidity, Metering, Estimated Billing, Energy Theft, Safety and other challenges.

While we are beginning to see results of increased generation up to 7001MW on 12th September 2017, Transmission up to 6,700 MW and Distribution 4,600, it is not yet enough.

The theme of this meeting therefore provides opportunity to share with state representatives and other participants what the PSRP is about.

Let me state emphatically that everything in the PSRP is based on the 2005 Law and that is why I urge everybody to read it.

So, the N701B payment assurance guarantee which has driven up power Generation is consistent with Section 76(2)(b) of the Law which seeks to ensure that producers of power recover their investment and some profit.

Similarly, the constitution of the Board of NERC another objective set under the PSRP is a requirement of section 34 of the law, while efforts being made by NERC to;
a.    Develop a new multi- year Tariff order Template
b.    Develop regulations for meter service provided, meter Franchise operators
c.    Develop regulations for Eligible Customer

are requirements of Section 76; 67(1); 68(2) and 100 of the Law.

The issuance of mini-Grid Regulations by NERC in August of 2017 to allow people provide their own power from 1KW-1 MW and ease the pressure on grid distributed power and improve access to power is a requirement of section 62(2) of the Law.

The constitution of the Board and management of the Rural Electrification Agency by President Buhari in March 2017, to deepen access of Rural communities to power and champion deployment of Solar Power is in accordance with section 88(1)-(4) of the Law.

Ladies and Gentlemen, these are some of the reform actions contained in the Power Sector Recovery Programme being undertaken at Federal Government level.

But there are other areas of Reform where progress will be defined by what happens at the state and Local Government and this is one of the reasons why we chose to discuss this theme at this council where all the states are represented.

For example, out of the estimated MDA debts of about N90Billion claimed by the DisCos, only about N27Billion has been verified as debts owed by the FGN.

There are invoices which show that other parts of the debt are attributable to service points at States and local governments.

I will urge first that states and local governments insist that their buildings are metered so that they can budget for and pay for energy they use. It will turn out to be cheaper than diesel generated power.

It will also help reduce loss of income by DisCos.

Furthermore, I urge state Governments to set up small teams with audit capacity to verify debts owed by them and their local governments, ascertain the quantum and develop a payment plan which can then be budgeted for. This will help to reduce the liquidity issues and contribute to the reforms.

More importantly the challenges of inadequate power manifests itself in households, businesses, service centres and other points of need that are located in states and local Governments.

Therefore, the impact of insufficient power is manifest at municipal level and so will be the benefit of improved power.

Therefore, it is only logical and necessary for states and local Governments to own and participate in the implementation of the 2005 Law and the PSRP.

Therefore instead passing votes of no confidence in the DisCos who serve them, I will urge that they take a more important role of engagement and consultation to help the DisCos serve them better.

Communities and states who want to see improved power must also sacrifice and contribute some of their land for this service to be provided.

The land will not finish but the prosperity that comes from better power will only help improve the quality of life, the value of their land and the use of their land.

Ladies and Gentlemen, the list of things that states can do to help improve power supply, reform the sector and implement the 2005 Law and the PSRP are only limited by imagination.

I will conclude by urging states to pay more attention to the provision of the Law, the PSRP, and to consult with the ministry and NERC should they need clarification.

I hope that when we meet next year, all states will be in a position to report actions taken, progress achieved, improved power service and better value, for attending this year’s National Council on Power

Thank you.

Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN
Honourable Minister of Power, Works and Housing

Thursday 21st September 2017

Sep

14

2017

FG Patners With Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas To Build Bodo-Bonny Road With Bridges As Fashola Signs Tripartite Agreement

The Federal Government through the Ministry of Power, Works and Housing has signed a tripartite agreement with the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) and Julius Berger Nigeria Plc (JBN) to build the Bodo-Bonny Road with Bridges across the Opobo Channel Routes 430 in Rivers State.

The Honourable Minister of Power, Works & Housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN, on behalf of Government, signed the over 120 billion naira project awarded to Julius Berger Nigeria Plc (JBN) at the Ministry’s Headquarters in Abuja.

Fashola stated that the Bodo-Bonny Bridge is a major infrastructural   project that linked Nigeria to where so much resources are produced, adding that the signing of the tripartite agreement signifies the commencement of construction work and government’s commitment to clean up, build up and repositioned the Niger Delta as a major contributor to Nation’s resources.

The Minister further stated that, this is in fulfilment with the present Administration’s promise to deliver on critical infrastructural projects across the nation and put the economy back on the path of growth and development.

Earlier in his remarks, the Managing Director of Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas, Mr Tony Attah on behalf of Management and Staff of Nigeria LNG appreciated the Federal Government and the Minister for the signing of the tripartite agreement and the opportunity for the part-funding of the construction of the Bodo-Bonny Road project.

Attah further stated that the provision of the road will no doubt expand the scope of economic opportunities and secure livelihoods for the rural and riverine communities. He added that the construction of Bodo-Bonny road will invariably usher the accomplishment of long held dream of connecting Bonny Island to the rest of Nigeria.

On his part, the Managing Director of Julius Berger Nigeria Plc, Engr. Wolfgand Goetsch thanked the Federal Government and Nigeria LNG for the trust and confidence reposed on the company, assuring that the project will be completed within the time stipulated and in accordance to specification.

The project which was first awarded in 1993, suffered series of delays and abandonments. The Ministry thereafter terminated the contract due to the dismal performance of the contractor and re-awarded the project to JBN which has proven experience in handling projects in difficult terrains of mangrove/swamp forest and creeks.

The expected date of completion of Bodo-Bonny project is in 2019.

Sep

07

2017

FG Partners Private Companies To Rehabilitate Apapa-Wharf Road

The Federal Government through the Ministry of Power, Works and Housing, has officially handed over the construction works on the rehabilitation of Apapa – Wharf road to AG-Dangote Construction Company Limited.

The Minister of Power, Works & Housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN, performed the handing over ceremony of the 2 kilometres stretch of the road in Lagos to ensure free movement of residents living in Apapa area and cargo moving in and out of the Apapa Port to the inter-land. He noted that the rehabilitation of the economic road which had deteriorated over the years will be co-funded by the collaborative efforts of the Nigeria Ports Authority, Flour Mills Nigeria Plc and Dangote Group of Company.

Fashola acknowledged the leadership role of Dangote Groups and Flour Mills Nigeria Plc for stepping forward to work with the ministry in finding a lasting solution to the road without any tax relief or deduction coming from federal government.

According to the Minister, the ministry has evolved an appropriate design to fix the drainage problem which over the years has been the major cause of deterioration.. The rehabilitation work on the Apapa – Wharf road is expected to last for the period of one year and will cost over 4 billion naira which will be co-funded by Flour Mills Nigeria Plc, Dangote Group and NPA working together.

The Minister further stated that this is just the first part of government intervention in Apapa, adding that other federal roads within Lagos State will receive government attention as budget is funded.

He appealed to all road users within the area to be patient as construction work advances due to sections of the road that would be closed down and other infrastructures such as water and electricity that will be affected during the process of the reconstruction.

In his remarks, the Honorary Adviser to the President of Dangote Group, Engr. Joseph Makoju, thanked the Minister for giving Dangote Group the opportunity to embark on the rehabilitation work  and promised that the concrete road when completed will last for between 30 to 40 years.

Makoju added that the company always provide some form of social infrastructures to empower their host communities economically wherever the company is located. He appealed to the government to always create an enabling environment for private sectors to thrive as this will encourage other companies like them to embark on other capital projects in the country.

The Managing Director of Flour Mills Nigeria Plc, Mr. Paul M. Gbededo, noted that Apapa-Wharf road is a major road in the country that generates a huge sum of money on a daily basis and should not be handled with levity.

He enjoined all the stakeholders and road users to cooperate and be disciplined in order to achieve the one year time line completion period.

Aug

25

2017

FG Poised To Revitalise Housing Sector In The Provision Of Affordable Housing Delivery

The Federal Government through the Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing has reiterated its commitment to revitalising the Housing Sector of the Ministry by providing quantum budgetary allocation to the Sector in order to address the challenges of housing deficit in the country.

This was stated by the Permanent Secretary (Works & Housing) sectors of the Ministry, Mohammed Bukar while declaring open the meeting of Permanent Secretaries at the on-going 6th meeting of the National Council on Lands, Housing and Urban Development in Abuja.

Mohammed stated that the Council Meeting provides an avenue for stakeholders in the built environment across the nation to come together and deliberate on matters that will move the Housing Sector forward. He added that deliberations and recommendations from delegates in the conference will proffer solutions and reposition the Sector for better performance and meeting the housing needs of the people.

Earlier, the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Chinyeaka Christian, represented by the Director of Land Administration, Adamu Jibrin Hussaini noted in his remarks that the theme of the Council: ‘’Building for Inclusion, Growth and Prosperity’’ is not only apt, but that it will avail professionals and other stakeholders the opportunity to rub minds and articulate common fronts in tackling challenges in the sub-sector.

The FCT Permanent Secretary stated that the FCT Minister, Mallam Muhammed Musa Bello is working very hard to reposition the over 8, 000 square kilometres land space in the Federal Capital for a better result, adding that provision of basic infrastructure in the nation’s capital is key to this present Administration.

The Meeting of the National Council on Lands, Housing and Urban Development which started two days ago, featured extensive deliberations on various Memoranda by various states across the federation, stakeholders and other relevant organizations. Reports of the meeting will be discussed by the forum of the Permanent Secretaries today with a view to making far reaching recommendations to the Council coming up tomorrow, 24 August, 2017.
 
Olatunji John
PIO (Housing)
For: Ag Director (Information)

Aug

15

2017

Remarks By The Honourable Minister Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN At The Monthly Power Sector Operators Meeting Held In Kano On Monday 14th August 2017

I welcome you to another of our monthly meetings at which I feel the need to make fairly extended opening remarks, in order to properly place on record the steps we are taking, the progress we are making and the challenges we still have to overcome, as we pursue our road map of incremental, steady and ultimately uninterrupted power.

I am compelled to start on a sad note, to acknowledge an electrical accident that occurred in Minna, Niger recently, and to commiserate with the victims and extend our heartfelt sympathy to their families and to the people and Government of Niger state.

As soon as the incident was brought to my attention, I asked the officials of NEMSA, our safety and standards agency to visit the scene, condole the victims and conduct an investigation, the report of which reached me by e-mail over the weekend and which we will review and implement.

As you will re-call, Government has approved the Power Sector Recovery Programme, a series of actions, Policies and Programmes aimed at re- engineering the shortcomings of the privatisation process, supporting the process through this transition and learning period, and ultimately delivering a stable, competitive and efficient Power Sector for Nigeria.

Some of the policies, programmes, actions which have started taking effect include:
a.    Payment assurance guarantee of N 701b
b.    Constitution of some boards of agencies like NERC and REA, with more still to come
c.    Verification of MDA debts, now completed with plans to get approvals on how to pay
d.    Expansion of transmission capacity with the completion of Kukwaba Sub-Station last month to bring relief to Katampe in Abuja, Completion of Aja Sub-Station in Lagos and last week to completion of the repairs at Ikot Ekpene switching station to activate the full 1,300MW evacuation capacity of the Calabar to Ikot Ekpene double circuit transmission line.
e.    FEC approval of the compromise agreement that frees the Federal Government of Nigeria of Judgement Debt of N119Billion, and also releases N 39 Billion towards the supply of meters to customers of Discos

I will pause here to expatiate on how this will work

Please re-call that Government had in the past attempted to intervene in meter supply through CAPMI which ultimately I decided we should wind down because of the distrust and disaffection it was creating between consumers and Discos with Government  caught in the middle with numerous petitions by customers who paid for meters that were not delivered within the approved time or at all.
Some Discos have come back to say that their customers still want to pay for meters and they can reach agreements with them on how to pay for it.

Government will not stand in the way of such an agreement. It is consistent with the intent of privatization envisioned by The Electric Power Sector Reform ACT (EPSRA) or at least it does not violate the Act.
What I will reiterate is that the Discos have the obligation to meter customers, because they are the ones who charge for electricity which must be measured.

If the customers and the Discos reach an agreement between themselves, where the customer assumes the responsibility of the Disco of his own free will, and NERC sanctions this agreement, then so be it.
The difference between this kind of agreement and CAPMI, is that it is not a government initiative which CAPMI was. However, through NERC, Government will monitor and regulate to ensure that Discos do not use this as an excuse to abdicate their responsibility to provide meters.

In addition to this kind of agreement, what government has decided to do is optimize the EPSRA provision to democratize access to meters, starting with the N 39 Billion, which will be a loan to the meter provider.
While it is true that Discos have the obligation to meter customers, the law did not vest a monopoly of meter supplies, or even retail sales, in Discos. Anybody who qualifies under safety regulation by NEMSA and under licenses issued by the NERC can supply meters to customers under conditions stipulated by NERC.

In other words, meter supply is an open but regulated business. You need a license from NERC to undertake it. You need to comply with testing and safety standards of NEMSA to produce, import or install it but it is not a  monopoly for Discos alone.

Therefore, pursuant to the provisions of the EPSRA, NERC will issue regulations for :
a.    Meter service providers
b.    Meter and retail franchise operators
c.    Community Aggregation Services for sale of electricity and provision of meters
d.    Low cost meter supply

Once the regulations are ready we will work with NERC to clarify and announce how to licence and implement the metering programmes.

We have met with investors of Discos and discussed these intentions with them, and we will work with them through NERC to formalize the details.

The successful implementation of this programme will help to reduce conflict between Discos and customers, ensure collection of tariff, reduce losses, improve liquidity and bring some relief to the finances of some Discos who cannot afford to fund meters.

In addition to the meter issue, we have made some progress with generation. I have previously reported that unlike in 2016, damage to Gas pipelines and assets have reduced in 2017 as a result of Government effort and significant progress is being made with repairs and supply of gas.

Although this does not mean that we have enough gas for all our power plants, we are at least getting closer to where we were in February 2016 when we hit 5074 MW mainly by the gas plants before the attack on pipelines started.

Today’s improved gas supply also coincides with the onset of the rains which gives us added power from the Hydros. The available power that can go on the Grid as at August 10, 2017 is 6,863 MW. The transmission capacity is at 6,700MW. The primary constraint at the moment is the inability of the distribution companies’ 33kV infrastructure to collect all the power that can be delivered at the 750 33kV delivery points at transmission substations and distribute the energy to paying customers.

This is progress, that is consistent with our road map of Incremental Power, showing a growth of generation from 2690 MW in May 2015 and growth of transmission from 5,000 MW in May  2015.

But I regret to inform that this progress creates a new problem. The Discos are unable to take and sell the power. This is the first time we have more power than the Discos can distribute. It shows that some problems in Generation and Transmission are being solved, while there are still challenges in the value chain.

As you know, the assets that Discos inherited were largely aging, investment by them has not been sufficient, foreign exchange volatilities have affected their asset value base and their ability to access credit.
We need every part of the value chain, from Gas to Generation, Transmission to Distribution to operate efficiently.

Therefore, just as the payment assurance guarantee has provided some comfort for gas and Gencos and transmission investment by Government budget is translating to Incremental Power, we have declared the policy of eligible customer and also the mini Grid regulations.

These are also what was intended by the EPSRA which I urge all Nigerians to take time to read. It is a profound piece of Legislation.
If we read and understand its provision and we are patient with its steady implementation, we will reap its rewards.

Eligible Customers
What the law prescribes is the solution to the problem that the Discos currently have with aging distribution equipment at their 33kv and 11kv distribution points and with distribution transformers.
Large Power consumers to be prescribed by NERC, such as state Government secretariats, large estates, industrial complexes and even generation companies can apply to NERC to build the distribution assets that Discos cannot fund, defray the cost over time, or pay a user charge to the Disco under an arrangement approved by NERC in order to get more reliable power, at a price which is higher than public tariff of N29Kw/h but less than N80kw/h of diesel power.

This creates a new window of investment in the Sector to supply power on a willing buyer and willing seller basis at a price to be negotiated over the public Tariff of N29Kw/h and below Diesel power of at least N80Kw/h.
I have heard statements that raise questions about limitations of state Government to participate in power production.
I will like to say that whether it is under the Eligible customer principle or Embedded Generation principle, there is nothing in the Law that limits a state Government except to get a licence from NERC.

Mini Grids

This is also consistent with our policy of Incremental power, and the provisions of the EPRSA which shows that within a Disco’s licence, a new licence can be granted by NERC: because no monopoly was intended by the law unless is expressly stated in the licence.

Mini Grids are already a feature of many parts of the world where privatization has taken place and they democratize access to power for those who want to produce below 1MW of power.
The Regulations, released by NERC today show the process for qualification and application. I can only ask that we all embrace it and allow it to work.

I see many possibilities. First access to power, economic boost, relief to Disocs from unsatisfied customers, an opportunity for Discos to re-invent their businesses with a chance in the future to buy power from mini grids or even buy out the Grid owner.

Ladies and Gentlemen, these and more are what the EPSRA clearly intended. This is what the Government is determined to deliver to the people by administering the law, and this is our progress report from last month.

Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN
Honourable Minister of Power, Works and Housing

14th August 2017

Aug

03

2017

Housing Staff Multi-Purpose Cooperative Society Takes A Giant Stride

The Staff Multi-Purpose Cooperative Society of the Housing Sector of the Ministry of Power, Works and Housing has taken a giant step by aligning with the Ministry’s core mandate of ensuring adequate and sustainable housing delivery.

The Permanent Secretary (Works and Housing), Alhaji Mohammed Bukar, represented by the Director, Human Resources Management, Mrs. Morayo Alimi stated this at the commissioning of 9-unit 2 bedroom flats located in Kubwa metropolis of Abuja built by the Staff Multi-Purpose Cooperative Society.

The project, which is an initiative of the society, was constructed within six months under the supervision and collaboration of professionals in the ministry.

Alimi expressed elation that the project was constructed during her tenure, noting that it is a pointer to great things to come. She added that it is an outstanding success story considering other stories following various co-operative societies, which often end in court cases.

She commended the executives of the co-operative society for their commitment and determination in achieving the great feat, adding that in future, staff from other ministries will seek posting to the housing sector of the ministry in order to secure a house to live. She further indicated interest in having the blueprint so that other sectors of the ministry can replicate same.

Earlier in his remarks, the Chairman, Association of Senior Civil Servant, (Housing Chapter), Comrade Alaka Olumuyiwa, expressed gratitude to God for a dream come through. He enjoined the management to collaborate with the Union and the Cooperative in achieving other housing projects under construction.

Also speaking at the occasion, the Chairman of the Staff Multi-Purpose Cooperative Society, Mr. Frank Obidiri expressed gratitude to God for the completion of the project which started in February, 2017, adding that the houses are strictly for staff of housing sector of the ministry. The cost of each flat is 8 million naira and would be paid for the period of six years.

He congratulated the beneficiaries of the houses who are financial members of the co-operative.

Jul

23

2017

Fashola Stresses Need To Raise Nation’s Road Transport Infrastructure To Global Standard To Aid Mobility

*    As 23rd Meeting  of National Council of Works ends in Abuja
*    Our development, prosperity, survival is tied to our mobility and so is our productivity, social and cultural interactions, he says
*    Ministry to award sub-contracts on roads with sections significantly completed, for procurement in collaboration with the main contractors; to be advertised as required by law,subject to open , competitive bids

The Minister of Power Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola SAN, Thursday stressed the need to raise the country’s transport infrastructure, especially road signage, to acceptable global standard as a means to aid mobility across states and communities within the country.

Fashola, who spoke at the NAF Air Conference Centre venue of the 23rd Meeting of the National Council on Works with the theme, “Adequate Traffic Signage- An Essential Key for Highways Infrastructure, Safety and Comfort,” said the current efforts in building roads, highways and bridges across the country would hardly achieve the objective of mobility if the destinations of these critical transport infrastructures currently being built were not made known through appropriate signage.

In his keynote address at the event, also attended by the Minister of State, Hon. Mustapha Baba Shehuri, top Ministry Officials and Legislators as well as Commissioners responsible for Works from the  states of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory, said the need had become more urgent as mobility had become a major commitment of the global urban agenda.

According to the Minister, “As human beings, mobility has become a major commitment of the global urban agenda. This must be so because our development, prosperity and sometimes our survival are tied to our mobility and so is our productivity, social and cultural interactions”.

“Yes, we have to build roads, highways and bridges. But the question then is: Roads, highways and bridges to where? Where do they lead?”, he asked, adding that maps alone would not adequately answer the questions without road signs, which, according to him, “indicates to road users, how far their journey is, how far they have progressed, how much is left to travel”, among other things.

Noting that before the advent of Internet, smart phones and apps, many countries developed maps to help guide transport infrastructure users through their network of roads, Fashola added that road signs would also indicate to road users how far away they were from one village, city, local government, or from critical services like hospitals, fuel stations and hotels or motels “to help ease the stress and tedium of long distance travel”.

The Minister, who expressed sadness that road signs were either non-existent or largely insufficient on the nation’s highways, added that this has made travel through unfamiliar cities and towns across the country difficult pointing out that it would be a herculean task driving by oneself into a city one had never been as one would be ignorant of where to link the next interstate highway, or expect to buy fuel or plan to sleep for the night on a long journey or get medical help in case of a road traffic accident.

He said the proliferation of global, country and state maps on the handheld devices has made it both compelling and urgent for the country to start developing and installing signage on her roads, bridges and highways at interstate and intra-state levels adding, “This is one sure way of facilitating mobility and implementing the local component of the global urban agenda for the benefit of our people”.

Fashola expressed delight that Nigeria, under the leadership of President Buhari, has played a critical and positive role in developing a common African position since 2016 that has helped to shape the Global Urban Agenda adopted in Quito, Ecuador this year to guide the global development until 2036, adding, “What is left is for us, as champions of that African position and urban agenda, to begin to localize and implement its component parts for the benefits of our people”.

Pointing out, however, that it would not be enough to just simply erect any type of sign, in any place or anyhow, the Minister, who noted that they must be produced according to specifications and enduring materials, and “be installed to a minimum standard that ensures their durability, endurance and utility for commuters”, commended the staff of the Works sector of his Ministry for their hard work in developing the specifications and standards.

He also acknowledge the technical support and cooperation that the Corp Marshal of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) and his team had afforded the Ministry “in the process of developing the size, quality and lettering specifications of these signs”, adding that they would help commuters to navigate their journey across the country as “the human benefit of signage and our mobility policy”.

On the direct economic benefits of traffic signage, Fashola noted that the existence of highway signs was the reason why “the car rental business and its collateral employment thrives in some countries and not in our own”, adding that it would provide financial reward for those who would benefit from the contracts as well as jobs and the financial rewards that would come from producing the signs, fabricating the steel, printing the signs, and the labour to be employed in installing them.

“These benefits are also true of lane marking”, the Minister said adding, “This is why we have chosen this National Council, where states are represented, professional groups are represented and the requisite technical personnel are present to unveil this policy and programme”.

He said Nigeria’s economic needs compelled her to commence the installation of the signage while her roads were still in various stages of completion, instead of waiting until everything was done before beginning “to confer the benefits of lane marking and street signage on our people”.

Fashola disclosed that the Ministry had agreed to compile the list of roads where significant sections have been completed, and prepare them for procurement and award of sub-contracts in collaboration with the main contractors adding that the procurement would “then be advertised in due course as required by law and subject to open and competitive bids”.

Insisting that those who benefit from the contracts perform them to the highest standards of quality, the Minister declared, “We understand that signs can be damaged, and road markings require periodic touching up”, adding that as more sections of roads reach completion they would be subject to similar processes with the expectation that the process would be continuous.

“Therefore, we see a future of maintenance jobs and contracts going forward, to create sustained employment in our road transport sector”, he said adding that there was no better time than this period when the nation’s economy needed “to be creative in order to provide inclusion for unemployed young able-bodied people”.

Commending the theme of the Council Meeting ‘Adequate Traffic Signage - An Essential Key for Highways Infrastructure, Safety and Comfort’ as apt, Fashola declared, “I could think of no better time, when our economy needs and I can think of no better forum than this National Council of Works, to discuss the economic, safety, and people-oriented basis of this policy, to address the theme of this council”.

The Minister, who urged that all hands should be on deck “in order to ensure that the benefits of this policy reach all the sectors of our economy and the people they are designed for”, expressed the hope that the government would be able to count on the stakeholders to ensure the successful implementation of the policy.

Earlier, in his goodwill message, Chairman of the Federal Character Commission, Dr. Shettima Bukar Abba, expressed delight that since Fashola assumed duties as Minister of Power, Works and Housing, the National Council on Works had made tremendous efforts in completing and initiating critical projects of monumental importance to drive and reinvigorate economic development in the country.

The Chairman, who listed such critical projects to include the Kano-Maiduguri dual carriageway, the Second Niger Bridge, which he noted had defied previous governments, numerous Power and Housing projects springing up in every state of the Federation, pointed out that they were projects that cut across, not only geopolitical zones, but also all states of the Federation.

“These projects and infrastructural facilities are, no doubt, fulcrum of national unity and integration”, he said expressing delight that the 2017 Budget allocation to the Ministry of Power Works and Housing “has taken into consideration regional and national spread in citing projects to be executed”, he said.

Commending the Minister and his State counterpart for the monumental efforts in driving progress, the Chairman declared, “The Minister’s pedigree as accomplished administrator who has turned Lagos to a model city is gradually being replicated across the country. His zeal, tenacity, passion and workaholic nature is driving the change mantra. We have no doubt that sooner than later the infrastructural deficit the country faces will be a thing of the past”.

Also present at the event were the Federal Capital Territory Minister, Mohammed Musa Bello represented by the Executive Secretary, Federal Capital Development Authority, Engr. Umar  Jibril, Permanent Secretary (Power), Engr. Louis Edozien ,   Chairman, Committee on Works, House of Representatives, Hon. Toby Okechukwu, among many other dignitaries and stakeholders.

Jul

19

2017

Alhaji Mohammed Bukar At The Opening Ceremony Of The 23rd Meeting Of The  National Council On Works

Opening Remarks by the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing (Works and Housing Sectors) at NAF Conference Center on Monday 17th July, 2017

PROTOCOL

It is my great pleasure to welcome you to the 23rd Meeting of the National Council on Works being organized by the Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing with the theme “Adequate Traffic Signage - An Essential Key for Highways Infrastructure, Safety and Comfort”.

2.    The Meeting of the National Council on Works provides a forum in which stakeholders in the Works Sector deliberate issues concerning the road sector with a view to coming up with decisions on how to solve problems associated  with the construction and maintenance of highways/roads in Nigeria.  This year’s theme addresses the need for adequate traffic signage on our roads in order to ensure the safety and comfort of road users. 

3.    The 23rd Meeting of the National Council on Works begins today with the first Plenary Session which involves the meetings of Directors of Works (federal and states) under the Chairmanship of the Directors, Highways Planning and Development, Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing. The Meeting shall continue tomorrow. I wish to implore all participants to contribute meaningfully as the discussion on this session will play a vital role in subsequent days of the meeting.

4.    The Meeting of the Permanent Secretaries of Works (federal and States) will hold on Wednesday 19thJuly, 2017 to consider the report of the Directors’ Meeting and to come up with recommendations for consideration by the National Council on Works on Thursday 20th July, 2017.

5.    I urge all participants to come up with ideas and contributions that can help to achieve the goals and objectives of this year’s Council Meeting. That is, to ensure the provision and maintenance of standard and Adequate Traffic Signage on our Highways/Roads for the Safety and Comfort of road users. 

6.    At this juncture, I would like to conclude by wishing you fruitful deliberations and a pleasant stay in Abuja.

Thank you.

Jul

18

2017

Fashola Advocates A Housing Economy For Rebuilding Economy, Country

*      Minister commends private sector participants in the Housing Sector at the 11th Abuja International Housing Show in the FCT
*      Says FG is now building models that respond to nation’s cultural and climatic diversities in 33 states “as a pilot to then interface with the Private Sector”
*      We remain committed and we will deliver and improve what we met, he declares

The 11th Abuja International Housing Show kicked off in the Federal Capital Territory Monday with the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola SAN, advocating a Housing Economy as a viable means of rebuilding the nation and its economy.

In a keynote address at the International Conference Centre venue of the three-day event, Fashola, who explained the concept of Housing Economy to mean “an economy that delivers on a continuous basis at every spectrum of the value chain”, starting from the construction sites. He said such continuous construction would impact mostly on the lives of artisans, labourers, builders and others at the construction sites, whom he described as “the most vulnerable members of the society”.

Stressing that the society has a duty to support such people, the Minister pointed out that the construction site has provided a major source of income for, not only construction workers such as plumbers, welders, bricklayers, retailers, but also suppliers of building materials and food vendors, adding, “It is the place where we can impact most on peoples’ lives”.

“Those are the most vulnerable members of our society that we must continue to support”, he said adding that the kind of response that could be received from creating a sustainable housing construction through building on a continuous basis would be “almost unbelievable”.

Recalling his inspection of Housing sites in Taraba, Gombe, Ekiti, Oyo and other states across the country earlier in the year, Fashola declared, “the story I can tell you is that plumbers, welders, bricklayers, food vendors, all say,  ‘Thank Buhari for us because we are back to work’. And that is the story; that is where it starts”. 

Particularly recalling his visit to the Oyo State site where he met a couple working at the site with the husband as a mason and bricklayer while the wife sold food to workers, the Minister, who noted that the couple relocated from Lagos to the site on learning of the project, added, “Let us just continue to build because the opportunities that it provides for rebuilding the economy and for rebuilding our country are simply prolific”.

On plans to include members of the informal sector in the Housing programme, Fashola said his Ministry was currently working on how to expand and register cooperatives and assist people to key into the programme adding that work in that regard has almost been concluded.

The Minister said the plan had become necessary because within the financing sector it had become important to ensure that those who have legitimate assets and income but were not in the formal recorded form could still be assisted to participate in home ownership.

Using the level 07 or 08 Civil Servant, who earns N50,000, as example, the Minister said although the amount may not be enough, he may have other assets like a farm or his wife’s business that they could put together adding that the plan was to expand the frontiers of how to determine what was affordable and the kind of income that could come into the programme.

“What we are currently working on now is how to expand and register cooperatives and assist people; because we have seen that the formal sector has its own structured organization where they contribute money, they help each other to build it. How can we use that to help them to build for themselves? We are almost completing work in that regard”, he said.

Fashola, who acknowledged that there is a challenge in the nation’s Housing sector, however, said the way to solve it was not to look at the size but to focus on how to solve it urging that the size of the problem should not dampen the enthusiasm to seek for solutions.

Debunking the estimated size of the nation’s housing deficit as not based on any audit or accurate census, the Minister, who stated that life without problems was unimaginable, added, “I always say that it is because there are problems that opportunities also arise, whether in public or the private sector”.

“I think the most important thing I want to say here is that the size of the problem should not dampen our enthusiasm to find solutions. Let us focus more on what we can contribute, what we can do rather than how big the problem is”, he said adding, “I will say this in the context of every time I hear 17 million Housing deficit; who did the census; who did the audit?”

The Minister recalled that barely 15 years ago Nigerians needed to get international direct dialling to be able to call somebody outside the country adding that although it was a big problem, the country just focussed on how to find a solution and, indeed, found a solution with many Nigerians now owning phones.

According to him, although not everybody in Nigeria today has a telephone, “But inch by inch, step by step, village by village, community by community we are connecting”, adding, “That must be the same attitude here”.

Still emphasizing the need to focus on solutions, Fashola, who recalled the time in the country when the only television station available was the Nigerian Television Authority, stated that Nigerians now have more channels than they could watch, adding that Nigerians must adopt the attitude that having overcome many problems in the past, the housing problem could be overcome.

The Minister commended Nigerians for their innovativeness pointing out that the  banner, depicting the many brands of exhibitors at the Housing Show was a demonstration that Nigerians were not idle. He declared, “Look at all of those brands, it means that Nigerians are doing something. So we are not idle, we are not inactive and step by step we will get to our destination”.

On the theme of the Show, “Solving Nigeria’s Housing Challenges Through Innovative Finance and Infrastructure Solutions”, Fashola, who said the financing problem would remain for as long as humanity, explained that the growth of global population was not proportionate with the increase in availability of funds.

The Minister explained further, “The public Housing programme in the United Kingdom started since 1918. Next year it will be 100 years old. And, you know what, not everybody in the UK owns a house. There are people who still sleep on the streets. They have only managed to achieve about 65 per cent home ownership”.

“And it varies depending on the economy because even home owners also lose their homes. They have reduced rental and increased ownership; but from 1918 till now, not everybody owns a home and that is just about 65million or 70million people”, he said.

Also, according to the Minister, Singapore, with barely five million people, started her Housing programme in 1962 and has achieved a home ownership of 80 per cent of their population after about 60 years while in Hong Kong, one of the biggest financial centres in the world, people live in cages; in flats cut into pieces “because the average cost of a house is 19 times higher than the average wage”.

“And this is the context in which I said the issue of financing will remain for a long time. But within that we can improve the quality of our lives if we focus on what we can do, if we focus on major progress, if we understand that housing delivery is a long time commitment”, he said.

Expressing the commitment of the Federal Government to deliver on its promises of affordable housing for Nigerians, Fashola declared, “We remain committed and we will deliver and improve what we met”, adding that in discussing financing it should also be understood that there are many other problems such as issues of affordability and issues of acceptability.

The Minister declared, “We have empty houses in many states of the Federation. Why are they not occupied? Can people afford them? Where they can afford them, do they like the way they are built?” adding that these were the problems that must be addressed in order to build for the choice and demand of the off taker.

Fashola commended his team in the Ministry for the work they have done in the last one year during which, according to him, “they have designed a National Housing model that responds to the cultural and climatic diversities of Nigeria”, adding that the Ministry was now building in 33 states of the Federation “as a pilot to then interface with the Private Sector”.

