Mobolaji Johnson : Fashola  Mourns Passage Of An Illustrious Pioneer The Minister of Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola SAN has expressed deep sadness and condoled with the Government and people of Lagos State over the death of the first Military Governor of the State, Brigadier- General Mobolaji Johnson. Fashola, who served for two tenures as the 13th Governor of Lagos State from 2007 – 2015, described General Johnson as an illustrious pioneer, a man of singular vision, integrity and unwavering duty   whose loss is “one that is shared by an entire nation.” According to the Minister, “General Johnson was a dedicated soldier and public servant and a loving husband and father. As the first governor of the newly created Lagos State in 1967, he faced immediate challenges in leading a restive federal capital territory. He handled those challenges with tremendous courage and unwavering grace.” Noting that the late elder statesman established a strong administrative structure for the State, Fashola declared : “Beyond governing a state which was at the heart of a divisive national civil war, General Johnson was an administrative trailblazer. Along with key civil servants like Adeyemi-Bero and Folarin Coker, he laid a template for civil service practices and procedures which set Lagos State apart as a centre of excellence.” Recalling his appeal, as Governor, during the launch of the Biography  of the late Brigadier Mobolaji Johnson titled, Lagos State-My Life of Service with Integrity, in 2010, that past leaders should document their periods of Stewardship, Fashola noted that such documentation that showed the great infrastructural strides like how the Lagos City Hall was built, how the Badagry Expressway was constructed, how the Adeniran Ogunsanya Shopping Complex was built, among several others would serve as inspiration to future leaders that things were successfully done before and could still be done again. Fashola said he would personally miss the wise counsel and support of GeneralJohnson. “During my own tenure as Lagos State Governor, General Johnson was always ready with counsel and advice. If there was any public event or occasion regarding the welfare of the state, his towering figure was certain to be found present,” he said.¥ “On behalf of my wife, Abimbola, we extend our deepest condolences to his entire family. His loss is one that is shared by an entire nation,” Fashola said. ...

NASS To Support Works Ministry Deliver On Roads The Joint Senate and House of Representatives Committee on Works haveunanimously agreed to give the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing the necessary support to ensure thaton-going road projects in the country are expeditiously constructed and rehabilitated. The assurance was given yesterday during the 2020 Budget Defence of the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing at the National Assembly, Abuja. While answering questions on issues of the deplorable condition of roads in the country and the delay to commence repairs, the Honourable Minister of Works and Housing,Mr  Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN maintained that the rainy season was not the ideal period for road construction and repairs due to the attendant problem of flood .Fashola stressed that very soon Nigerians wouldwittiness a turnaround in road repairs as his Ministry would swing into action. The Minister, however, maintained that inadequate fundingwas the majorchallenge hindering his Ministry from realizing its mandate and set goals. He further added that while the number of roads that needed to be repaired kept increasing on daily basis, the fund to fix them was grossly inadequate and at times notavailable. The Minister revealed that his Ministry was usually saddled with the problem of land compensation from communities, individuals and various tribes who make exorbitant claims for  compensation from the Federal Government.  He therefore called on the legislators and the State Governors to help his Ministry out in this regard. Fashola suggested prioritization of the major roads for completion and rehabilitation.  According to him, priority in the construction and rehabilitation of roads should be given to the major highways that connect various state capitals, the sea ports, air ports, thefuel deportsamong others. He implored that the repairs of these critical major roads should be staggered and evenly spread across the six geo-political zones across the country so that no zone, individual or group of persons will complain of neglect or marginalization. Earlier, the Chairman of the Joint Senate and House of Representatives Committee on Works, Senator Adamu Aleiro suggested Public Private Partnership Financing Strategy to fix the Nigeria’s roads.  The Co-Chairman of the Joint Committee, Engr. Abubakar Karbiru Abubakar Bichi    reiterated the support of the members to collaborate with the Ministry to address the challenges of roads in Nigeria. The Minister of State for Works and Housing, Engr. Abubakar  D. Aliyu, the Permanent Secretary, Mohammed Bukar and directors of the Ministry were at the 2020 Budget Defence. ...

N'Assembly Commends Fashola For Effective Utilization of 2019 Budget Members of the National Assembly Joint Committee on Lands, Housing and Urban Development (Senate & House of Reps) have commended the Minister of Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola,SAN for effectively utilising the 2019 budget on projects that were beneficial to the citizens. This commendation was given when the Minister appeared before the Joint Committee to defend the Ministry’s 2020 budget, Wednesday, October 23, 2019. While appraising the performance of  the 2019 budget of his ministry, Fashola listed some special projects executed by his ministry in rural communities across the country in 2019 which include:construction of classrooms, boreholes, medical health care centres in rural areas and construction of drainage to slum communities. He pointed out that most of the projects were requested by the parliamentarians for the rural dwellers within their various constituencies. On the remarkable success of Issuance of Certificates of Occupancy and Letters of Consent to respective applicants by the ministry,, a member of the committee, Senator Kabiru Gaya from Kano State, noted that the letters of consent issued to the people enhanced the economic performance and development of his people because having the papers indicating their ownership of the land gave them the authority to do whatever they wanted with the land. The Minister, went ahead to disclose to the joint committee that the 2020 budget proposal of the ministry gave priority to some specific housing projects already embarked upon by the ministry. The projects according to him, include: the completion of the ongoing construction of 1155 blocks of the 2383 units of houses under the National Housing Programme (NHP) in the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory,completion of on going construction of Federal Secretariats in six states; Anambra, Bayelsa, Gombe , Nassarawa, Osun and Zamfara, installation of solar panels  as alternative source of energy at the ministry's headquarters,Abuja. Others according to the minister are: fulfilment of Nigeria's financial obligations to Shelter Afrique for the construction of affordable housing of which Nigeria is a key player. Fashola also mentioned in the priority list: the provision of infrastructure by building access roads, drainages for erosion control for social housing schemes in Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Enugu, Kwara and Osun States, and settlement of liabilities incurred under the Special Projects Unit, which caters for project under the Millennium Development Goals MDAs and Sustainable Development Goals . The Minister,however, faulted the practice of measuring budget performance by funds expended on projects but not on the actual work done. He explained  that most times the projects were carried out on priority bases, therefore the fund made available might not be enough to carry out all the projects needed by Nigerians. Mr. Fashola charged members of the joint committee to encourage members of their constituencies to form cooperative groups through which land could be acquired from states to access credit and build genuine houses of choice. He further revealed that that the ministry was planning to launch the cooperative system for ease of  accessing land and credit for providing affordable houses for Nigerians. While applauding the Minister for the judicious use of fund for the housing  sector in the 2019 budget the Chairman of the Joint  Committee, Dr.Sam Egwu admonished the the Honourable and his team to ensure that the implementation of the year 2020 budget was better than that of 2019. Members of the joint committee also advocated that more funds should be given to the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing to enable it achieve it goals. ...