Also present at the Opening Ceremony of the Housing Show which is featuring hundreds of exhibitors and stakeholders in the Housing Sector, include, the Minister of State in the Ministry of Power, Works and Housing, Hon. Mustapha Baba Shehuri, Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief John Odigie Oyegun, who was Chairman of the Opening Ceremony, Minister of Labour and Productivity, Dr. Chris Ngige, Legislators, Governors, Traditional Rulers and other stakeholders in both Public and Private Sectors.

Jul

14

2017

Power Sector Reforms- Challenges And The Way Forward

Being The Text Of The Lecture Delivered By The Honourable Minister Of Power, Works And Housing, Mr Babatunde Raji Fashola, San At The Department Of Economics 2017 Public Lecture Series, University Of Lagos, On Thursday 13th July 2017

I thank you for inviting me to be your guest lecturer at the 2017 edition  of your public lecture series.

I accepted this invitation for many reasons. First it was conveyed through Mr. Ayo Gbeleyi who served with me meritoriously as Honourable Commissioner and Head of PPP Office and he implored me to do the best I could to make time to accept.

Secondly, the topic which focuses on “Challenges and the way forward” resonates with my view of the power sector and I believe that of many, who acknowledge that the sector has challenges; more importantly the topic is solution driven and positive in outlook which is consistent with my attitude, that, instead of recrimination, reproach and cynicism, we should look for the way forward. 

I will like to say that many right thinking and well-meaning Nigerians are now taking this view, which is that the problem of power in the country can be solved, and we all have different but very important roles to play.

I will come to this as I proceed, but I must warn that this may be a fairly long speech, because there is a lot to say, and because there is a lot happening in power, and more importantly because I believe one of the most important things I can do as a Minister is to simplify what is going on for the benefit of the public and to discuss it using street level  terms and not technical terms.

The bottom line really is that people want to know when they will have stable electricity, why they do not have it, and what government is doing about it.

Permit me to share with you, what our road map is.

We recognise that our power supply is not enough and what we have done is do the simplest thing, get more power.

So our road map seeks to get, first incremental power, progress to stable power, and then achieve uninterrupted power.

From this road map it must be clear to any right thinking and well meaning person that this is a journey and not an event that will happen overnight.

As we progress on this journey, we will get to critical milestones from which we can look back and say we are now better off at that milestone, than when we started the journey.

I understand the urgency of now, to get the power, I understand the high level of expectation.

I know that they come from many years of broken promises and a change from government-managed power to privatisation of power.

While I fully support privatisation, I believe what took place in 2013 in the heat of politics was a privatisation that was well intentioned since 2005 but delivered with some deception in 2013 with the expectation of political profit.

It led many uninformed Nigerians to believe that once the privatisation was concluded, the assets sold to the Distribution companies (DisCos) and the Generation companies (GenCos) there was immediately going to be power.

I cautioned then that people’s expectations were being unduly raised without telling them that there was a lot of work to do.

While I believed that the APC government will do a better job, little did I expect that I would inherit the problem. But I am grateful for the opportunity from Mr. President, to contribute to solving a problem that I am deeply passionate about and I will offer nothing but my best while I am at it.

As I have said, there are challenges, which is why I accepted this invitation and they can be solved, which is why I have come to share my thoughts about the way forward.

I have also pointed out that we have a road map whose first objective is to get incremental power and this means power from gas, solar, wind, coastal waves, hydro dams, nuclear and bio mass.

I have also pointed out that all of us have roles to play.

I am inspired by the history of Nigeria that whenever we have united to confront a problem, we have never lost. The number of Nigerians interested in generating power is increasing daily and this is encouraging.

This is evidenced by dozens of letters and proposals I get daily, even though they are wrongly directed to the Ministry, because power is now privatised.

There are people who know about it, there are those seeking to make money from it, there are those who know absolutely nothing about it but are still seeking to try. The positive I take away from it is that we are increasingly looking in the right direction.

I will share a story with you, first for its humour and secondly for its consistency, with our road map to get the incremental power.

I had received a text on my telephone, one of the many hundreds I get daily since I published my telephone number many years ago.

This particular one was interesting because the sender alleged that he had found the solution to our energy needs and was wiling to share it with me.

I called him to discuss this “novel” idea he claimed to have. He then referred me to a news report that showed how somebody was generating electricity from a potato.

I then took the time to explain to him that this was not new technology but indeed what we had shared with school children in my time as Governor, in the Power Kids Club that we set up to introduce people to the fundamentals of electricity early in life.

Just as I was preparing this speech, one of my former state Executive Council members who served with me referred me to an online publication about generating electricity using biomass.

Ladies and gentlemen, these two instances confirm what I said about:

Increasing interest of Nigerians in solving the power challenge, which is positive and welcome.

Generating incremental power from all viable sources.

The hard truth is that generating electricity from potatoes or cow dung is possible. The question is viability and sustainability.

First, how much cow dung can we produce to keep the power going? Because even countries who have enough cows, like Brazil and can export beef, don’t use cow dung for power.

Similarly, how much potato can we produce to fire our power needs?

In any event, in a country where there is poverty and hungry people, and with the proven calorific and nutritional values of potato, I think it would be a poor choice to use it for power generation as opposed to using it for nutrition and well-being of children and people.

I will shortly come to specifics of what we are doing to resolve the challenges, but permit me as I have just clarified the situation about cow dung, potato, (which also by the way applies to all those who want to generate electricity by using waste) to also explain what I think is fundamental about power.

It is that there is no real problem in buying and installing a power plant. It is not different from you buying and installing a generator in your home.

The problem starts when you cannot get diesel or petrol, just as we usually don’t have enough gas supply either because of production shortages or vandalism.

The problem with your generator starts when you have to connect your neighbour and issues arise as to how you share the cost or what appliances your neighbour or even your family can switch on when the generator is running especially if it is not a very big one, in order to avoid damage.

The problem arises if the generator needs maintenance or repairs. Can you use it during repairs if you don’t have a backup?

What is true of the generators we install for ourselves is essentially true of the power plants we have as a country.

Those plants are nothing more than big generators. We connect them through 330KV wires, 132 KV wires, 33KV wires and 11 KV wires that transmit the power from the plant, carrying them across several hundreds of kilometres, injecting and sending them through about 183 sub-stations to the distribution companies before they get to our homes, offices, schools and so on.

In the process wires snap, equipment gets damaged by us or by natural wear and tear and requires replacement. Most of it, we have to import because we do not have enough as backup, the plant is not available during repairs.

In order to get incremental power therefore, we have resolved to use all our sustainable energy sources like hydro, gas, wind, solar, and coal (not potato and cow dung) and work is now going on at:

For Hydro -
a) Zungeru Hydro plant in Niger for 700 MW
b) Kashimbilla Hydro plant in Taraba for 40 MW
c)  Dadin Kowa Hydro plant in Gombe for 29 MW
d) Gurara Hydro plant Nigeria for 30 MW
e) Later this year work should start on Mambilla Hydro for 3,050 MW

As for gas plants, there are many already such as:

Egbin 1,320                              
Geregu I & II                                
Omotosho I
Omotosho II
Olorunsogo I
Olorunsogo II
Alaoji
Ibom
Calabar
Ughelli

to mention just a few, all of which are challenged by Debts owed from the previous administrations, lack of sufficient gas or vandalism of existing gas lines or a combination of them.

Gas supply is the responsibility of the Ministry of Petroleum Resources and its parastatals like NNPC, Nigerian Gas Company and others.

We are working with them to improve on supply of gas to these plants to ensure that their redundant capacities and idle turbines come back into operation to produce electricity.

We have just concluded repairs on Afam IV Power Plant that was plagued by a damaged transformer which we replaced in order to restore 100 MW of gas fired power to the grid.

Simultaneously there is a Presidential initiative with General Electric through our Ministry to deliver 240 MW of emergency power to the site of Afam III using the existing gas resources there.

The turbines are already in country and installation should be complete within year.

As for wind energy, we are completing the abandoned 10MW Katsina wind farm project to pilot wind energy development and if sustainable, we can expand it.

There is no recorded coal power production today. The last one at Orji River Coal Power Plant in Enugu built by the colonial government had been dismantled when I visited.

But we are working with a group that shows the commitment to deliver up to 3,000MW of coal power in the Benue/Kogi belt where there are proven and sustainable deposits of coal about 20 kilometres from the intended power site.

Solar power presents the real window of opportunity to quickly increase power and also give people access.

We have shown that we can deliver solar by completing the 1.2MW solar project in the lower Usman Dam area. We have signed power purchase agreements with 14 developers who potentially can deliver 1,125 MW of solar.

We are partnering with Jigawa state to deliver about 1,000 MW of solar power at a site of 2,000 hectares already delivered to us by the state government. The project is at design and preparation stage.

We have completed the energy audit to deliver independent power to 37 universities and 7 teaching hospitals and one of them is the University of Lagos.

27 (TWENTY-SEVEN) of those plants will be solar plants.

These are only one side of what government is doing to deliver incremental power through solar.

The other side is what citizens have started on their own with solar.

Some of the ones I can recall are those of an oil marketing company that is now powering its petrol filling stations by solar, and initiatives by other groups which I have helped to launch to deliver solar packs to unconnected communities.

Recently, the Acting President also commissioned an Independent Solar Power facility at a village called Wuna in Abuja that had not been connected to the Grid.

For the avoidance of doubt solar is the new power, its appeal is very strong with young people and it provides a unique opportunity to close our power supply deficit.

My final word on these sources of power generation is that they speak to the idea of an energy mix; and we have delivered one for Nigeria which targets 30% renewable of our total energy production by 2030.

Generation of power is not the end of the power value chain. On the contrary, it is just the beginning. To reach our homes the power has to be transported.

This is the Transmission System and the National Grid that co-ordinates 8 transmission regions with 183 substations from the National Control Centre in Oshogbo.

For the record, this Grid is also somewhat misunderstood. People have said it is the problem because it can only carry 5,000 MW.

I will correct this unchanging opinion first by stating that under the Buhari Administration, the Grid has expanded to 6,200 MW because we have completed transmission stations in places like Ikot Ekepene, Okada, Alagbon, Ajah, Katampe, Sokoto and awarded many more in places like Damboa, Pankshin, Osogbo, Kumbotso, Odogunyan to mention a few.

In the last few days we completed work at:
Kukwaba substation in Abuja
Increased transformer capacity at
Ajah substation in Lagos
Mayo Belwa substation in Adamawa

The logic therefore is that if projects to expand the Grid are being completed and new ones started, it is either ignorance or mischief to continue to argue that the Grid cannot wheel more than 5,000 MW.

The correct, informed and sensible view is that the Grid is dynamic and must grow as power production grows.

How we got to this Grid improvement is the story that I will share now.

Since the integrated power project started almost a decade ago, several projects were issued as contracts to develop the transmission system.

Many of the equipment imported by contactors were trapped at the port in over 800 containers for almost 10 (TEN) years because Government did not budget to pay the contactors.

It is in the first full budget of the Buhari Administration that a budget for payment was presented and approved in 2016.

At the time of preparing this speech, we have paid N930, 229, 418 (NINE HUNDRED AND THIRTY MILLION, TWO HUNDRED AND TWENTY-NINE THOUSAND FOUR HUNDRED AND EIGHTEEN NAIRA) and resultantly 387 (THREE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY SEVEN) containers have now been recovered and handed to the contractors for deployment to their site.

Some of those sites whose projects have been held back were:

1.      Design and construction of 2x60 MVA 132/33KV transmission substations at Kachia Kaduna State.    
2.     Ganmo-Ogbomosho 132KV transmission Line Project (45KM) Kwara-Oyo.
3.     Supply of Aluminum conductor composite core for Re-conducting of Onitsha New Haven 330KV transmission line.
4.    Construction of 132KV DC TRX line Yola-Song-Little Gombe-Mubi-Gulak.
5.    Construction of Onitsha Oba-Nnewi-Ideato Okigwe 132KV Double Circuit Transmission.
6.     Even the completion of the 215 MW Kaduna plant was held back because some of those equipment were previously trapped in the port.

We are currently planning to maintain and upgrade the carrying capacity of some old lines by re-conducting them and expanding their transmission capacity.

But while the transmission is being upgraded the last mile of the value chain, which is the distribution end, must be ready to accept and distribute the power.

For the record, there are 11 Distribution Companies namely:

– Kaduna Distribution Company
– Kano Distribution Company
– Yola Distribution Company
– Jos Distribution Company
– Abuja Distribution Company
– Ibadan Distribution Company
– Ikeja Distribution Company
– Eko Distribution Company
– Benin Distribution Company
– Port Harcourt Distribution Company
– Enugu Distribution Company

Many of them inherited old distribution assets like feeders, Transformers, Ring main units and conductors (the lines) to mention a few.

If you are observant you will see falling, bending, misaligned poles and wires in your streets and neighbourhoods.

They don’t look as organised as those you see abroad.

These are the old assets sold to the DisCos which must be upgraded, repaired and replaced over time in order to be able to effectively distribute power (received from the Transmission Company) to your offices, schools, shops and homes.

Therefore, the Transmission Company is a service provider to the DisCo, who is the customer just as the DisCo is the service provider to you and I who are customers.

Therefore, if any one of them is inefficient, you and I don’t get power or it is unreliable.

You will have heard of load rejection and be wondering why what is not enough is being rejected.

Each DisCo has a fixed % of the total amount allocated to it and the DisCo then nominates the area within their business area where they want TCN (the transmission) to send power.

Normally as a business they will nominate supply to places where customers are paying and where their equipment is working.

In places where collection is difficult or equipment is not functioning, they will refuse to energise their power intake or are unable to do so. This is what is called load rejection.

What then happens is that the Control Centre tells the GenCos to reduce their power production because if it is not taken, it results in high frequency which can damage the generating unit, create loss of power, and sometimes result in Grid collapse depending on how severe the outage is.

The problems came on the Horizon as Gas is improving and Rains are  arriving to increase power production on Thermal and Hydro plants.

Eligible Customer

This is why I have exercised the power conferred on me by the Act to declare what is called “Eligible Customer”.

What this simply means is that certain classes of consumers that consume a lot of energy like factories, hotels, state governments or local government secretariats, whose DisCos have poor distribution equipment, can apply to NERC for eligibility to build the distribution facility that the DisCo cannot or refuses to build, and then take their power direct from the GenCo.

Clearly the purpose is to increase service and access to power and we have already received a number of requests; however the power is not cheap.

The cost of building the distribution asset means that it comes at a premium, but offers access to more realistic power, which is cheaper than self-generation and diesel, which is between N60-N70 per kw/h.

The success of this initiative offers many prospects for success:

Competition by small GenCos
Response by DisCos to upgrade their equipment
Disaggregated tariff paid by eligible customers who are high end consumers without materially adversely affecting regular domestic consumers, (whose tariff can only be changed by a major tariff review which I will explain) and creating an opportunity for cross-subsidization. (Rich and heavy consumers bear some of the cost of the poor and small consumers.)

Tariff

This is as best as I can attempt to summarize the value chain and what we are doing. There are of course more technical issues that time and the forum do not permit or compel. However, we must all recognize and accept that tariff is a cost that we must all pay to keep the value chain viable as a business.

It is measured by meters (which I will come to) but every consumer must pay. It is a criminal offence in Nigeria and all over the civilized world to use public electricity and not pay for it.

Tariff is not fixed by the Minister. I have no such power. Tariff is proposed by the DisCos after consultation with their customers, and then approved by NERC (the Nigerian Electric Regulatory Commission) during a major Tarrif review.

The process of determining tariff takes into consideration the amount of power (4,500 MV in 2015) the number of consumers on record who will pay it (6,000,000), the cost of producing and transporting power, operating cost of the operators, exchange rate, inflation and interest rate; and the tariff for each class of consumer is determined.

The classes of consumers are R1, R2, R3 and MD. The tariff of each class is different in their DisCo while the tariff of R2, R3 and M are different from DisCo to DisCo.

It is only R1 that has a fixed tariff of N4 per/kwh across all DisCos and it was not changed in the last tariff review.

I spoke about a major tariff review; there is also minor tariff review.

The 2015 tariff review gave us a 10-year tariff that should be declining as the sector stabilizes.

It provides for a major review after 5 years, and minor reviews every 6 (SIX) months to keep the market abreast of the economic realities of foreign exchange, gas price, and inflation changes.

If we want to experience reliable electricity, we must accept the reality of tariffs and possible upward or downward reviews.

We must stop going to court to get injunctions to stop tariff reviews. We don’t do so, when exchange rate, inflation and prices of other commodities change. (The Court of Appeal has reversed the decision of the Federal High Court which stopped the implementation of the last tariff review).

What we must insist on, is the provision of meters, so that we can monitor and control what we consume.

Government must also not interfere with the power of the regulator when it fixes tariff in the way the last administration ordered a reversal of tariff in order to win electoral votes in 2014.

It created a massive debt for Nigeria, because while the Government ordered a reversal of Tariff, it did not reduce Exchange Rate, Interest Rate , cost of wages or cost of gas and other inputs necessary to produce power.

Why should Nigeria carry a debt created by an individual’s electoral ambition?

This is what the Buhari administration has to contend with.

It might interest members of the public to know that most if not all the oil & gas producing communities where there is electricity connection do not pay for power, somebody is carrying that cost.

It is worsened by the fact that the light bulbs are on during the day and I am told in some communities that they are never switched off. This is waste. What is wasted will never be enough.

Meters

One of the omissions of the privatization carried out by the last administration was lack of compulsory metering before the privatization.

This is compounded by an inaccurate consumer projection of 6 million households, without a consumer audit. These are the problems the Buhari government is now trying to fix with the Power Sector Recovery Program, which I will discuss later.

What the public must know about meters are:

Meters are measuring and safety equipment that must be tested by NEMSA before they can be used.

Different classes of consumers require different types of meters: Single and multiple phases to ensure that your meter matches your consumption.

Meters by the same manufacturers are calibrated for each DisCo use, such that you cannot use a meter calibrated for Ikeja DisCo in Eko DisCo without Re-calibration.

Meters cannot be installed without visit to the home for audit assessment.

DisCos liquidity problem makes it difficult for them to access credit to order and supply meters. One DisCo requires over N20B to meter.

The consumer base does not capture all those who consume power, and without meters, the DisCos aggregate power distributed to a destination and estimate the bill for the known consumer who is perhaps paying for the neighbour who is not known or is stealing energy; (whistle blowing for energy theft is a civic responsibility)

Those who are resisting the installation of meters and assaulting DisCo staff who seek to install meters must stop it. It is a criminal offence.

N37 Billion meter contract

The government of Nigeria had in 2003 (14 years ago) issued a contract for the supply of 3 million meters to NEPA/PHCN

That contract was not performed until the privatization was concluded in 2013, and was inherited by the Buhari government as a court case in which a judgment of N119Billion had been signed against government. We have worked to get the case out of court , negotiate the judgement and go back to the N37Billion contract to see how many meters it can now provide, and how to install them. We are still finalising the terms of agreement.

Gas supply

Although we get power from Hydro and we plan more from solar and coal, I cannot conclude this speech without speaking a little about gas which is managed by the Ministry of Petroleum Resources but which is the fuel for 26 (TWENTY-SIX) plants out of the 29 (TWENTY-NINE) power plants in the country.

2016 was a particularly difficult year for our gas fired turbines because there were at least 16 major gas pipeline attacks with explosions, between February and May of 2016.

This is why we did not experience stability until August when the rains came and we could rely on the Hydros, whose capacity had been upgraded.

Those pipelines are gradually now being repaired as a result of relative peace secured by initiatives of the President, Vice President, Minister of Petroleum Resources, Governors and other stakeholders.

Power Sector Recovery Programme (PSRP)

Without a doubt the privatisation of power is the way to go.

Admittedly it has not yet delivered the kind of results we were all made to expect, for some of the reasons I have stated; political interference, liquidity, metering, debts, governance, technical capacity of operators and the political dishonesty with which Nigerians expectation were raised to the sky.

But I have no doubt at all, having studied the privatization of Brazil, Mexico, India, South-Africa and China (who went through some or all of our current challenges), that reliable electricity will happen in Nigeria.

It is not an event, it is a journey marked by positive trends that have occurred and will occur as the right solutions are deployed to challenges.

This is what the Power Sector Reform Program (PSRP) seeks to achieve.

Because of the current transition challenges, some people have called for the cancellation of the privatization, but such a course of action (which I do not support) has consequences: -

Government will be breaching its own contract in the same way we cancelled the privatization of refineries in 2007 and will send a negative investment signal that we do not respect agreements;

Government will have to refund in dollars, all the monies paid by the DisCos and GenCos most of which have been spent on almost 50,000 workers of PHCN who had to be paid;

Government will now have to re-employ those or other workers back to operate the assets and again increase salary and pension costs, when our recurrent cost is above 70% of budget today.

Instead of doing these, Government believes that the lapses in the privatization can be re-engineered, retrofitted or reformed to deliver.

The PSRP is therefore a set of policies and actions aimed at restoring credibility, liquidity, transparency, efficiency, good governance and improved service delivery to the power sector.

The PSRP is meant to implement and deliver the power component of the Economic Recovery & Growth Plan (ERGP) of the Buhari Government and it is already being implemented.

N701 Billion NBET payment assurance programme

Metering plan (already discussed)

Constitution of Boards of Agencies for Governance (NERC); Rural Electrification Agency (REA)

Change of Government Representatives in DisCos

Procurement and Capital Requirement Guidelines for Discos by NERC

Energy mix, already done to achieve diversity of energy sources and energy security

Tariff Computation Reform

Communication and Advocacy

Technical capacity and equipment upgrade by DisCos for loss restriction

Legislation to restore and punish energy theft and damage to power assets

Ladies and Gentlemen, these are some of the challenges the power sector faces and the way forward as formulated by the Buhari Government in order to reform the power sector for efficient delivery.

As you will have seen, many if not all of them are man made.

Therefore if men and women create problems , only men and women can solve them. 

You and I therefore  have critical roles to play , and I have signed up to play my own.

Have you ?

Thank you for your attention.

Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN
Honourable Minister of Power, Works and Housing

Jul

06

2017

Fashola To Goje : Don’t Trivialize The Issues Raised On Budget 2017

*  Says Senator’s language is unparliamentary, therefore  not deserving of a reply
*  I need a better budget as a tool to do my work and that is why l am speaking out  Minister

The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola SAN on Thursday said it was regrettable that the Senate Committee Chairman on Appropriation, Senator Danjuma Goje would seek to trivialize the issues he raised about the unilateral slashing of the budgetary allocation to key national infrastructure by the National Assembly.

In a Statement personally signed by the Minister and sent in from Zimbabwe where he is currently attending the 35th Annual General Meeting of the Shelter Afrique, Fashola said he was responding only for the purpose of refocusing attention to the issues at stake.

According to the Minister, the Senator’s reference to the patriotism of legislators should not be spoken but demonstrated as regards his calls for a more developmental budgeting approach.

Explaining this further, the Minister declared: “In this context, it is left for Nigerians to then decide whether budgeting for constituency roads is more patriotic than budgeting to complete the Kano-Maiduguri Road that connects 5 states, the Lagos-Ibadan road that connects 3 states and helps to move food, imported goods and fuel across the country; or the 2nd Niger Bridge that connects the East and West geopolitical zones of at least 11 states together.

“I will also leave Nigerians to judge whether it is more patriotic to budget for the Mambilla Power Project that will contribute to more power across Nigeria or reduce the budget to build street lights in legislative constituencies.”

The Minister noted that the response to the issues he raised certainly should not have been accusations of his blackmailing the Legislature or referring to  those who shared his views as his “surrogates”.

Reiterating his respect for the Parliament as a house where very vigorous debates about development should take place, Fashola advised Senator Goje to acquire the temperament for such debate and disagreement.

“Let me Let me reiterate that I see Parliament as a house where very vigorous debates about development should take place and it is important for Goje to acquire the temperament of debate and disagreement”.

Decrying the Senator’s admonition that he should learn how to “behave” like a “Minister” and the reference to the Senate awaiting how he would be “handled” by the House of Representatives, the Minister declared, “ I think first that the language  is unparliamentary and therefore not deserving of a reply”.

Noting that Goje’s faux  pas gave a clearer insight into how the Senator and those who may be minded like him may be thinking having transited from the Executive arm to the Legislative arm , the Minister called for caution.

” It seems that it is such people who need a behavioural prescription about legislative function,” Fashola said.

According to the Minister, a good budget remains a necessary tool for the Executive to do its work because when services are inadequate, the members of the public often  look to the Executive arm for answers.

“ I need a better budget as a tool to do my work and that is why l am speaking out”, he said.

Jun

26

2017

National Assembly’s Recourse To Personal Attacks Fails To Address The Issues I Raised In The National Interest – Fashola

*  Says nation in trouble if lawmaker mistakes budgetary appropriation as cash
*  Minister insists no concession agreement exists on Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Second Niger Bridge
*  Asks Lawmakers to address the slashing of budgetary allocation to key power, infrastructure projects nationwide

The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola SAN has expressed deep concern over the recourse of the National Assembly’s Spokespersons to name calling over his observations on the 2017 Budget.

In a Press Release signed by his Special Adviser on Media, Mr Hakeem Bello, the Minister said he was worried that the National Assembly Spokespersons failed to address the fundamental points about development- hindering whimsical cuts in the allocations to several vital projects under the Ministry of Power, Works and Housing as well as other Ministries.

Fashola had, in a recent interview while acknowledging that Legislators could contribute to budget making, disagreed with the practice where the legislative arm of Government unilaterally alters the Budget after putting members of the Executive through Budget Defence Sessions and Committee Hearings to the extent that some of the projects proposed would have become materially altered.

While acknowledging the need for legislative input from the representatives of the people to bring forward their developmental aspirations  before and during the Budget production process, the Minister had observed that it amounted to a waste of tax payers money and an unnecessary distortion of orderly planning and development  for all sections of the country, for lawmakers to unilaterally insert items not under the Exclusive or Concurrent lists of the Constitution like boreholes and streetlights after putting Ministries , Departments and Agencies  (MDAs) through the process of Budget Defence.

Specifically with regards to the Ministry of Power, Works and Housing, Fashola listed the Lagos- Ibadan Expressway, the Bodo- Bonny road, the Kano-Maiduguri road, the Second Niger Bridge and the long drawn Mambilla  Hydropower Project among others as those that the National Assembly materially  altered the allocations in favour of scores of boreholes and primary health care centres  which were never discussed during the Ministerial Budget Defence before Parliament.

In their responses both the Spokespersons of the Senate and the House of Representatives accused the Minister of spreading “Half-Truths” and making “Fallacious “ statements because he (Fashola) should have known that they only interfered with projects that had concession agreements and private sector funding components. They also accused the Minister of wanting to hold on to such projects in order that he may continue to award contracts.

However, while dismissing the allegations in the course of an official trip outside the country, Fashola said it was sad that the lawmakers would resort to name calling even without understanding the facts of what they were getting into. Taking the projects which the lawmakers chose to focus on one after the other, the Minister insisted that there is no subsisting concession agreement on the Lagos – Ibadan Expressway adding that what the Infrastructure Construction Regulatory Commission (ICRC) has is a financing agreement from a consortium of banks which is like a loan that still has to be paid back through budgetary provisions.

There is no fallacy or half truth in the allegation that the budgets were reduced. The Spokespersons admitted this much and now sought to rationalize it by a concession or financing arrangement that has failed to build the road since 2006. The biggest momentum seen on the road was in 2016.

In the case of the Second Niger Bridge where one of the Spokespersons alleged that the provision in 2016 budget was not spent and had to be returned, Fashola said that this displays very stark and worrisome gaps in knowledge of the Spokesperson about the budget process he was addressing.

According to him, a budget is not cash. It is an approval of estimates of expenditure to be financed by cash from the Ministry of Finance.

The Ministry of Finance has not yet released any cash for the Second Niger Bridge, so no money was returned.

Three phases of Early Works of piling and foundation was approved and financed by the previous Government in the hope that a concession will finally be issued, which has not happened because concessionaires have not been able to raise finance.

The continuation of Early Works IV could not start in May 2016 when the budget was passed because of high water level in the River Niger in the rainy season.

The contract was only approved by the Federal Executive Council in the first quarter of 2017 and the contractor is awaiting payment.

Dismissing the allegation that the Ministry under him was holding on to projects that could be funded through Public Private Partnerships (PPP) so that he could award contracts as a tissue of lies, the Minister said from Day One of his assumption of office, he made it clear publicly and privately that his priority would be to finish as many of the several hundreds of projects that his Ministry inherited which had not been  funded for close to three years.

According to Fashola, if the Spokesperson   was in tune with the Public Procurement Law which the National Assembly passed, he would realize that the Minister has no unilateral power to award such contracts whose values are in Billions of Naira, adding that all the new projects presented to the Federal Executive Council for approval were either Federal roads requested by State Governments or those put in the Budget by the Legislators to service their constituencies.

Fashola stated that the focus on contracts by the Spokesperson is probably a Freudian slip that reveals his mindset and interests; when indeed he should be focused on Developmental projects that strengthen the economy, which is the focus of the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan endorsed by the legislature.

Also responding to the issues that the Budget for the Mambila Power Project was slashed because it contained a “ whooping N17 bn” for Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), the Minister said there was indeed a mis-description of that particular Expenditure Head which could have happened during the classification of so many thousands of Budget heads in the Budget estimates.

According to him, what was described as a Budget Head for EIA was actually the nation’s counterpart funding to the China- EXIM loan to fund the building of the Mambila Project , adding that this was brought to his attention only after it had been slashed and that  if the intention was not to slash arbitrarily it should have been brought to his attention to explain.  “At a joint meeting convened at the instance of the Budget Minister when I complained that the budget was slashed, the issue of EIA was brought to my attention and I explained what it was meant for,” Fashola said.

On the issue of the N20 Billion provision in the Ministry’s Budget which the Spokesperson alleged that the Minister failed to give details of, Fashola said the Spokesperson is hiding behind a finger.

The Minister explained that it was a very basic principle of good planning to make provision for unforeseen contingencies adding that in the 2016 Budget , a similar provision  enabled the Ministry to respond to the failures of the Tamburawa Bridge in Sokoto, the Ijora Bridge in Lagos and the Gada Hudu Bridge in Koto Karfe along the Abuja – Lokoja Highway. Similarly, the Ministry was able to pay N1BN to the Contractor handling the Suleja to Minna road.

The recent failures caused by flooding along Tegina-Mokwa-Jebba road and Tatabu in Niger State could not have been provided because they were not foreseen and there may be more. “ This is what good planning is about ,“ Fashola said.

Noting that the Senate Spokesperson missed the point in the haste to cast aspersions on him because he was not at the meetings he was speaking about, Fashola said he would have expected a more sober approach to the matter. “ In any event, allegations of half truth is only a flawed response to the constitutional and developmental issues that have plagued Nigeria from 1999 about how to budget for the critical infrastructure in Nigeria. It shows the conflict between the Executive that wants to build big Federal Highways; Bridges ; Power Plants;  Rail; and Dams on one hand and Parliament that wants to do small things like Bore holes , Health Centres , Street lights and supplying grinding machines ,” he said.

According to the Minister, being an institutional and not a personal issue, it won’t be out of place to seek a resolution of the conflict at the Supreme Court in order to protect the country’s future, because it is a clear conflict about how best to serve the people.

“As long as Budgets planned to deliver life changing infrastructure are cut into small pieces, Nigeria will continue to have small projects that are not life changing , and big projects that have not been completed in 17 years . If a project would cost N15 Billion and the contractor gets only a fraction of that, then things won’t move. Success should be defined by how many projects an administration is able to complete or set on the path of irreversible completion and not how many poorly funded contracts are awarded,” he said.

Jun

14

2017

FEC Approves $186.6m for Completion of AFAM Power Plant, N500million for Baro Port

The Federal Executive Council presided over by Acting President Yemi Osinbajo on Wednesday approved 186.6million dollars for the completion of the AFAM Power plant.

The Minister of Works, Power and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola stated this while briefing State House correspondents alongside the Minister of  Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi and Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, on the outcome of the Council’s meeting in Abuja.He said that the AFAM project was part of the ministry’s roadmap for incremental power to the grid.

``Council ratified the earlier approval given for GE to undertake that project so that we can complete 240MW of emergency power through 830MW turbines this year.’’

Fashola also revealed that the Council also approved ``2.2million dollars for the construction and rehabilitation of the sub-station to enable the evacuation of the power, once the turbines are installed’’.

In his contribution, Amaechi revealed that the Council approved N500million for the completion of Baro River Port in Niger state.

``We hope that in the next four to six months we should be able to complete the Baro River Port.

He said the Council directed the Minister of works, Power and Housing to look into possibility of reconstructing the roads leading to the River Port while the Ministry of Transportation would look at the revival of the narrow gauge to the Port.

The Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, disclosed that the Council granted permission to the ministry to sign a multilateral convention to implement tax treaty related matters to ``prevent tax erosion and profit shifting’’.

She said: ``The benefits are the convention will swiftly modify existing bilateral tax treaties to implement tax treaty related matters in a cost efficient manner instead of individual negotiation and amendment of
the treaty.

``It will address tax treaty abuse, promote transparency and drastically curtail illicit financial flows and ultimately it will increase the tax revenue of the government.’’

Oct

10

2017

Presentation of N100 Billion DMO Sovereign SUKUK; Each Geo- Political Zone to Receive About N16.67Billion, 25 Road Projects to Benefit

The much –awaited N100 billion Debt Management Office (DMO) subscribed Sovereign SUKUK (bond) cheque has been presented to the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN by the Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun.

While presenting the cheque, the Minister of Finance disclosed that the Sovereign SUKUK is the first of its kind to be floated in Nigeria adding that the United Kingdom and South Africa had in past used such SUKUK bonds as a financing option.

2. The Minister of Power, Works, and Housing   stated that during his maiden meeting with Contractors handling various projects for the Ministry, on assumption of duty, lack of funds and vagaries of weather were identified as major stumbling blocks to the delivery of projects. The introduction of this novel idea in project financing, apart from the annual budgetary allocation to the Works sector, is, therefore, a panacea to bridging the funding gap, according to the Minister.

3. Fashola who received the cheque, on behalf of the Contractors, hailed the over subscription of the bond as a clear demonstration of investor –confidence in the Nigeria’s economy and, most importantly, exponteneous  economic growth to be recorded with the successful delivery of the affected projects which will open vistas of economic activities.  

4. The Director General of the Debt Management Office (DMO), midwife of the process, Mrs. Patience Oniha alluded the success of the offer to the support and commitment of all the parties involved, especially the unrelenting efforts of the Ministers of Power, Works and Housing, as well as, Finance. She identified it as an example of “how we, Nigerians, can make things work”, adding that the only viable option is to invest in infrastructure.

5.  The Financial Advisers to theFacility, Messrs FBN Capital and Lotus Capital, while thanking the Federal Government for the opportunity to participate in the process, assured Nigerians that the additional funding will unlock potentials for economic growth.

6. A breakdown of the 25 prioritized road projectsto benefit from the additional funds, as given by the Director, Highways, Planning and Development, Engr. Chukwunwike  Ogonna Uzo, are as follows;

i. Rehabilitation and Reconstruction of Enugu-Port Harcourt Dual Carriageway, Section II (Umuahia Tower-Aba Township Rail/Road Bridge Crossing  in Abia State) - Arab Contractor Nigeria Limited,                      N3,750,000,000.00

ii. Dualization of Lokoja-Benin Road: Obajana Junction-Benin, Section I Phase I (Obajana – Okene in Kogi State) - CGC Nigeria Limited,                     N2,500,000,000.00

iii. Dualization of Kano - Katsina Road Phase I: Kano Town at Dawanau(round about to Katsina State Border with Kano State.)- CCECC (Nigeria) Limited,                     N 3,000,000,000.00                       

vi. Rehabilitation Of Enugu-Port Harcourt Road Section IV,(Aba-Port Harcourt in Rivers State) - CCECC Nigeria Limited ,       N 3,500,000,000.00                       

V. Dualization of Yenegwe Road Junction-Kolo - Otuoke - Bayelsa Palm in Bayelsa State. –CCECC (Nigeria) Limited,                     N 3,500,000,000.00                          

vi. Dualisation of Kano-Maiduguri Road linking Kano-Jigawa – Bauchi - Yobe and Borno States,   Section V,(Damaturu -Maiduguri)- CCECC Nigeria Limited,                     N 5,000,000,000.00

 vii. Dualisation of Suleja-Minna Road in Niger State, Phase II, Salini  (Nigeria) Limited,                      N3,521,958,532.49                       

viii Reconstruction and Asphalt Overlay of Benin-Ofosu-Ore-Ajebandele-Shagamu Dual Carriageway Phase IV, ( Ajebandele-Shagamu) in Ondo and Ogun States) - Reynolds Construction Company (Nig) Limited, NN6,000,000,000.00                       

xi. Reconstruction of the Outstanding Sections of the Benin – Ofusu – Ore –Ajebandele - Shagamu Expressway, Phase III,  Reynolds Construction Company (Nig) Limited,                     N 5,000,000,000.00                       

x. Dualisation of Ibadan - Ilorin Rd Section II, (Oyo-Ogbomosho Road in Oyo State- Reynolds Construction Company (Nig) Limited,                      N5,666,666,666.67                       

xi.  Rehabilitation Of Outstanding Section Of Onitsha - Enugu Expressway: Amansea - Enugu State Border - Reynolds Construction Company (Nig) Limited,                     N 5,166,666,666.67                       

xii. Rehabilitation and Reconstruction of Enugu-Port Harcourt Dual Carriageway Section I,( Lokpanta - Umuahia Tower ) in Abia State,  Setraco (Nigeria) Limited ,                    N 4,000,000,000.00                       

xiii. Dualization of Abuja- Abaji - Lokoja Road Section I (International Airport link Road Junction - Sheda Village Junction) - Dantata & Sawoe Construction Company (Nig) Limited,               N 3,000,000,000.00                          

xiv. Dualisation of Kano-Maiduguri Road linking Kano - Jigawa –Bauchi - Yobe and Borno States,  Section I, (Kano - Wudil -Shuari) in Kano and Jigawa States-Dantata&Sawoe Construction Company (Nig) Limited,                 N5,000,000,000.00                       

xv. Construction of Kano Western Bypass as an Extension of Dualisation of Kano - Maiduriguri Road Section 1-Dantata&Sawoe Construction Company (Nig) Limited ,   N 4,000,000,000.00                          

xvi.  Dualization of Lokoja-Benin Road, Obajana Junction -Benin Section III Phase I, (Auchi - Ehor, Edo States) - Dantata & Sawoe Construction Company (Nig) Limited,     N 3,166,666,666.67                          

xvii.  Rehabilitation Of Enugu-Port Harcourt Road Section III ( Enugu-Lokpanta, Enugu State) - CGC (Nigeria) Limited,   N 3,750,000,000.00                       

Xviii Construction of Kaduna Eastern By-pass in Kaduna State -Eksiogullari Nigeria Limited,       N4,666,666,666.67                       
xix Dualization of Lokoja-Benin Road: Obajana Junction-Benin Section IV, Phase I,(Ehor-Benin City, Edo States)- Reynolds Construction Company (Nig) Limited,         N 3,500,000,000.00                        

xx.  Dualization of Lokoja-Benin Road: Obajana Junction-Benin Section II Phase I, (Okene-Auchi, Kogi and Edo States)-Mothercat Limited,      N3,000,000,000.00                          

xxi. Dualisation of Kano-Maiduguri Road linking Kano-Jigawa-Bauchi-Yobe and Borno States.  Section II, Shuari-Azare (Bauchi State)-Setraco (Nigeria) Limited, N 4,166,666,666.67                       
xxii. Dualisation of Kano-Maiduguri Road linking Kano-Jigawa-Bauchi-Yobe and Borno States.  Section III, (Azare-Potiskum, Bauchi and Yobe States) Mothercat Limited,  N3,500,000,000.00                       

xxiii.  Dualization of Kano-Maiduguri Road linking Kano-Jigawa-Bauchi-Yobe and Borno States. Section IV, Potiskum-Damaturu Road (Yobe State)- CGC Nigeria Limited,  N 4,000,000,000.00                       

xxiv.  Construction of Oju/Loko - Oweto Bridge over River Benue to link Loko (Nasarawa State) and Oweto (Benue State)- Reynolds Construction Company (Nig) Limited,    N 4,144,708,134.18  

xxv. Dualization of Abuja - Abaji-Lokoja Road Sect. IV (Koton Karfe-Lokoja), (Kogi State)-Gitto Constrizion Generali Ltd,  N3,500,000,000.00                      

7. Giving  a Vote of Thanks at the Presentation Ceremony, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing (Works and Housing Sectors), Alhaji Mohammed Bukar expressed appreciation to the drivers of the process, while admonishing the Contractors to make judicious use of the money, insisting  that they will be closely monitored.

Sep

28

2017

FG Pledges Partnership with Investors to Address Housing Deficit

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo says the Federal Government will partner with genuine investors in the housing sector to bridge the country’s housing deficit.

Osinbajo made the pledge in Abuja on Tuesday at the opening ceremony of a Housing Summit with the theme: “Addressing Housing Stock Deficit in Nigeria: A Holistic View.”

The summit was organised by the Housing Circuit Magazine in collaboration with the Senate Committee on Land, Housing and Urban Development.

The vice president, represented by Mr Suleiman Hassan, the Minister of State, Power, Works and Housing assured Nigerians that the government would continue to provide enabling environment for investment in the housing sector.

He said that the Federal Government, through the Ministry of Power, Works and Housing was leading the drive on land and housing reform to ensure easy access to land for housing.

According to him, the ministry has produced the revised and updated National Housing and Urban Development Policies as well as the National Building Code.

He said the National Housing Programme of the Federal Government through the construction of houses across the country was a commitment to make significant and lasting changes in the sector.

Osinbajo said the adoption of the National Housing Policy for sustainable housing delivery and the Housing Development Programme facilitated under the public private partnership were other interventions of the Federal Government.

In his remark, Sen. Barnabas Gemade, the Chairman, Senate Committee on Housing said the theme of the summit was appropriate in view of the increased mass housing programme of the Federal Government.

He said the upward review from N35 billion in 2016 to N40 billion in the 2017 budget was a clear demonstration of the Federal Government commitment to tackle housing challenges in the country.

He pledged the commitment of his committee to fast track the reform and commercialization of the Federal Housing Authority through legislative process.

Gemade said the delay in the release of budget resulting to frustration of work because of lack of funds and clear mortgage system were the major challenges facing the nation’s housing sector.

“In addressing some of these challenges, we must take a critical look at the mortgage system.

“We must also seek ways of how funds can be freed from certain sectors of the economy with much capital that can be deployed to the housing sector,” he said.

Sep

27

2017

FG Invests N100b On 25 Arterial Roads Nationwide- Fashola

The Federal Government is reconstructing and rehabilitating 25 arterial roads with an aggressive plan to spend about N16.7b for each geopolitical zone across the country. The fund, which is a safe and low risk investment, is a Debt Management Office (DMO) Sovereign Sukuk (bond) with a 7-year tenor to the tune of N100b.

The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, SAN, disclosed this today while addressing members of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) who paid him a courtesy call, in his office.

The prioritized 25 road projects include the Dualisation of Ibadan-Ilorin Road, Suleja-Minna Road, Kano-Maiduguri Road, Lokoja-Benin Road, Rehabilitation of Enugu- Port-Hartcourt Expressway and the Construction of Kaduna –Eastern Bye- Pass, amongst others.

The Minister also stated that the Ministry is in the process of re-introducing the tolling system on completed Federal Highways in order to sustain the maintenance of these roads.

Earlier in his address, the President of MAN, Dr. Frank Udemba Jacobs, MON, commended the Minister for the novel idea in road financing, while specifically praising him for the on-going rehabilitation of Lagos-Ibadan, Onitsha- Enugu Expressways and other strategic roads across the country.

He also expressed delight for the approval of N213b Nigerian Electricity Market Stabilization Facility (NEMSF) aimed at easing some of the challenges in the electricity industry value-chain.

On a final note, he applauded the Federal Government for its recent measures at getting the economy out of recession and the provision of an enabling environment for business to thrive.

In attendance at the meeting were the Minister of State II for Power, Works and Housing, Surv. Suleiman Hassan Zarma, the Permanent Secretary, Power Sector, Engr. Louis Edozien, Directors and Chief Executives from the Ministry.

Sep

14

2017

Keynote Speech Of The Honourable Minister Of Power, Works And Housing At The Guardian Power Summit

Keynote Speech At The Guardian Power Summit: "Beyond Rhetoric: Turning Nigeria's Power Sector Value Chain Potentials To Profit" Delivered By Babatunde Raji Fashola, San At Four Points, Lagos On Thursday 14th September 2017

I would like to start by thanking Lady Maiden Alex-Ibru, the chairman and publisher of the Guardian newspaper for inviting me to speak at this forum.

In particular, I have been invited as keynote speaker with the task of "setting the context" around the theme of turning Nigeria's power sector value chain potential to profit.

I welcome the opportunity this platform provides because it provides the Buhari led government a forum of expression to well-meaning and right-thinking persons who want to know what is going on about power.

As my invitation rightly acknowledges, context is important. It provides a rational basis for assessment and a fair determination for deciding whether progress is being made.    

So, let us start by going back to May 29, 2015 when this government was inaugurated.    

The amount of power available on the grid on that day was 2690 MW.  The transmission capacity was around 5000 MW and was then infamously described as the weakest link.

The distribution capacity existing at around 750 33/KV trading points, from where power is received by the DisCos and sent to us, was about 4000 MW.

Clearly, the power then being generated at 2690 MW was not up to the transmission capacity of 5000 MW and was insufficient to fully optimize the distribution capacity of 4000 MW.

Within a few months after President Buhari’s assumption of office, power improved and we all acknowledged. We credited it to the President's ‘body language.’

But the truth was that it had little to do with body language, and more to do with a sense of purpose that people sat up and began to do what ought to be done.

In addition, the rains were upon us in July 2015 to September 2015.

There was Gas supply which allowed the Thermal plants to produce power.

Therefore from Hydro and Thermal sources we reached an all time peak power production of 5,074MW before the damage to the pipelines started and we started losing power.

We cannot damage power and gas assets and still expect them to provide service to us.

It does not make sense.

Instead of rhetoric, this government set to work.    

a. Government engaged the aggrieved communities where the attacks were taking place to restore peace.    

b. Government repaired the damaged gas pipelines and gradually restored gas supply.    

c. Government launched an economic recovery and growth plan which made power supply one of 5 (FIVE) critical pillars.

d. Government launched a Power Sector Recovery Programme to work out and implement policies and actions such as:    

i. Constituting the regulatory commission, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC); except the Chairman, now awaiting the confirmation of Senate and the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) to Champion solar power development and rural electricity  deployment and access.

ii. Payment of debts to specific DisCos, and verification of debts to all others.    

iii. Payment assurance guarantee scheme of N701 Billion to give confidence to GenCos, gas suppliers and their financiers that we mean business.

iv. Declaration of eligible customers, to encourage people to invest in building and expanding distribution assets.

v. Development of mini grid regulations to encourage individuals and communities to build their own mini power generation and distribution facilities.    

vi. Awarding contracts to complete and expand transmission facilities and building new ones across the country.

Ladies and gentlemen, all of these policies and action go beyond rhetoric.

They are well thought out decisions, consistent with law and informed by a thorough diagnosis of the problems in the sector that have produced a clear set of solutions to deliver incremental power.

The result is that as at 4 September 2017 the available power that can be put on the grid was 6619 MW (the incremental power we sought to achieve from 2069 MW in 2015); the transmission capacity was simulated at 6,700 MW (up from 5,000 MW in 2015) but the distribution capacity was 4,600 MW which was what was put on the grid.

On September 12, 2017, production of power reached an all time level of 7,001 MW.

Clearly this is evidence-based progress, because we now produce more power then we can distribute. This does not mean that we have enough yet. It means that policies are working, but all the problems are not resolved.    

We must continue the Power Sector Recovery Programme to impact the distribution end of the value chain so that we distribute and sell everything that we produce as an incentive to more power production and supply.    

The recent GDP growth results by NBS, announcing Nigeria's exit from recession, and its detailed sector analysis, shows and I quote:

"Electricity production as well as financial services and construction also grew strongly..."    

It went further to provide details by stating that:    

"Other sectors the did very well in the second quarter 2017 include electricity and gas and financial institutions, with electricity and gas growing by 35.5%."    

I acknowledge that there will be cynics who will say, it was because of the rains. True enough, the rains contributed to the Hydro power increase, but the total Hydro capacity available with the rains from Jebba, Kainji and Shiroro as of 4th of September 2017 was about 1,000 MW, so it is the gas thermal plants, arising from peace efforts and pipeline repairs that made up the difference that made the total available power of 6619 MW that was produced.

Therefore, beyond rhetoric, our next step is to solve the distribution problem.

This involves the sustained implementation of the Power Sector Recovery Programme.    

Before I speak to the programme, let me say that although the power sector has been substantially privatized, and therefore it is the private sector that we must look to lead us through this. The sector is a regulated sector, governed by law, the Electric Power Sector Reform Act of 2005, and the regulations made by NERC (the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission) which makes rules and regulations that govern the conduct of all participants in the value chain of power including TCN, the government owned company.

It is these rules and regulations that ensure confidence and predictability in the sector.    

Therefore, one of the decisions under the Power Sector Recovery Programme is the enhancement of governance, like the constitution of NERC (that I have referred to), who have issued regulations to guide the development and deployment of mini grids of 100 KW -1 MW which will help distribution as they come on stream.

Another decision is to strengthen the governance of DisCos by reconstituting our board representation in all the discos, a process that is also underway.    

Next is the implementation of eligible customers, which is awaiting the finalization of regulations by NERC based on consultations with stakeholders.

The successful implementation of this policy will help heavy power consumers, who are denied power because of defective distribution, to make the investment by building the distribution equipment under arrangements and agreements with the DisCos.    
We are also looking at licensing some private power plants who have generation licenses and excess power, but no distribution license, to grant them permits to willing buyers especially in industrial clusters under regulations made by NERC.

Ladies and gentlemen, the Power Sector Recovery Programme also involves producing more power, like:    

a. Completing the first phase of  9 (NINE) federal universities out of a planned 37 (THIRTY-SEVEN);

b. The completion of the 240 MW Afam power plant; the 10 MW Kasina wind farm, the 29 MW Dadin Kowa Hydro plant, 30 MW Gurara Hydro plant, the 40 MW Kashimbilla Hydro power plant, the Kaduna 215 MW plant, the Zungeru 700 MW Hydro plant and the Mambilla 3050 MW Hydro plant which was just approved for award;

c. Completing several transmission projects across the country; and

d. Implementing the meter supply and installation plan through licensing of service providers, franchise holders, rural communities meters to be implemented on the regulations by NERC this year.

My time constraints prevents me from going further into detail.    

However, I believe that the much I have said reveals that this Government has undertaken a clear diagnosis of the problems, clearly understands them, has evolved solutions to address them, and some of them are already bearing fruit.

Successes so far recorded in power generation and transmission have revealed that the work is far from finished, but the capacity that achieved the success in generation and transmission can demonstrably be transferred to solve the distribution problems.

Finally, I believe that well-meaning and right-thinking Nigerians will agree, that the Buhari Government has gone way beyond rhetoric.

We have evolved solutions that are already contributing to GDP growth, and the promise to do more, unlock the power value chain potential for enterprise and profit clearly lies ahead of us, with the successful implementation of the Power Sector Recovery Programme.

Thank you for listening.

Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN
Honourable Minister for Power, Works and Housing

Thursday 14th September 2017

Sep

07

2017

Peaceful Co-Existence Will Boost The Nation’s Economy - Surv. Suleiman

The Honourable Minister of State II for Power, Works and Housing, Surv. Suleiman Hassan Zarma, mnis, has called on the nation to peacefully co-exist together as this will boost and take the nation’s economy to a greater height. He said that, this is a call for leadership at various levels of government in the country. The Minister stated this during his official visit to Gombe State.

Sulieman noted that the peace in the North East is as a result of the resolute and unwavering determination of the Administration of President Buhari to tackle insurgency in the nation headlong.
According to him, the celebration of Eld-El-Kabir calls for peace among tribes and nations across the world, adding that people are now celebrating in the North Eastern part of the country because of the drastic reduction in the activities  of the insurgents.

He enjoined the people within the region to be part of the confidence building by reporting any strange activities within their community and locality.

The Minister also stated that government is doing a lot in road construction and building affordable and adaptable mass housing across the nation with value chain returns. He said that government is also looking at a model that will put the housing needs of the people into consideration as well as their capacity and the power of purchase. He added that this will in effect make the houses affordable and accessible to all Nigerians.

Sulieman added that the Buhari Administration is leaving no stone unturned in the fight against corruption. According to him, ‘‘if you fight corruption, the economy will thrive. If you fight corruption, security will thrive, because all of them are anchored on the same thing. We can see that corruption is now at the minimum.’’ He further said that before now, people celebrate corrupt persons, adding that today; it is difficult for someone to come and flaunt a wealth that is illegally gotten.

The Minister noted that government through the instrumentality of the Treasury Single Account (TSA) and Whistle Blowers’ Programme has saved the country a lot, assuring that tackling corruption is prospering the economy.

While in Gombe State, the Minister paid courtesy visits to the Emir of Gombe, H.R.H Alhaji Abubakar Shehu Abubakar III and other Emirs within the state. He however urged them to be patient with the present government and be hopeful of a new Nigeria.

Aug

28

2017

Fashola Advises U.N. To Use Nigerian Accident Victims' Data

The Honourable Minister of Power Work, and Housing Babatunde Raji Fashola while hosting the United Nations Secretary General's Envoy for Road Safety, Mr Jean Todt, called upon the Organisation to dwell more on the data provided by the Nigerian Government on accident victims, explaining that the figures will be more acceptable, especially when there is conflict between those of the UN and Nigeria.

2. The Minister supported his claims by saying that since Nigerian government provides support for the accident victims; make hospital arrangements and sundry for the injured, the country will be in a better position to supply accurate, reliable and acceptable data. Fashola suggested to the UN that data of accident victims should be globally ranked to spur competition for the best positions in the ranking amongst the comity of Nations, thereby reducing road accidents.

3. While responding to the Envoy's remark that pedestrians are the most involved in road accidents, the Minister promised to provide support for the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), urging them to hasten the prosecution of offenders to serve as a deterrent to bad road users.

4. The Corps Marshal of FRSC, Boboye Oyeyemi disclosed that his Organisation is currently collaborating with the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) to generate a more accurate data to be used in the country.

5. Present at the event were the Ministers of State I and II, Hon. Mustapha Baba Shehuri and Surv. Suleiman Hassan Zarma respectively, the Permanent Secretary, Works and Housing sector, Alhaji Mohammed Bukar, members of the Diplomatic Corps, Directors of the Ministry and Management staff of the FRSC.

Aug

25

2017

Mr Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN At The 6th National Council On Land, Housing And Urban Development

I welcome you all very warmly to this 6th meeting of the National Council on Lands, Housing and Urban Development.

I am enthused to speak to you because of the progress we have made from our last meeting in 2016 in Ilorin, Kwara State.

My enthusiasm derives from simple but very profoundly impactful things that we committed to do last year in Kwara and which we have done.

The first is that we resolved to facilitate the use of Exchange of letters for the Transfer of title to land when states are transferring land to the Federal Government.

I am happy to report that there has been very inspiring compliance based on the several letters of exchange that I have received and which I have duly signed.

All I need say about this in terms of compliance is that if there is still any state yet to comply they should please do so very quickly.

This is an important matter to report to the public. It shows that we do not gather at this Council just to talk. It shows that we have the capacity to act. It shows that change is possible when people commit themselves and that Governments in Nigeria can get things done.

The other matter that enthuses me, is the progress report on our National Housing Programme about which I briefed this Council last year.

At the time of the Council meeting in August 2016, I reported that we were finalizing designs to accommodate our cultural, climactic and other diversities and that when the designs were completed we would commence construction to pilot the designs and test them for affordability and acceptability.

I am pleased to report that construction has started in 33 states where land has been made available.

This is fulfilment of another commitment made at last year’s council by at least 90%.

This must give a lot of hope to our people that this Government will do what it says, and I want to thank all the states who gave us land, the staff of the Ministry who have worked hard to drive the programme, and the Honourable Minister of State, Mustapha Baba Shehuri who has been visiting and inspecting project sites.

I have myself made whistle stop visits to our sites in Taraba, Gombe, Ekiti, Oyo, and what I saw demonstrates to me very clearly how impactful the National Housing Programme has been, even at the pilot and inception stage.

The bricklayers I met in Taraba, Gombe and Ekiti, Rilwanu Adamu and Abubakar Umar, who asked me to thank President Buhari, for putting them back to work, the owners of the cement mixer in Oyo who said that his  equipment has been idle for 2 years but was now earning N20,000 daily on our site in Oyo.

And of course, Mr and Mrs Emmanuel, a builder and caterer respectively who live in Lagos, but who now find dignity, labour and employment at our Oyo site, by participating in building and food supply.

And this brings me to the theme of this year’s Council meeting which is “Building for Inclusion, Growth and Prosperity”.

Yes, it is true that we have a National Housing deficit, and while some choose to engage themselves by discussing about the size of the deficit, we choose to engage ourselves by doing something about the deficit.

This is because, every building we start and ultimately complete is a blow to the size of the deficit which no amount of talk can inflict.

We understand that every nation has a housing deficit and the bigger the size of the population, the size of the growth rate and the size of the urbanization rate, the bigger the size of the deficit.

But while we commit to the National policy of delivering affordable housing, we must look at short, medium and intermediate streams of opportunities for employment, productivity, skill development, restoration of dignity of our people which lie within the housing delivery value chain.

This is consistent with one of the Pillars of the Economic Theory and Growth Launched by President Buhari, which is “investing in our people.”

Apart from the artisans that I have spoken about, it might interest you to also know that 653 contractors were engaged in the pilot scheme to deliver 2,736 units. A total of 54,680 people were employed in the process.

The opportunities for inclusion will include masonry, electrical, plumbing, welding, supplies of materials, transportation and many more.

Our desire is to multiply these opportunities this year and beyond.

One of the directives that I have given to our staff is to review the procurement requirements and guidelines in consultation with our legal department, to ensure that we open the opportunities for participation.

Yes, I understand the need to get value for money and the processes that have been put in place by previous administrations to guide procurement.

The question we must ask ourselves then is whether we have truly saved money and whether we have developed?

On the evidence that is available, the country has clearly made more money from oil sales in the last decade that cannot be accounted for by way of project delivery and infrastructure development.

But if this was not enough problem, the procurement requirements then limits the amount of advance payment Government can pay to 15% and sets conditions that overlook the level of literacy of the vast majority of our people and the nature of small businesses that they run.

My experience in the last 20 months is that small businesses have difficulty complying with our procurement process and this requires not only policy reviews as I have ordered, but also legislative intervention by parliament.

This is one of the actions we must take to fulfil the objectives of the theme of this Council so that we can build for inclusion, for growth and for prosperity.

While our National Housing Programme, is the first of its type on a National scale in many decades that seeks to respond to the deficit, government agencies such as the Federal Mortgage Bank, Federal Housing Authority are being repositioned to play their role more effectively to address the Housing problem.

For example, the Federal Housing Authority has been mandated by the ministry to reposition herself to be one of our champions of housing delivery based on her previous track record.

Similarly, the Federal Mortgage Bank continues to deepen participation in the National Housing Fund which forms a reliable pool of funding from which she lends money to contributors by way of mortgage loans to acquire houses.

In addition, the bank has granted loans to estate developers to build houses; and from their recent report to me, they currently have 3,823 housing units available for sale in various states of the Federation.

The ministry has directed that these units, their prices, description, location and eligibility criteria be widely publicized in transparent offers to Interested members of the public.

The next level of intervention which the ministry is developing is the use of co-operatives.

This is very important to the theme and purpose of this year's Council meeting which centers around inclusion.

Our experience has shown that very sizable parts of our population who are productive and self-employed have been excluded from formal processes that regulate access to Funding, land or housing.

However, these large number of people operate successfully by themselves, in groups which they form as co-operatives to protect their common interests and pursue their developmental objectives.

Co-operatives have been very prolific and successful in sectors like agriculture and market organizations where the vulnerability of an individual is transformed into the strength of a group.

Our Government sees no reason why the successes of co-operatives in these sectors cannot be utilized to facilitate housing delivery, access and inclusion.

We are determined to place the might of government at the disposal of groups who can form themselves into co-operatives, as enabling capacity to acquire the land, take loans, build for themselves and operate a rent to own policy for those who cannot pay full ownership cost at start.

When our work on the review of the existing laws, and the processes for eligibility are completed, we will undertake a national launch and enlightenment program to kick the active use of co-operatives in housing delivery.

I have chosen to speak about this plan at this meeting because the success of this initiative will depend on what is done at state level; and many, if not all, states are represented here.

Your readiness and willingness to give land to well constituted cooperatives will be a critical determinant to success and inclusion.

So, this serves as notice for you to start thinking ahead about what your respective states can offer to the initiative.

Before I conclude, I will like to go back to the issue of the deficit in housing and set the context, not only how it has grown with our size but also why some seem so terrified of approaching it.

When we started this national housing program, my attention was brought to the fact that there had been no national housing program since the end of the second republic in 1983, which is about 34 years ago.

I must of course not be mistaken for saying that there were no housing interventions. There were. But they were neither sustained nor were they implemented on a national scale.

This omission is a big contributing factor to the size of the deficit and the exclusion of people.

Of course, there has always been a National Housing Policy, which seeks to deliver affordable housing, but as I said there is no program to implement and actualize the policy.

This government has now formulated that national program by concept, design and now pilot stage implementation which in the early stages has already created opportunities for 653 contractors, and created 13,680 direct jobs and 41,000 indirect jobs.

What we must do therefore is to repeat this program year on year, not only at federal level but also at state level.

Ladies and gentlemen, if we do this and also successfully implement the housing cooperatives, leverage private sector capacity, strengthen FHA and FMBN to play their roles, we will be creating a housing economy that will irreversibly and positively transform our nation forever.

Not only will we be addressing one of the problems of urbanization, we will unleash the capacity to build for inclusion, for growth and prosperity.

In this way, the size of the deficit of housing will become an economic opportunity to immense proportions rather than a social burden to be scared of.

Thank you very much for your attention.

Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN
Honourable Minister of Power, Works and Housing

Thursday 24th August 2017

Aug

14

2017

Mr Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN At The 23rd Meeting Of The National Council On Works

Address Delivered By The Honourable Minister Of Power, Works And Housing, At The NAF Conference Centre, Abuja On Thursday 20th July 2017

Distinguished ladies and gentlemen:

In choosing the theme of this year's Council, we, seek to raise the level and quality of our transport infrastructure to the globally acceptable standards.

As human beings, mobility has become a major commitment of the global urban agenda.

This must be so because our development, prosperity and sometimes our survival is tied to our mobility and so is our productivity, social and cultural interactions.

I am happy, first, to announce to you that Nigeria, under the leadership of President Buhari has played a critical and positive role in developing a common African position since 2016 that has helped to shape the Global Urban Agenda adopted in Quito, Ecuador this year to guide the global development until 2036.

What is left is for us as champions of that African position and urban agenda, is to begin to localize and implement its component parts for the benefits of our people.

Yes, we have to build roads, highways and bridges.

But the question then is: Roads, highways and bridges to where. Where do they lead?

Unless we know where these critical transport infrastructure lead to, they will either have failed to achieve the objective of mobility or will, at best, do so with difficulty.

Long before the development of the Internet and the proliferation of smart phones and apps, many countries have developed maps to help guide their citizens and transport infrastructure users through the labyrinth of their network of roads.

But these maps alone do not achieve the purpose without road signs, which indicates to road users, how far their journey is, how far they have progressed, how much is left to travel, and how far away they are from one village, city, local government, or from critical services like hospitals, fuel stations and hotels or motels to help ease the stress and tedium of long distance travel.

Sadly, these signs are either non-existent or largely insufficient on our highways.

So, imagine driving by yourself into a city you have never been, how do you know where to link the next interstate highway, or expect to buy fuel or plan to sleep for the night on a long journey or get medical help in case of a road traffic accident.

Have we considered the fact that the existence of highway signs is a reason why the car rental business and its collateral employment thrives in some countries and not in our own?

The proliferation of global, country and state maps on the handheld devices therefore creates a compelling urgency on all of us to start developing and installing signage on our roads, bridges and highways at interstate and intra-state levels.

This is one sure way of facilitating mobility and implementing the local component of the global urban agenda for the benefit of our people.

But it will not be enough to just simply erect any type of sign, in any place or indeed anyhow.

They must be produced according to specifications and enduring materials, and they must be installed to a minimum standard that ensures their durability, endurance and utility for commuters.

I would like to place on public record, my pride, and indeed my gratitude to the staff of the works sector of the Ministry of Power, Works and Housing for their hard work in developing these specifications and standards.

Similarly, I will like to acknowledge the technical support and cooperation that the Corp Marshal of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) and his team have afforded our team in the process of developing the size, quality and lettering specifications of these signs.

Ladies and gentlemen, helping commuters to navigate the journey is only half of the human benefit of signage and our mobility policy.

The other half is the direct economic benefits to those people who will benefit from contracts, jobs and the financial rewards that come from producing the signs, fabricating the steel, printing the signs, and the labour to be employed in installing them.

These benefits are also true of lane marking.

This is why we have chosen this National Council, where states are represented, professional groups are represented and the requisite technical personnel are present to unveil this policy and programme.

While our roads are still in various stages of completion, our economic needs compel us to refuse to wait until everything is done before we begin to confer the benefits of lane marking and street signage on our people.

We have met in the Ministry and agreed to compile the list of roads where significant sections have been completed, and prepare them for procurement and award of sub-contracts in collaboration with our main contractors, and this procurement will then  be advertised in due course as required by law and subject to an open and competitive bids.

As more sections of roads reach completion they will be subject to similar processes so we expect this to be continuous.

While we will implore on and insist that those who benefit from these contracts perform them to the highest standards of quality, we understand that signs can be damaged, and road markings require periodic touching up.

Therefore, we see a future of maintenance jobs and contracts going forward, to create sustained employment in our road transport sector.

Ladies and gentlemen, I could think of no better time, when our economy needs to be creative in order to provide inclusion for unemployed young able-bodied people, and I can think of no better forum than this National Council of Works, to discuss the economic, safety, and people-oriented basis of this policy, to address the theme of this council which is ‘Adequate Traffic Signage - An Essential Key for Highways Infrastructure, Safety and Comfort.’

I will now conclude by saying that everybody has an important role to play in order to ensure that the benefits of this policy reach all the sectors of our economy and the people they are designed for.

I sincerely hope that our government will be able to count on you as we have always done to ensure its successful implementation.

Thank you very much for your attention.

Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN
Honorable Minister for Power, Works and Housing

Thursday 20th July 2017

Jul

23

2017

Council On Works Calls For Provision, Standardization Of Road Signage By Government At All Levels

*    As Council concludes its 23rd Meeting in Abuja
*    Approves that adequate budgetary provisions be made for the provision of signage infrastructure
*    Urges states to liaise with FRSC and FMPWH on standard of traffic calming techniques to be adopted at design stages of road projects

The National Council on Works rose from its 23rd Meeting in Abuja Thursday with a call on governments at all levels in the country to adhere strictly to the provision and standardization of road traffic signage in order to reduce the incidence of road accidents and ensure comfort and safety for travellers on the nation’s highways.

The Council Meeting, which was presided over by the Minister of Power Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola SAN, was declared open by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Mallam Muhammad Musa Bello, represented by the Executive Secretary, Federal Capital Development Authority, Engr. Umar  Jibril. The meeting was also attended by the Hon. Minister of State, Hon.Mustapha Baba Shehuri, the Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Works , Hon. Toby Okechukwu, Permanent Secretaries in the Ministry, the Chairman, Federal Character Commission, Commissioners responsible for Works matters in the States of the Federation as well as senior officials of relevant Federal and State Ministries, Departments and Agencies, regulatory bodies and other stakeholders.

In a Communiqué at the end of the Meeting hosted by the Ministry of Power,Works and Housing at the NAF Conference Centre in Kado District of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), the Council noted that installation of modern signage on the country’s highways would reduce the high rate of road carnage being recorded on the highways yearly.

While also urging the Governments to assist research bodies in the country to conduct more research in the production of road signage, the Council called on stakeholders to increase funding for the provision of the signage as well as conduct sensitization programmes to enlighten the public on their use.

In order to ensure effective monitoring of traffic on the highways, it called on the Federal, States and Local Governments to approve the use of reflectometer as a quality monitoring device on the highways while urging Federal and State Governments to install ICT cameras and Traffic Aids Posts for recording traffic violations and to enforce compliance by road users.

Also to further improve monitoring on the highways, the Council recommended the use of survey techniques of RADAR (Radio Direction and Ranging) and LIDAR (Light Direction and Ranging) in monitoring traffic signage, checking vehicular movement and recording of traffic offences such as flouting the speed limits, beating of traffic lights and failures to respect traffic signage such as zebra crossing, among others.

Noting that indiscriminate use of billboards and other forms of adverts on road signage constitutes a menace on the highways, it urged all stakeholders to sensitize the public on the negative consequences of defacement, damage and removal of traffic signs on Nigerian roads while also calling for the establishment of Monitoring and Enforcement Units at Federal and State levels to ensure adherence to the use of road signs.

The Council, which noted that the use of unstandardized traffic calming techniques, such as bumps, logs of wood and tyres, defaced the roads and reduced their aesthetics conditions as well as that of the environment, urged government at all levels to adopt the use of modern and standard traffic calming techniques such as impediment/ traffic diversion and standard road bumps adding that states should liaise with the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) and Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing (FMPWH) to agree on a standard, which, according to them, should be adopted during the design stage of road projects.

Other road furniture recommended by the Council to improve safety and comfort on the nation’s highways include Survey Techniques used to demarcate, survey and ensure compliance to the Right of Way (RoW) and Solar Road Studs, which, according to them, are visible up to 800 meters in the night while also emitting, rather than reflecting, light, thereby warning drivers at road sections.

It encouraged stakeholders to be proactive in adapting new technologies such as performance retro-reflective materials for all road markings in order to advance road safety while they accepted that in all new bridge projects, the crash barriers should be made up of dwarf concrete walls and metal barriers.

On the importance of seeking alternative funding means for sustainable maintenance of street lighting and other road infrastructure by Governments at all levels, the Council, which listed such alternative funding means to include Public Private Partnership (PPP), the Special Energy Efficiency Lighting Fund, the Carbon reduction fund, among others, approved that adequate budgetary provisions be made for the provision of signage infrastructure.

In line with the its call on Federal and State Governments to direct their relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to provide geo-spatial data for positioning and location of road signage, the Council approved that such geo-spatial data be provided by the use of modern survey techniques by the Office of the Surveyor-General of the Federation (OSGoF) and the Offices of the Surveyors - General of the States (OSGoS).

It noted that such Geo-spatial information would create database for national signage for emplacement, monitoring and maintenance of highways furniture and infrastructure adding that all State Governments that were yet to establish Asset Management Units to focus on building database of road furniture and road signage should do so.

While encouraging stakeholders in the road sector to consider the use of the LED Solar Road Studs in road design, the Council also urged them to adopt the use of Radio Frequency Identification Technology and other modern technologies and devices in the maintenance and sustenance of street lights along Nigerian Roads, asking them also to assist NITT to design a national strategic ITS plan for effective highways infrastructure and Traffic Management so as to enhance safety and comfort on the roads.

Commending the effort of the Yobe State Government in the establishment of computerized Vehicle Inspection Centres and Model Driving Schools, the Council urged other state governments that are yet to establish such Centres and Driving Schools to do so to provide better education for road users.

It also urged relevant government agencies to ensure regular review of Road Signs System to conform with the 1968 United Nations Convention adding that stakeholders involved in the review should be expanded to include Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing (Works Sector), State Ministries of Works and Transport, Federal Ministry of Transportation, Federal Roads Safety Corps, Vehicle Inspection Office (VIO) and the Nigeria Society of Engineers.

The Council, which recalled that Nigeria was represented at a workshop in Geneva, Switzerland by a group of experts on Road Signs and Signals, pointed out that a document was presented by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) on the challenges associated with the interpretation and implementation of 1968 Convention on Road Signs and Signals.

It noted that a National Road Safety Strategy (2016 – 2020) document has been approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) and the National Economic Council (NEC) and called for the implementation of the document which, it said, could be accessed on http://frsc.gov.ng/ publications.

Noting that the Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing Highway Manual Part I: Design Volume VI: Road Traffic Signs and Road Markings 2013 was meant to ensure appropriate signage on the nation’s highways, the Council expressed delight that several jobs would be created among skilled and semi-skilled artisans through the adoption of the new technologies in the production of modern signage.

And in order to make education of road users on the use of advance road signage more effective, the Council suggested that the enlightenment be done in local languages urging the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) and Vehicle Inspection Officers (VIO) as well as other stakeholders to intensify efforts on sensitization in motor parks, all places of worship, palaces of traditional rulers and other relevant places.

The Council had earlier considered the issues raised in the Memoranda presented at the Meeting and noted with delight the Status of Implementation of its key decisions at the 22nd Meeting of the Council which showed that out of the 37 resolutions adopted at the Meeting, 25 tasks were completed with seven in progress while five were “facing challenges”.

A total of 26 Memoranda were received and considered under seven thematic groups including Adequate Traffic Signage – An Essential Key for Highways Infrastructure, Safety and Comfort; The Role of Survey and Mapping to Road Signage; Quality Assurance in the Production and Installation of Road Signage; Standardization of Road Signage; Adherence to the Provision of Road Signage on the Highways; Managing the Challenges of vandalization and Damages to Road Signage and; the Relevance of Intelligence to Signage.

The Council Meeting preceded by a three-day Meeting of Directors and Permanent Secretaries from 17th – 19th July, 2017.

Jul

20

2017

Nigeria To Meet International Standards And Best Practices- Fashola

The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN has said that the theme of the 23rd Meeting of the National Council on Works seeks to raise the level and quality of Nigerian transport infrastructure to globally acceptable standards.

Fashola stated this in a paper delivered at the 23rd Meeting of the National Council on Works held at the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) Conference Centre, Abuja with a theme:  “Adequate Traffic Signage- An Essential Key for Highways Infrastructure, Safety and Comfort”

The Minister opined that as human beings, mobility is inevitable because development, prosperity and sometimes survival of human beings are tied to mobility as well as productivity, social and cultural interactions.

He said that Nigeria under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari has played a critical and positive role in developing a common African position since 2016. According to him, Nigeria has helped to shape the Global Urban Agenda which was adopted in Quito, Ecuador, this year, to guide global development up till 2036, but the missing link is to start implementing its component parts for the benefits of Nigerians.

The Minister said some of these benefits would be best appreciated when the highways, roads and bridges are adorned with road signs, adding that this will inform road users on how far their journey is, how far they have progressed, how much is left to travel and how far away they are from one village, city, local government, or from critical services like hospitals, fuel stations and hotels or motels, thereby easing the stress associated with long distance travels.

Fashola disclosed that what will make the travellers enjoy their travel time is the provision of adequate road signs. “This is the best way to facilitate mobility and implement the local components of the Global Urban Agenda for the benefit of Nigerians” he stated that having the road signs erected in any place or anyhow is not enough, but must be in accordance with specifications and quality of materials, it must also be in tandem with minimum standards to ensure their durability to serve the people.

The Minister said aside the benefits of helping commuters to navigate the journey through the provision of road signs on Nigerian roads, it also have direct economic benefits to the people who will benefit from contract jobs that will attract financial rewards as a result of producing the signs, fabricating the steel, printing the signs and the direct labour needed to erect/mount the signs. 

Fashola expressed his gratitude to the Minster of the FCT, Mallam Muhammad Musa Bello for hosting the 23rd Meeting of the National Council on Works in Abuja. The Minister also appreciated the Minister of State, Honourable Mustapha Baba Shehuri, the Permanent Secretary, Alhaji Mohammed Bukar and staff of the Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing (Works sector) for their hard work in developing very high standards and specific road signs that will stand the test of time.

Earlier in his welcome address, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Mallam Muhammad Musa Bello, represented by the Executive Secretary, FCDA, Engr. U. G. Jibril, expressed his profound gratitude to the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN, the Minister of State, Honourable Mustapha Baba Shehuri, the Permanent Secretary, Alhaji Mohammed Bukar for successfully hosting this year’s Meeting of the National Council on Works in Abuja.

Mallam Bello said the theme of this year’s Meeting, “Adequate Traffic Signage-An Essential Key for Highways Infrastructure, Safety and Comfort” is very important to the residents of the Federal Capital Territory, due to daily increase in the number of motorists plying our highways. He opined that the outcome of the Council’s deliberations will provide the much needed inputs for policy making to address the problem of inadequate and improper signage on some of the highways.

The Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Works, Hon. Tobi Okechukwu, in his goodwill message at the occasion, congratulated the Council for this year’s Meeting and applauded the organisers for the excellent theme of this year. He said the National Assembly is ready to partner and support the Executive Arm of government on any initiative that is people oriented.

The Chairman, Federal Character Commission, Alhaji Bukar Abba Shetima, while congratulating the Council, also used the occasion to reiterate on the Commission’s mandate and called on the Ministry to adhere to equitable distribution of wealth in line with the mandate of the Commission.

The Minister of State for Power, Works and Housing, Hon. Mustapha Baba Shehuri, while giving a Vote of Thanks, congratulated the Minister for the successful hosting as well as for the efficient delivery of the 23rd Meeting of the National Council on Works. He also expressed his appreciation to all the stakeholders who have contributed in one way or the other to the success of the Meeting.

Amongst the dignitaries at the event were, the Permanent Secretaries, Federal Ministry of Power, Works Housing, Works and Housing sector and his counterpart from Power, Louise Edozein, Commissioners and Permanent Secretaries of Works from 36 States of the Federation, the Surveyor General of the Federation, Surveyor Ebisintei Awudu, Assistant Corps Marshal, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Mr. Kayode Olagunju, Directors and Federal Controllers of Works from the 36 States of the Federation.

Jul

18

2017

Fashola Charged Stakeholders To Complement Government’s Effort In Housing Delivery

The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN, has charged stakeholders in the housing sector to focus more on how to solve the problem of housing deficits in the country rather than magnify the problem. He said inspite of the housing challenges; Nigeria will over time come out if consistent right policies are put in place.

Fashola stated this at the opening ceremony of the 11th Abuja International Housing Show with the theme, Solving Nigeria’s Housing Challenges through Innovative Finance and Infrastructure Solution.

The Minister noted that financing is not only the problem in the housing industry but also the issue of affordability and acceptability, adding that it is important to build to the satisfaction of the off - takers. He said that the Ministry is currently building in 33 States of the federation to respond to the climatic and cultural demands of the people under the National Housing Programme, adding that this will be used as a pilot to interface with the private sector.

While commending the vision and tenacity of Fesadeb Communication Ltd, the organiser, the Minister said that it is important to have a housing economy, an economy that delivers on a value chain that will impact on people’s economic lives like the artisans, mason, plumbers, welders and food vendors.

Earlier in his address, the Chairman of the All Progressive Congress (APC) and Chairman of the Abuja International Housing Show, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, noted that the choice of the theme for this year’s event is not only apt but appropriate. Oyegun stated that the Buhari administration promised to provide decent and affordable housing to Nigerians through the establishment of the National Housing Programme with a target of raising enough finance to build 1 million housing estates annually within the next decades.

He said that the APC-led government is also committed to bridge the gap of housing deficits by providing affordable housing for low income earners who are the most marginalised due to access to finance. He added that a new housing social project has been included in the economic recovery plan recently launched by the federal government with the objective to reduce the housing deficits and stimulate economic growth of the country.

The Abuja International Housing Show over the years has proved to be a veritable platform that brings stakeholders’ in the built industry together to chat a way forward in solving housing problem in Nigeria.

Jul

18

2017

Auwalu A. Koko at the 23rd meeting of the National Council on Works

Welcome address by the director, Planning, Research & Statistics (Works and Housing Sectors), Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing, At NAF conference center, Abuja on Monday 17th July 2017.

PROTOCOL

It is with great pleasure and gratitude to Almighty God that I welcome you all to this memorable event, the 23rd Meeting of the National Council on Works with the theme: Adequate Road Signage – An Essential Key for Highways Infrastructure and Comfort holding from today, Monday 17th to Thursday 20th  July, 2017.

2.    I wish to express our profound gratitude to the Honourable Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN, the Honourable Minister of State for Power, Works and Housing, Honourable Mustapha Baba Shehuri, the Permanent Secretary, Alhaji Mohammed Bukar, the Directors and entire staff of the Ministry for their support in organizing this meeting.

3.    As you are aware, the Meeting of the National Council on Works is an annual event where stakeholders in the Road Sector deliberate on issues concerning the Sector. 

4.    May I on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing apologise to you for whatever inconvenience caused by the change of venue of this meeting from Minna, Niger State to Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory. It was due to reasons beyond our control.  I Hope that you will find your stay in Abuja worthwhile and pleasant.

5.    At this juncture, I would like to assure you that all necessary arrangements have been made to ensure the success of this year’s Council Meeting.  The Secretariat is available for any possible assistance.

6.    Once again, I welcome you to this occasion and wish you fruitful deliberations.

7.    Thank you.

Jul

11

2017

Osinbajo Visits Site of Collapsed Bridge on Ilorin-Mokwa-Jebba Road

*Inspects Ongoing Repair Works & Assures Motorists, Residents Of FG’s Commitment To Address Their Plight

The flow of vehicular traffic on the Ilorin-Mokwa-Jebba road would be normalized within two weeks according to Acting President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN.

Already the Federal Government has commenced work to make the road passable pending the commencement of work on re-construction of the collapsed Bakino bridge at Tatabu community near Mokwa in Niger State.
Prof. Osinbajo who visited the site for an on-the-spot assessment earlier today gave the assurance having received assurances from top government officials including Power, Works & Housing Minister, Mr. Babatunde Fashola and the contractors on site.

Specifically the Ag. President received briefs from relevant officials on site including the site engineers and supervisors from the Federal Ministry of Works. He also embarked on a tour of the collapsed bridge.

Prof. Osinbajo then told newsmen at the site that government was fully committed to ending the difficulties on the Ilorin-Mokwa-Jebba road by addressing the remote causes of the deterioration on the road.

According to the Acting President, ``the Minister of Works is working on a lasting solution but in the interim we have assurances from  the contractors and engineers working here that this road will be made passable in about a fortnight.’’

He assured that construction work on building a new bridge would commence but that it would take some time for it to be completed due to the slow movement of material from Ilorin to the site.

According to him, ``The contractors have informed me that movement of material to this location would be difficult and slow because of the deplorable nature of the road but with the commitment and support of the Federal Road Safety Corps and other agencies, the job would be done in good time.’’

He added the Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing in collaboration with the Ministry of Transport were both working on a more lasting solution that will reduce the over -dependence on the highway especially by diverting the movement of heavy duty cargo from the roads to the railways.

While speaking to youths who had gathered at the site of the collapsed bridge, Prof. Osinbajo conveyed the greetings of President Muhammadu Buhari to the community and urged for patience while government's efforts are in top gear to fix both the collapsed bridge and the road.

The Acting President was companies on the visit by Mr. Fashola, the Minister of Power, Works and Housing; the Governor of Niger State, Abubakar Bello, the Estu Nupe, HRH, Dr Yahaya Abubakar and other senior government officials.

Jun

28

2017

BRF: RESOLUTELY FOCUSSED AT 54 BY HAKEEM BELLO

May 2017 was appraisal time of the mid term of the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari in office.

Expectedly, much attention was on the Ministry of Power, Works and Housing, as it controls the fulcrum, which the country’s development revolves around. While Power plays a vital role in its industrial development, Works (roads, bridges) facilitates the transaction of business and social activities across its boundaries and cultures while Housing gives both stability and security to its human resource.

There were, and there will still continue to be truths, half-truths, and outright falsehoods. Indeed, in a clime where some people earn political patronage or keep their positions by how savagely they can disparage the subject of this discourse, certain outlets and their tendencies have simply become predictable. 

However, as C.P Scott wrote in 1921, “comments are free, but facts are sacred.” The fact is that with a reputation built not on quick fixes but enduring solutions and far sightedness, Mr Babatunde Raji Fashola SAN remains resolutely focused. As he turns 54 today, it would still be in tune with the spirit of mid term assessment to look at what BRF has been doing with the tax payers time as a public officer. 

Flag-off
The stewardship of Mr Fashola at the helm of the Ministry of Power, Works and Housing started in November 2015 when President Buhari inaugurated his Cabinet. Shortly after, the Minister held a media briefing where he outlined the Ministry’s focus in the three sectors. In Power, the promise was to increase power availability (Incremental Power), then advance it to steady supply and ultimately to uninterrupted supply nationwide. This he followed up with a Roadmap clearly setting out how he and his team intend to achieve this. In Works (Infrastructure), the promise was to increase road connectivity, decrease journey time and improve journey experience by completing on going projects; and in Housing, it was to build acceptable and affordable houses for the citizenry.   In summary: galvanize the economy through infrastructure development.

Power: Plants and all
Fact: at inception, the administration inherited 2,690 MW of power and only oversight through regulatory agencies instituted by law and on transmission of electricity which it is carrying out through the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN); the 26 power plants (23 gas and three hydro) having been privatized.

What’s being done to achieve Incremental Power? With provision of funds and determination to fulfill the promises made at the media briefing on Incremental Power, resuscitation of the 29 MW Dadin Kowa Hydro-Power plant in Gombe State should be completed in November, going by the assurance given to the Minister in March this year, by the project manager. The 132KV lines to evacuate the power are in place. The 40 MW Gurara Power Station is expected to finish in the first quarter of next year and with the arrival of its standardization equipment, the 10MW Katsina Wind Mill is expected to finish before quarter two. The diesel and gas dual fired 215MW power plant in Kaduna is also expected to finish this year.   There is also another Power Emergency Project that President Buhari approved for General Electric to give 240MW of power in Afam, Rivers State. It is also expected to finish this year.  The  40 MW Kashimbilla Hydro Power Plant, in Taraba State, has been revived and now 99% completed . The works on the evacuation of power including transmission lines , switchyards and substations from the power plant to Takum , Wukari and the existing substation in Yandev is expected to be completed by the second quarter of 2018 subject to availability of funds.

Work has resumed on the 700MW Zungeru hydroelectric power plant in Niger State, which was stalled by litigation for over three years .The nation moves closer to achieving power security with more alternatives to Gas fired plants. Work on the 450MW Azura Power Plant in Benin, was also stalled because the approvals and agreements required by the private companies to source for funds could not be signed for more than one year. President Buhari finally signed the required on assumption of office and this enabled the investors to commence construction. So also, the Mambilla hydro plant, which had been on the drawing board long before the coming of this Government.  The Minister in an interview with the Daily Trust last week explained that significant progress had been made in terms of project planning by working with various stakeholders and with a “No Objection “ certificate secured from the Bureau of Public Procurement on Monday 19th June ,work is set to commence on this long drawn yet all important project..

Energy Mix                      
Against the backdrop of the country’s vulnerability on account of its over reliance on a single fuel source –Gas- for Power, perhaps, one of the best things that has happened to the  Power Sector since the present administration took office is  the development of an Energy Mix.

Developed by the Ministry and unveiled at the National Council on Power Meeting held in Kaduna in July last year, the initiative has since set off a chain of activities on the diversification of the power generation. For example, the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc (NBET) on behalf of the Federal Government in July last year signed Power Purchase Agreements with 14 solar power developers to produce over 1,000MW of solar power. As a follow-up, two of the developers, Afrinegia Nigeria Limited and CT Cosmos Nigeria Limited, on 13th April signed the Put/Call Option Agreements (PCOA). Co-ordinated by NBET, the PCOA is a key aspect of the PPA to deal with any premature termination. Afrinegia Nigeria Limited plans to deliver 50MW while CT Cosmos will deliver 70MW to the grid.  There is also a plan for a new solar farm in Jigawa State, which is under procurement and planning. It is expected to add a minimum of another 1,000MW to the grid. In conjunction with other stakeholders discussions are also in progress with two coal developers who will add significant coal power to the grid.

Individuals and businesses in the country are also being encouraged to partake in investing in small captive solar initiatives. The objective is to create an Energy Security for the country by diversifying the energy source. In addition, the policy encourages the siting of power plants close to the source of energy. At the Council meeting in Kaduna, a target of 2030 was set for the achievement of 55 per cent gas,16 per cent, solar, 15 per cent, large hydro project; 4 per cent, wind; 3 per cent, biomass and 3 per cent, coal. Government has led from the front in this aspect with the completion of the 1.2MW Clean Energy Photovoltaic System, a solar energy plant and first of its kind in Nigeria, to power the Lower Usman Dam power treatment plant, the main source of potable water to the Federal Capital Territory. Built in collaboration with the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the project’s first phase, commissioned in August 2016, is producing 1.2MW of solar energy.

Policy actions
From the outset, Fashola, a firm believer in the sanctity of contracts was not persuaded by call in some quarters for the outright cancellation of the privatization of the power sector. Rather, he believes that the process and the sector should be methodically reviewed and reformed. This is the sum and substance of the Power Sector Reform Programme  which focuses on introducing reforms, reducing losses in the distribution companies, enhancing the sector’s financial viability, increasing access to electricity services, and mobilizing private sector investment. With support secured from the Federal Executive Council, members of the National Assembly heading the Power Committees and the World Bank Group, the Programme is already being implemented, though many are still awaiting a “formal” launch. These policies include the inauguration of Commissioners for the National Electricity Regulation Commission (NERC) and the Rural Electrification Agency Board on the governance side as well as  the  NBET’s  N701 billion two-year Payment Assurance Guarantee approved  to ensure that all those who generate power to the grid are paid .  The Minister has, in exercise of his powers under Section 27 of the Electric Power Sector Reform Act 2005 directed NERC to permit four categories of customers to buy power directly from a licensee other than their electricity distribution companies, once they are dissatisfied with the performance of the latter. As Fashola puts it, “ it is like going to Nestle to get your products directly instead of waiting for the distributor.” (Please visit www.nercng.org, on “Eligibility in the Power Sector”.)

Boosting transmission
In terms of transmission capacity over which the public continues to express much anxiety, although the Ministry inherited over 100 uncompleted transmission projects, TCN is expanding and maintaining the transmission lines and completing projects started before the privatization. It has paid contractors and obtained the necessary approvals for them to return to work. The projects include the Irrua and Okada Transmission Projects, both in Edo State; Itu-Calabar Transmission Line,  Ikot Ekpene-Calabar, Ikot Ekpene-Alaoji, and Ikot-Ekpene-Ugwuaji Transmission Lines and the Damboa Transmission Power in Borno State which was stopped at the peak of insurgency.

Also shipping companies and warehouse owners, who kept custody of containers abandoned by unpaid contractors for almost a decade, have begun releasing them. In fact, the first batch of over 387 containers was released to the contractors due provisions made in the 2016 budget.

There is also a five-year plan to boost power transmission capacity to 20,000MW beginning from 5,500MW to 10,000MW in the next three years. The plan targets transmission capacity of 8,200MW by 2018 and 10,000MW by 2019. To achieve this, the Federal Government is working on actual numbers of transmission towers that would take the nation from 7,000MW to 20,000MW in each growth plan; how many kilometers of cables, wires, breakers and tons of steel would be required in each stage as well as securing Right of Ways, settle compensation issues and every other issue that could possibly impede the implementation plan. Meanwhile, 59 expansion projects are currently being worked on across the country.  The various transmission projects under the National Integrated Power Project (NIPP) are also being completed.

As Fashola promised during the first anniversary of the administration, attention has recently been directed at rolling out the Rural Electrification Implementation Programme “to improve access to power for rural communities”. On 2 May, , the Minister inaugurated the Board of the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) and charged it with increasing access to electricity in the shortest possible time for the millions of Nigerian rural communities and villages as well as some urban cities yet to access electricity from the national grid. These communities lack access partly because the 330/132 KV and 132/33 KV lines (popularly called the high-tension wires), which the connection is often made through, run over long distances; the high cost of extending the lines to these communities, most of which are sparsely populated, and tariff being fixed, investment in them was not attractive. The Electricity Sector Reform Act, passed in 2005, set up the REA and mandated that the Implementation plan for rural electrification should be prepared within a year for Presidential Approval. That approval came 11 years late, with President Buhari’s stroke of the pen.  The implementation Plan which recommends a combination of grid extension and development of independent grids, using new technology such as solar, to make these communities, see light, so to speak, had been anchored on some existing projects such as the completion of over 2,000 uncompleted or abandoned grid extension projects which started life in 1999 as constituency projects.

Government intends to resuscitate six of the over 50 small hydro dams across the country and activate their power component, which, the Minister says had received Federal Executive Council’s approval, had also been advertised, and had received Expressions of Interest which were now being evaluated. The third anchor is the development of Independent Power Plants (IPPs) in 37 federal universities and seven teaching hospitals in rural areas and the building of independent power grids from there to connect adjoining rural and unconnected communities. The Rural Electrification Agency (REA) signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Tuesday, 20th June 2017 with eight (8) Federal Universities and one Teaching Hospital for the first phase of the Federal Government’s Energizing Education Programme (EEP) which is also being used as anchor for the electrification of rural communities in the areas where the tertiary institutions are located.

Safe, smooth roads
It was in June 2016 that contractors were mobilized to return to   sites they had abandoned for over two years because of non-payment of contract fees. Today, work is going on in all states of the Federation in terms of road rehabilitation and reconstruction. , Between February and April the Minister had undertaken an inspection tour of these road projects in 34 States across the six geopolitical zones of the country. In the South-East, which was the first port of call, at least 600 kilometers of roads are under rehabilitation/ construction across the zone’s five states. They include the Enugu-Aba- Port Harcourt Expressway, which runs through Anambra, Enugu, Imo, Abia and Ebonyi States covering about 31 roads as well as construction of pedestrian bridges and flyovers, traffic signs and lights; the outstanding section of Onitsha-Enugu Road being handled by Reynolds Construction Company (RCC); Umana-Ndiagu-Adaebele-Udi Road in Ndiagu, Nsukka—Oboloafor -Ihamufu Road, Ninth Mile-Nsukka-Oboloafor Road, among others in Enugu State;Ohafia-Oso Road (In Ebonyi and Abia States: 11.7 km), Nnenwe-Uduma-Uburu Road, Section1 (14 km in Enugu/Ebonyi), rehabilitation of Abakaliki-Afikpo Road; Section 1 (20.5 km), rehabilitation of Abakaliki-Afikpo Road Section 11 (19.5 km) and Construction of Obubra-Ikwo-Onueke-Nkomoro-Agba-Ezekuna-Ogboji-Nara-Cross River Border Road (7 km), among others in Ebonyi;   Aba-Port Harcourt Dual Carriageway (section 11), Umuahia Tower-Aba Township Rail/Road Bridge Crossing (56.1Km), rehabilitation of Lokpanta-Umuahia Tower (59.5km) and rehabilitation of Calabar-Itu-Ikot-Ekpene-Aba-Owerri Section 111: Ikot-Ekpene-Ikot Umuoessien-Aba Road in Abia/Akwa-Ibom (43.2km), among others in Ebonyi while in Imo State, federal road projects currently on-going include the Owerri-Umuahia Road, Sections 1,11 and 111, the Ikot-Ekpene Border: Aba-Owerri Dualisation Road Section 1, Phase 1 (11.26km), Mbaise-Ngwa Road Ohase 1 (14 km), Amanwaozuzu-Uzoagba-Eziama-Orie-Amakohia Road (10km) and Oba-Nnewi-Okigwe Road Section 11, among others. On the Second Niger Bridge in Onitsha, Anambra State, the contractor is working to re-mobilize to site, having stopped due to lack of payment.

In the North East, six federal roads are, among others, undergoing reconstruction or rehabilitation in Bauchi State, including the Suare-Azare, Azare-Potiskum Road, Ningi-Ajalokuna-Fudulamata Road, Jukun-Zaero Road and Zaero-Bassa-Ningi Road. In Gombe State, the two on-going road projects are the Gombe-Bauchi Federal Highway and the Gombe –Numan-Yola Road while in Taraba, Yobe and Maiduguri, the major roads under construction include the Kano-Maiduguri Dual  Carriageway that traverses three States. In the South-West the on-going road projects include the Ogbomosho-Oshogbo Road that connects Oyo State with neighbouring Osun, the Oyo-Ogbomosho Road that connects the State through to Kwara, the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway that connects Ibadan to Ogun and to Lagos and Lagos-Shagamu Expressway among others . Similarly, there are projects going on in the North-Central, the North- West and the South –South. When Fashola says the Federal Government is present in all States of the Federation, he means it because he has been on the roads to see the projects.

Affordable, Acceptable houses
In the Housing Sector, construction of houses under the National Housing Programme has commenced in 33 states, which have allocated land for the purpose. And in line with the decision to build houses which will suit the climatic, socio-cultural and land use peculiarities of the people, the designs of one, two and three-bedroom bungalows have been adopted for the Northern states while the designs of one, two and three bedroom blocks of flats have been adopted for Southern states. In addition, the Ministry has also identified inputs such as doors, windows, tiles, paint and roofing materials that could be made locally and as earlier resolved by the Minister that only Made-in-Nigeria inputs will be used unless there is no local production capacity. To provide investment information for local manufacturers, the ministry has done some inventory of quantities of materials needed in the project. Based on that inventory, 22,288 doors; 27,849 windows; 3,502 water cisterns; 3,502 wash hand basins; 2,830 kitchen sinks; 261,299 sq. metres of floor tiles; 178, 680 Sq. metres of wall tiles; 561,119 litres of paints; and 342,960 Sq. metres of roofing materials would be needed in the first phase of construction which will also require 413,000 man days of skilled labour, and 440,000 man days of unskilled labour. This, of course, means continuous job for local manufacturers and artisans.

Job creation
The whole essence of the on-going infrastructure renewal, whether in the Power, Works or Housing sector, is, first, to stimulate jobs. This purpose has been achieved to a very significant extent. As announced by the Minister recently at an account of stewardship rendering Town Hall Meeting, the Ministry generated 193,469 jobs (9,000 direct and 60,000 indirect in Power; 17,749 direct and 52,000 indirect in Works and 13,680 direct and 41,040 indirect in Housing) while also empowering 542 local contractors during the 2016 budget year.

During his tour, the Minister engaged with these young men and women, working to deliver on the contracts, delivering service which will touch the lives of the greatest number of the people and in so doing restore the country’s economy to the path of growth and prosperity. On each of the stops Fashola would also dutifully deliver the message of his principal, President Muhammadu Buhari’s gratitude and commendation to the teeming young men and women for working hard to rebuild Nigeria and contributing to the economic recovery from a recession spun by several years of profligacy.

Incredible strength, work ethic
Whether sitting through grueling meetings to make peace and get projects or contracts (which had stalled for years before his assumption of office), moving from one power plant or Transmission station to chair going again, chairing the monthly meetings of the Power Sector Operators, in different cities and states or enduring hours of bus travelling by road to inspect roads, housing or power projects under his watch, Fashola displays a remarkable strength of character and intellect as well as energy. Often asked how he manages his naturally crowded schedule, the Minister would respond to the effect that he takes himself and any assignment he accepts seriously. Now, you can’t be focused without being serious and so l am closing by wishing my Boss many more years of focused service to our fatherland in sterling health. Happy Birthday BRF!

Jun

21

2017

FG Welcomes Private Sector Initiatives In The Delivery Of Affordable Housing

The Honourable Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN has reiterated the efforts of the present administration to provide affordable housing delivery to the teeming Nigerian population.

The Minister in his keynote address delivered at the opening ceremony of the 2nd Abuja Housing and Investment Expo, noted that the theme of this year’s event "Housing and Investment for Economic Recovery’’ is most tropical and apt, considering the present government’s position for the provision of affordable housing, investment and promotion, job creation are all efforts targeted toward ensuring economic recovery.

Fashola stated that the ministry is willing to collaborate with private sectors ready to invest in housing and urban development, adding that this will invariably create enabling environment for the citizens to purchase affordable houses of their choices based on their income.

The Minister added that the Ministry of Power, Works and Housing will always welcome and continue to encourage new concept of decent and affordable mass housing for the people towards the full realization of government's ultimate goal as contained in the National Housing Policy.

He commended the Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) and Shelter Aid Limited, organizers of the event for their consistency and commitment in ensuring that adequate and affordable housing provision through massive investment in the sector is actualised.

The Chairman of the occasion and the Chairman Senate Committee of Federal Capital Territory, Senator Dino Melaye, regretted that corruption is an impeding factor that has hindered the development and growth in the housing sector and therefore urged stakeholders to have a change of heart and put the interest of the people first.

Melaye stated that his committee is already working on ‘Rent Edit’ in Abuja that will protect tenants and landlords and help checkmate incessant increase of rents in Abuja.

He added that while "not everybody can own a house", the rent edit will help to tele-guide and curb excessive rent in the Federal Capital City and the nation at large’’. He however promised that the committee will ensure that the rent edit will be passed into law before the end of the 8th Senate.

Earlier in his remarks, the President of Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mr Tony Ejinkeonye welcomed participants and invited guests to the occasion. He urged everyone to take advantage of the technical and plenary sessions and also interact with the exhibitors so that the economic recovery plan of the government is given a face-lift by private sectors’ participation.